{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/news/press-releases/video-udall-calls-for-immediate-passage-of-the-dream-act", "VIDEO: Udall Calls for Immediate Passage of the Dream Act", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Tom Udall", "U000039", "www.tomudall.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 13, 2017\n\t\t\t VIDEO: Udall Calls for Immediate Passage of the Dream Act \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tVIDEO: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4699164/sen-udall-passage-dream-act\r\nWASHINGTON \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall joined a group of Democratic senators on the Senate floor to call for immediate passage of the DREAM Act, which would protect 800,000 young DREAMers \u2014 including almost 7,000 New Mexicans \u2014 from deportation, and allow them to continue to work, go to school, and support their families.\r\nDREAMers are undocumented young people who were brought to this country as children by their parents through no fault of their own. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, created during the Obama administration, allowed them to apply for temporary legal status so they could work and go to school without the fear of being deported. However, the Trump administration announced on Sept. 5 that it would rescind the program, putting DREAMers\u2019 fate in the hands of Congress. More than 11,000 DREAMers across the country have already lost their DACA status. Beginning early next year, 1,000 additional young people will lose this protection each day. Udall is fighting for passage of the bipartisan DREAM Act, which would allow these young people to earn lawful permanent residence and access to a path toward citizenship.\r\n\"We have almost 800,000 young people whose lives, dreams, and future hang in the balance. They are scared. Their families are scared. Everything they have worked for is at risk,\" Udall said in his speech. \"[DREAMers] came here as children, and they are American through and through. They love our country as much as any of us, and they want to stay and contribute.\"\r\nUdall told the story of Carlos, a student in Las Cruces who came to New Mexico when he was a baby. \"Carlos registered with DACA two years ago, and \u2013 in his words \u2013 he was given 'wings.' He is a now full-time student at New Mexico State University, studying to be a mechanical engineer. He volunteers as firefighter. He works as a server at a local restaurant, and he began a drive to help Hurricane Harvey victims\u2026. Carlos\u2019s story can be told hundreds of thousands of times over.\"\r\n\"Congress must act, and we must act now. We owe it to these young people. We must give Carlos and all other DREAMers their wings,\" Udall said. \"Passing the DREAM Act is the morally right thing to do\u2026 so that hundreds of thousands of DREAMers can stop living in fear and move forward with their lives.\"\r\nThe full text of Udall\u2019s floor remarks is below.\r\nMr. President, the president terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program \u2013 DACA \u2013 three months ago. He gave Congress six months to act. We are no closer today to helping our DREAMers than the day the president so callously cancelled the program.\r\nBut we have almost 800,000 young people whose lives, dreams, and future hang in the balance. They are scared. Their families are scared. Everything they have worked for is at risk.\r\nDREAMers represent some of our very best and brightest. They are going to school, holding down jobs, volunteering in our communities. They want to be doctors, lawyers, engineers. They want to start businesses.\r\nThey came here as children, and they are American through and through. They love our country as much as any of us, and they want to stay and contribute.\r\nWe have almost 7,000 DREAMers in my home state of New Mexico. Carlos, here, is one of them. Carlos was brought to New Mexico from Mexico when he was less than one year old. New Mexico is the only home he has known.\r\nBecause of Carlos\u2019 immigration status, his opportunities were limited. He couldn\u2019t play sports in school, couldn\u2019t go on field trips -- even though he pledged allegiance to the United States just like his classmates.\r\nCarlos registered with DACA two years ago, and \u2013 in his words \u2013 he was given \u201cwings.\u201d He is a now fulltime student at New Mexico State University studying to be a mechanical engineer. He volunteers as firefighter. He works as a server at a local restaurant. And he began a drive to help Hurricane Harvey victims.\r\nCarlos says, \u201cWe as DREAMers have proven ourselves to be worthy of being here in the United States.\u201d\r\nCarlos\u2019 story can be told hundreds of thousands of times over.\r\nCongress must act, and we must act now. We owe it to these young people. We must give Carlos and all other DREAMers their wings.\r\nPassing the DREAM Act is the morally right thing to do. But it is also the economically smart thing to do. DREAMers\u2019 contributions to the U.S. economy are astounding. Their jobs span the spectrum \u2013 they work in health, education, nonprofits, wholesale, retail, business, and hold professional jobs.\r\nMost of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies employ DREAMers. That\u2019s why more than 400 CEOs of major U.S. companies have urged Congress to pass the DREAM Act.\r\nIf Congress fails to act, it will cost us 700,000 jobs \u2014 as many as 30,000 a month \u2013 causing chaos for employers. And we could see a $460 billion decrease in economic output over a decade. Social Security and Medicare contributions could drop by $39.3 billion over the same period.\r\nIn my state -- New Mexico would lose nearly 6,000 DACA workers and take a $385 million hit we simply cannot afford.\r\nMr. President, we have a bipartisan DREAM Act before us. Senator Durbin is working with our Republican colleagues and Republican friends to get this over the finish line.\r\nLet\u2019s do the thing right by these young people. And let\u2019s do it now. So that Carlos can become an engineer. And so that hundreds of thousands of DREAMers can stop living in fear and move forward with their lives. Mr. President, it is our moral obligation to do this.\r\nWe also must do right by the 11 million immigrants in our nation who are working, raising families, contributing to our economy, and helping in our communities. Congress must stop kicking the can down the road.\r\nWe must do our job. We must debate and pass comprehensive immigration reform. Law abiding immigrants who are contributing to our nation should be given a pathway to citizenship.\r\nMr. President, I yield the floor.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/news/press-releases/video-udall-calls-for-immediate-passage-of-the-dream-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4389690477401018, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}