The president kennedy documents. That is going to be live on washington journal. Join the discussion. Earlier this month, the ju dir jere Committee Held a committee on ending the deferred childhood act, known as daca and they are to come up with a more legal approach to come up by the end of the year. Welcome, everybody. Particularly to our witnesses on both panels, because i know that you put a lot of work into the preparation. We thank everybody for their participation, for their help. Before i give my Opening Statement for the topic of our hearing, i think that we all take a moment yesterday and today and for a long time in the future, but i do it now on behalf of the committee to recognize the victims of the Las Vegas Shooting and their loved ones. As you are aware, yesterday more than 59 americans lost their lives and more than 500 were injured. The carnage occurred, that occurred yesterday is truly heartbreaking. We are here today to consider how to address the issue created by president obamas unconstitutional executive action referred to as the deferreded action for childhood arrivals. We will all probably use the acronym daca. In september, President Trump gave six months to congress to act in a ak kccoraccordanc eshe constitution in reference to thousands of unauthorized immigrants. And we have been debating this for 16 year, and what type of legal status would be given to any immigrants brought here as children should have. Since 2001, the successive congresses have considered this question, and they did not address it in both 07 and 2013. Congress considered what we call comprehensive Immigration Reform. That would have legalized millions of unauthorized individuals, and however, these effort efforts have failed. The reason is simple, remembering what happened in 1986, the American People recognize that legalization without enforcement and a way to recognize a demand for chief labor would only continue a cycle for unauthorized immigration. That is why for Years Congress and the bipartisan fashion Work Together to strengthen the nations Border Security, and interior enforcement, but they have struggled to address some of the thornest elements of immigration. Nothing better highlights Congress Bipartisan commitment to prevent ilLegal Immigration than the secure fence act that. Bill authorized the government to construct 700 miles of fensing along the border. It passed with overwhelming bipartisan support including from then senators obama, biden, clinton and even our Ranking Member ms. Feinstein. As president george w. Bush said, that bill was quote an important step toward Immigration Reform, end quote. Why . Because the secured fence act was an effort to restore Peoples Trust in the integrity of the Law Enforcement system by taking the real steps to have Border Security. As recently as 2010, both democrats and republicans agreed that the only constitutional action that could be taken was for congress to act. President obama, himself, summed it up best when he said that he quote was not a king, end of quote, and was, quote, again, obliged to execute the law, and cant just make the laws himself, end of quote. To paraphrase, novelist t. H. Whi white, a king president obama was not, but a king he decided to be. In june of 2012, he decided to bipas the constitution, and use his words pen and phone to create daca, a largescaled executive action to authorize legal immigrants. And not only did he sustain deportation, but he allowed the rescipients to apply for work permit. They did in hundreds of thousands. Since 2012, the citizenship, and the Immigration Services has issued more than 710 work permits to daca residents. Grant ing ting the permits was r violation of the law and the constitution. From the beginning, his president obamas executive a action was riddled with numerous loopholes that allowed fraud and abuse. Since 2012, victims and whistleblowers have contacted me to expose how even criminal elements benefitted from the program. Thanks to the courage of these whistle bl whistleblowers and victims, i along with several of my colleagues sent over a dozen letters to the Obama Administration about the programs vulnerability to exploitation and abuse. In one such case, a daca recipient was granted a Work Authorization despite being under investigation by Homeland Security investigation for child exploitation. After receiving the work permit, the beneficiary was hired by a summer camp in california where he was eventually arrested for the distributing and possessing hundreds of pages of child pornography and for molesting a child in cair, and to be considered quote, unquote potentially egregious Public Safety end of quote, months before his arrest, he was nonetheless give anne work permit. Whistleblowers also reported how once eligible beneficiaries could continue employment once the daca valid, after benefits are discontinued, a recipient could work until the work document itself expired unless employer is aware of the termination. But in spite of this clear abuse of power and the multiple examples of frautd in the program, we were at least comforted that president obamas assurances that, quote unquote, this is not well, quote, this is not amnesty, this is not a path to citizenship, end of quote. Even this assurance was untrue. Preliminary data released to my office from citizenship and Immigration Services indicates that by the time the Trump Administration made its announcement on daca, almost 40,000 beneficiaries had been adjusted to lawful permanent resident status and were on a path to citizenship. Its clear that from the beginning, president obama programmed while not ill intentioned, never operated in the way it was supposed to. First of all, the program created a false sense of hope about and among daca beneficiaries. Thousands of them in reliance on president obamas ill conceived pen and phone promises, started working jobs, pursuing education, making steps toward productive contribution to american society, and after all is said and done, thats all at risk. On september 5th, this year, attorney general sessions announced the president had decided to rescind the obama program. In reaching this decision, general sessions acknowledged that what many of us have known all along, that daca was plain and simple an unconstitutional exercise authority by the executive branch. We all have empathy for young people who came here through no fault of their own, and for many of them, america is the only country they know. And the administration isnt without empathy. And were negotiating the fact that almost 700,000 young people relied on false promises of the Previous Administration, this administration didnt immediately terminate the program. Instead, they created a sixmonth winddown and allowed anyone who currently has daca to keep their Work Authorization until two years after daca status expires. This wind down is simple. To get this congress a chance to adopt a constitutional longterm solution. So here we are today. Almost a month after the administrations announcement. And now is the time to start considering a path towards consensus in earnest. First and foremost, any potential daca agreement has to include robust Border Security and by that, i dont mean a wall. Of course, tactical infrastructure like fencing is a part of the answer. But Border Security is more than that. Boa Border Security is an all of the above approach, including fencing, technology, funding for more Law Enforcement personnel and equipment, changes to substantive laws so the catch and release and other misguided policies are ended, and we need to require that the administration finally complete the biometric entry and exit system that congress has continually demanded and allocated money for, for over the last 15 years. Not anything of consequence being done. Second, and equally as important, for robust Border Security, weve got to make sure that any deal includes meaningful interior enforcement. The simplest, most common sense may be to insure we eliminate the root causes of undocumented immigration to make it the everify system mandatory for all employers. This system helped employers confirm that job applicants are here legally. I know this is a controversial and difficult step and some big corporate interests are going to object, but we know that jobs are the number one reason people come here. But everify isnt the only answer. We also need to make it easier for Law Enforcement to deport gang members, dangerous felons, sex offenders, and human traffickers. We need to fix the decision that requires us to release dangerous criminal elements. Finally, we need to take a hard look at our asylum and Immigration Court backlog and take steps to insure speedy deportation for those who deserve it while preserving lawful claims for those truly in need. It would be a dereliction of our duty if we failed to take steps to end at least some of the ilLegal Immigration that we know as we know it, and kick the can down the road so the future congresses have to address this very serious problem again in another 15 years. Im confident that if everybody is reasonable, we can reach a solution. And so we are here for this hearing today and the first panel is composed to government witnesses. And i hope they will be able to provide some insight into what reasons the Trump Administration thinks we should take to secure the border and the homeland in the process of helping daca kids. I know the administrations currently engaged in ongoing litigation and witnesses may be restrictioned in some questions they can answer. I can appreciate that and i hope my colleagues will do the same. However, to the extent questions can be answered and guidance can be given, we should expect forthrightness. And then ill talk about the second panel later on. Now, senator feinstein. Thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Thank you for your opening comments. On october 1st and what happened in las vegas, and i think this is one of the most difficult kinds of problems that we have to reconcile, but i really do believe we have to find a solution to whats happening, so i thank you for your comment and your opening. I would like to begin by welcoming one of our witnesses. Her name is denise rojas. Shes a daca recipient, and she has an incredible story to share with this committee. Im so proud of her and her accomplishments. Shes here from mt. Sinai medical school in new york city. And i just learned that the dean of the school is also here to witness the hearing. And i believe his name is dr. Muller, so i want to say welcome to him. I also want to point out that a fox news poll has shown that 83 support the pathway to citizenship for Illegal Immigrants. And particularly, overwhelming majorities favor granting work permits. 86 , 12 opposed. And u. S. Citizenship, 79 , 19 opposed. To Illegal Immigrants under the age of 30 brought here as children provided they pass a background check. This is higher than anything i have seen on health care or tax reform. And i hope it means something to the men and women of this body. The last nine months must have been a roller coaster of uncertainty and fear for young denise rojas and the rest of these young people. There are anywhere from 699,000 to 800,000 enrolled in the daca program who came to america at a very young age through no choice of their own. I do want to point out and commend senator durbin. He produced a bill in comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2013 which i voted for in the committee and on the floor. And it was a very thorough hearing. And i believe there were no amendments to daca. It was one of the things that we were all very proud of. He has been joined by senator graham on the republican side now to forge a bipartisan partnership to get this done, and i also want to thank senator graham for your leadership and help on this key and important issue. The typical person on daca came to this country at 6 years of age. Obviously, through no will of their own, as our chairman has just pointed out. So the United States is really the only home that they know. And around a third of these live in my state of california. So this program is particularly important for me and for my state, where it enjoys very strong support. They contribute to our economy in so many ways. And we know that 95 of Daca Recipients are working or are in school. They work as doctors, engineers, and lawyers. They study in high school and college. Theyre teachers in highneed schools and are serving in the military. They were on the front lines, helping their Community Members during recent floods and hurricanes. And some are helping their communities combat todays opioid epidemic. They have become a part of american society, and efforts to expel them, i believe, are unconscionable. Its not just california, but Daca Recipients came out of the shadows, and they contribute to communities all across this country. These young people have put their trust in the federal government, and they have done everything asked of them. Theyre counting on us to put aside partisanship and find a solution to this problem. Theyre looking to us to do whats right, and so by this poll and others, are the American People. Id like to quickly share the story of just one d. R. E. A. M. Er i met in august. Deiony sanchez. Deiony was brought to this country when she was just 1. Today, she lives in east oakland. Shes a 23yearold graduate from uc santa cruz, with a degree in psychology. After nearly 23 years in this country, her parents were recently deported. They had no criminal records. They paid their taxes. And they owned their home. Where i met the family. Her mom worked as an oncology nurse at highland hospital, and her dad worked as a truck driver. They paid their taxes. Now, deiony is left a daca recipient, as the major support and caregiver for her two younger u. S. Citizen sisters, may lynn and elizabeth, and shes facing the uncertainty that she, too, could lose protection and be deported. Every day, we fail to act means one more day that hundreds of thousands of d. R. E. A. M. Ers like her are forced to live with this cloud hanging over them. No family in america should be forced to face this fear and uncertainty at the hands of their own government. So i hope my colleagues will join me in supporting senators graham and durbin in passing the d. R. E. A. M. Act. These youth should not be political footballs. They shouldnt be asked to choose between their future and their families. And they should have the certainty of permanent immigration status. I have received literally hundreds of letters in support of the d. R. E. A. M. Act, which i ask mr. Chairman be inserted in the record. Without objection, it will be inserted. Thank you. I also want to take a moment to recognize members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who are in attendance today. Mr. Chairman, i appreciate the time, and i thank you. We have two members that lead the subcommittee for republican and democrats. Normally, they dont give Opening Statements, but im going to ask senator cornyn and senator durbin to do that accordingly, if theyre ready. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Today, were holden an important issue on an issue that has been a subject of intense debate for years. What should we do with those who are illegally brought to the United States at children but currently have no legal status. As we all know, in 2012, the Obama Administration created a program through the executive order referred to as daca, deferred action for childhood arrivals. If you arrived in the United States before age 16 and met certain criteria, you could receive deferred action. Deferred action, of course, is a form of prosecutorial discretion that temporarily protects a person from removal and authorized the individual to work. While the daca program was designed to help those who were brought here illegally, it was not created lawfully. I remember sitting at the white house with some other senators and congressmen imploring the president after the election in 2012 not to do this unilaterally, but he decided to proceed anyway. On september 5th, President Trump announced he was phasing out the daca program by march 5th, 2018. And i think President Trump was right to do so. This is a responsibility of the Congress Working with the president , and we will embrace that responsibility. By making this announcement, the president did what should have been done long ago. He put the decision in the hands of congress to find a solution for Daca Recipients. And im confident that working together we can do so. Today, approximately 800,000 individuals have benefitted from daca. The time is right for congress to develop a solution for these young adults who were brought to the United States illegally by their parents. The very reason they have no legal status is because t