Alex Padilla Throws Supports Behind DACA Recipients Amid Trump Administration's 'Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric'

Forbes Breaking News

During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) spoke about DACA recipients and the DREAM Act.

Transcript

00:00Senator from California. Thank you, Mr. President. Colleagues, time and time again,

00:07we've seen one of the most frequently called plays out of the Trump playbook.

00:15When everything else is going wrong, shift the narrative. Scapegoat immigrants. Blame

00:23immigrants for whatever your failure is at the moment. Well, today, between his failing trade

00:32wars that are raising the cost of living on working families across the country, to his

00:38losses in federal court and delays in Congress on their efforts to give billionaires even bigger tax

00:46breaks, and even the embarrassing breakup recently with his former BBFF, billionaire best friend

00:56forever, Elon Musk, it's safe to say that Donald Trump is grasping for anything he can do to change

01:05the narrative, to distract us of the damage that his political agenda is going on. Now,

01:11the smart thing would be to actually change course, rectify things, do things in the interest

01:19of our nation and our economy. But what has he chosen to do instead? To double down. And in

01:26order to distract the country from his failures and his efforts to, quote, flood the zone, Donald

01:35Trump is expanding his deportation agenda far beyond the focus and targeting of violent and dangerous

01:45criminals that he claimed would be the strategy. He's so desperate to show quick results that he's

01:53even throwing due process rights out the window for so many. The due process rights, by the way, that I know

02:01most, most of you, if not all of you, should agree are paramount, foundational to our democracy.

02:10And as we continue to see this week, Trump is launching indiscriminate ICE raids in the Los Angeles

02:18region, followed by a chaotic escalation, federalizing California's National Guard and even mobilizing

02:28the Marines. It's personal for me, not just because Los Angeles is home, I was born and raised in Los

02:35Angeles, but as a proud son of immigrants, I know the true story of the vast majority of immigrants

02:43and immigrant families in Los Angeles, throughout California, and throughout the country.

02:49But instead of honoring those contributions

02:52and accepting there's no disagreement with the prioritization and targeting of violent criminals,

02:59but the vast majority of folks, their contributions deserve to be honored. Instead, Donald Trump is

03:07manufacturing a crisis to once again, not just distract us, but divide us. And just as he's always done,

03:17he's using immigrants to do it. So I can't help but speak up and remind us, immigrants are not

03:24political pawns for his agenda, just as service members, women and men are not political pawns for his

03:35agenda. So yes, as we should be celebrating the 13th anniversary of DACA this week, hundreds of

03:47thousands of thousands of DACA recipients and dreamers are actually now worried that they are at risk,

03:56at further risk, that they could be next as President Trump struggles to find enough violent criminals

04:04to detain and deport to meet a campaign promise. Since he can't get his numbers there, he'll look elsewhere.

04:14So I want to take this moment to make very clear. Dreamers are our neighbors. Dreamers are our loved ones.

04:29These are young people who are Americans in every sense of the word, except for one important piece of

04:36paperwork, including over 160,000 DACA recipients in the state of California alone.

04:45Yet because of congressional Republicans' refusal to act, dreamers live at a minimum in a constant state of

04:55uncertainty, but oftentimes in a constant state of fear.

04:59They deserve better. Mr. President, they deserve permanent protections.

05:09And this isn't just a moral issue, as righteous and compelling as those moral arguments should be.

05:18Colleagues, if that doesn't get you, you should be moved by the economic issues that this represents.

05:25Because if through the president or through Republican actions in Congress,

05:33you were to take away work authorization for hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients,

05:40that's reducing our workforce at a time when we're trying to grow the workforce and grow the economy.

05:46If DACA were to come to an end, it could strip our workforce of over 400,000 workers and cost our country

05:57nearly $650 billion. Yes, they too are productive. I'm talking about dreamers who work as teachers,

06:09as caregivers, as nurses and doctors, as construction workers, as food service workers, and so many other key

06:19industries for our economy. And there are hardworking community members who pay taxes just like the rest of us

06:28and just want a chance to work hard and raise a family in the country that they love.

06:35They deserve peace of mind, the peace of mind to know that they are safe here at home. And that's why I'm proud to

06:45support the DREAM Act, a bill to provide permanent protections for dreamers who contribute so much to our

06:52country. It's the least that we can do for dreamers who have spent decades contributing to the nation.

07:00And for my Republican colleagues, who may be caught up in the heat of the moment and trapped in this anti-immigrant rhetoric

07:10in our current political climate on the right, I'll say this.

07:15Dreamers make our communities better.

07:21Dreamers make our economy stronger. And dreamers make our nation stronger.

07:33The DREAM Act is a common sense bill that has enjoyed bipartisan support.

07:40So I urge you to join me in supporting the DREAM Act now and giving these young people the certainty

07:47and the protections that they deserve and strengthen our nation in the process.

07:55Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

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