By Bryant Daniels, Director of Public Affairs, Office of Congressman Eliot L. Engel

Nov. 1, 2017:  Congressman Eliot Engel took to the House floor on October 25 to urge his colleagues to work together and immediately pass the DREAM Act, legislation that would protect the more than 800,000 young DACA recipients whose status in this country has been jeopardized. 

Below is the full text of Congressman Engel's remarks as prepared for delivery:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on the House leadership to bring up the DREAM Act.

Our Dreamers, who came to this country as children, were brought by their parents for a chance to pursue the American Dream. These young Americans go to our colleges and universities, they are our teachers and doctors, and serve in our military.

We cannot afford to upend the lives and dreams of these 800,000 DACA recipients; people like Andres, a Dreamer who lives in my district. Andres came to this country as a child and America is the only home he knows. He attended school here, earned his associates degree, and became a building engineer. He built his personal relationships in our country and contributes every day to our society. His work, his friends, and his family are all in the United States. It would be a cruel mistake to force him to give all that up and send him back to a country he barely knows.

Nearly 9 out of 10 Americans support the DACA program. It is our responsibility to the American people and to the hundreds of thousands of young dreamers in this country to pass the DREAM Act now. Thank you.

Pictured here:  Congressman Eliot L. Engel with Dreamers.

Photo courtesy Office of Congressman Eliot L. Engel