In biology with a minor in chemistry. In college he worked as a medical scribe for doctors in the emergency room in a small hospital in chattanooga and after decided he wanted to become an emergency room physician. He continued his education at loyola university, the school of medicine. Allow me a few seconds to praise this wonderful school. He was one of dozens of Daca Recipients, which was the First Medical School to admit daca students. They do not receive any special treatment in the Selection Process and they are not eligible for a penny in federal financial assistance. Many of them borrowed money from the state of illinois to complete their medical education in the hopes that once they are licensed they can come back and practice in our state which they promise to do. Heres what manuel says about what daca means to him. And i quote. Daca has opened up many doors for me. It allows me to serve people through emergency medicine. If daca ended, i would have to stop not only what i love doing but what i trained so hard to do. Today dr. Manuel bernell is an emergency resident at one of the busiest trauma hops in our city. His supervisor told him he did not have to treat covid19 patients because hes only a resident student but he stepped forward and volunteered to do it any way. His daca is set to expire in october. Will america be stronger if this doctor leaves, will we be better at the hospital and the Trauma Department if manuel is forced to leave this country . I cant imagine anyone would answer yes. Manuel and hundreds of thousands of other dreamers are calling on President Trump to and they are counting on those of us who serve in the senate to solve the crisis that President Trump alone created. As long as im a u. S. Senator, im going to continue to come to the floor of the senate to advocate for manuel and for thousands of others who simply want a chance to prove themselves to earn their way into americas future. It would be an american tragedy at this moment when we face this National Emergency to lose their brave and talented young people. They are saving lives every day, and they are risking their own to do it. Can we ask anything more of anyone else in this country . We must ensure that manuel and hundreds of thousands of others in our essential workforce are not forced to stop working when their services are needed now more than ever. And ultimately ultimately we need to pass legislation that is just common sense, that says that these young people who came here as kids and have worked doubly hard under the greatest oppressors and have made a success of their lives like this young man can stay in america and be part of our fiewmplet hes truly a health care here future. He is truly a Health Care Hero, an immigrant Health Care Hero and there are thousands just like him across america. We need them now more than ever. I see senator cortez masto is here and i will yield the floor to her. The presiding officer the senator from nevada. Ms. Cortez masto i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Cortez masto thank you. Mr. President , i rise, along with my good friend and colleague, the senior senator from illinois, to stress the importance of whats happening in this country right now and whos on the front line during this Health Care Crisis and why we need to support them. Theres no doubt i just came from nevada. Theres so many essential workers that are risking their lives as well as their loved ones to provide essential care and help for individuals not just in nevada but across the country. We were talking about Health Care Workers, were talking about transit drivers, sanitation workers, first responders, those who are working in the Grocery Store, those showing up every day to make sure that individuals have their groceries during this Health Care Crisis. So much is at stake right now and i do not want to forget the state and local government workers. Right now in my state there are so many state workers who are showing up to ensure that the individuals are getting the essential paycheck or the expanded Unemployment Insurance that we fought to make sure they can receive and they are showing up as well. I too stand with my colleague because i think its important that we recognize not only our Health Care Workers but some of those who need extra help from this legislature, and we spent, unfortunately, the last three years this administration of attacking them, and those are immigrants in nevada and across this country who are actually going out every day and risking their lives to help others in need and they are working in our health care. One of them i rise to talk about today. Her name is anna ludezma. She is a daca recipient in nevada and works in the pediatric i. C. U. As a nurse in las vegas. She has been in the United States since she was 7 years old. She was interested in health because of her aunt. She loves biology and how disease process works, but most of all, anna loves her patient. She says i love connecting with them over disney stuff. Anna will tell you that i think im a good pediatric nurse because at heart im a kid too. She, along with others, are working to help others in need during this Health Care Crisis. They are working as teachers, they are staffing retirement homes, taking care of atrisk seniors in the middle of a pandemic that targets our elders, they are harvesting, shelving and cooking food for all of us. More than 200,000 Daca Recipients in the United States are the front lines of health care, education, agriculture, and other essential jobs. And there are almost 5,000 of them in nevada alone, among the 12,000 nevada Daca Recipients. These are our friends. They are our neighbors. Yet this administration continues to demonize them with antiimmigrant rhetoric and has turned their lives upside down by trying to end daca. These are the Young Professionals at risk if the Supreme Court upholds President Trumps decision to terminate daca. These young men and women have grownup in our communities and they are giving back even in the face of their uncertain futures, they are still showing up to work each shift, still demonstrating by their every day heroism that they belong here. Now, more than ever, we need to understand that those who come to america in search of a better life dont diminish us. They enrich us. You can see how cruel and twisted the immigration debate in this country has become if you just think about this. In the middle of a Worldwide Health crisis when they should be focused on keeping their patients alive and limiting their own exposure, the 27,000 Daca Recipients in health care have to worry about their own legal status. Anna says that the Health Crisis her hospital is facing has almost managed to push out the fear that always is in the back of her mind about attacks on daca and attacks on her future. Almost, because it never really goes away. A few weeks ago anna was transferred to other parts of the hospital to help Adult Patients with covid19. She told me about the utter isolation of these patients who are fighting for their lives far from their loved ones. And she told me about former University MedicalCenter Friends and colleagues now in new york and in seattle who are witnessing the same scenes. Lately the number of children suffering from covid19 has increased in nevada. So anna is back in the pediatric i. C. U. Where patients are mostly asymptomatic. With these healthier patients easier to do what she does best which is to teach the kids about a procedure or operation they are facing, to distract them and making them laugh. We need to let anna do her job. We need to let the thousands of immigrants who are on the front line right now continue to do their jobs. We must allow her to keep serving the community shes known. We need to create a pathway for citizenship for so many like anna and we need to give them all the tools that they need to keep themselves and the rest of us healthy. You know, mr. President , annas story is an american story. One of struggle, courage, and sacrifice for your community in order to build a Brighter Future for those who come after. Im going to continue to fight for Daca Recipients and immigrants like anna and everyone else who has contributed not just in my state but in this country to not only enrich all of our lives but continue to contribute to our economy and to make our lives better. The least we can do is give them the peace of mind and let them know that the only country theyve ever known is one they can stay in forever. That is my fight, and, mr. President , i hope thats your fight and many of my colleagues. This is something that must be done. We have to pass legislation to make sure dreamers in this country and their parents have every opportunity to stay and find that pathway to citizenship. They are already contributing. So thank you, mr. President , and i yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from illinois. Mr. Durbin mr. President , i want to thank my colleague from nevada. Annas story is so touching, this young girl concerned about her own future, worried about deportation, gets into a giving, caring profession and risks her life in caring for those who may be suffering from covid19. To think that someone would question whether we want that kind of person in americas future is beyond me. Thank you for telling that story. Its an important part of the record. Mr. President , this week amid the devastating global coronavirus pandemic, we saw world powers do what world powers are supposed to do in this situation, join forces to raise funds for research, manufacture, and to distribute a vaccine and treatments. This makes obvious strategic and lifesaving sense being both the moral and strategic thing to do. You see, join forces, all of us working together will help speed up efforts and eventual discovery of a Coronavirus Vaccine that we all desperately seek. Many of us believe when that day comes and the vaccine is effective and safe he, we will still see our normal lives compromise dz. This vaccine will save lives around america and around the world. Who knows where that vaccine is going to be discovered, produced, distributed. So i want america in on this conversation from the start and in on the collective efforts. Clearly other World Leaders understand this and so when there was an effort to raise 8 billion 8 billion for the discovery of this new vaccine, they had a virtual global telephone conference. Our allies in the European Union and norway each offered to bif 1 billion to give 1 billion each for this goal. Who was absent from this critical effort to save lives around the world to discover this vaccine, including the distribution of it to those who need it in every corner of the world . Which country did not participate in this global virtual telephone conference . The United States of america. You see, in yet another shortsighted missed opportunity to address the coronavirus, this administration refused to participate. America was missing in action when leaders around the world came together with a determination to find and distribute a vaccine against coronavirus. The president s supporters in Congress Said nothing. Boasting instead on judicial appointmentings and other things on their mind. Given this president s penchant for blaming others but not himself for this virus, maybe this should come as no surprise, but it does because of the devastating consequences that could result. What does this mean for america if the United States sits on the sidelines while other countries set out to discover this lifesaving vaccine . Well, we still continue to have some of the best researchers in the world at the National Institutes of health, centers for Disease Control and prevention, many private universities and other researchers around this country. Many n. I. H. Funded researchers have spent years studying the coronavirus. Perhaps their knowledge could be helpful with these other countries in quickly developing an effective vaccine. Some Clinical Trials are already under way at the National Institutes of health. I want to commend dr. Frances collins who heads up the n. I. H. And of course dr. Anthony fauci, a friend of many years, for their amazing work. But its quite plausible, its even possible, that the best vaccine may turn up in another country. Theres efforts under way in england and germany and many other countries to find this vaccine as well. In rush to research and validate a vaccine, ramp up production, address global allocation and supply needs and foregoing access worldwide, where will the United States be . On the sidelines again . When the United States pursues a go it alone, America First not just America First but america only approach while the rest of the world is working together, where does that leave us . It hasnt been that long ago that the United States first opted to develop and distribute its own american coronavirus test kit. That turned out to be faulty. Instead of choosing the World Health Organizations test kit which was available at the time. That set our nation back at least a month, up to six weeks. In fact, many believe we still havent recovered from that critical first missed step by this administration. Even when its own incompetent response was increasingly obvious, President Trump turned and tried to place all the blame on the World Health Organization, even cutting off all u. S. Funding to this Critical International body with decades of experience in dealing with pandemic. The New York Times columnist nick cristov starkly wrote last month, and i quote, thousands of americans would be alive today if President Trump had spent more time listening to the World Health Organization instead of trying to destroy it. Dont get me wrong. W. H. O. And Many International bodies are imperfect and make mistakes. And they are often only as strong as their Member States are willing to help make them or help fund them. But the World Health Organization first warned of the coronavirus on january 4, issuing increasingly urgent warnings in february while the president was saying publicly that the issue was, quote, totally under control. American personnel at the World Health Organization were also sending warnings back to washington about the threat. The president s response on february 10, he said of the coronavirus, and i quote, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. On february 27, the president said, and i quote, its going to disappear. One day its like a miracle and it will disappear. Well, more than two months later, we are still waiting for that and praying for that and 70,000 americans have died. The w. H. O. Is a critical lifesaving body that helps eradicate polio, reduce the number of women and children that die in childbirth and stem malnutrition. The w. H. O. Led a historic Global Vaccination Campaign to eradicate smallpox. When it was issuing coronavirus warnings, the president and all of us should have been listening. Instead the president ignored them, chose to walk away from the World Health Organization, undermining its International Efforts and ultimately getting more Global Leadership to, of all nations, china. Which is only more than happy to step in when the United States steps away. We should be increasing our investment and leadership with the World Health Organization as one of the many efforts to stem this virus and not covering our ears and walking away from it. The World Health Organizations efforts to halt ebola are an example of what its work can do to save lives at the outbreak of a pandemic and stop one from reaching the United States. President s obama and george w. Bush understood this need for Global Health engagement. I was proud to rally to president bushs call to stem the scourge of aids around the world through a historic program, a bipartisa