Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Vargas) for his advocacy for decades on behalf of immigrants and his community.

It has been nearly 2 years since the Trump administration arbitrarily ended the DACA program, throwing the lives of these thousands of young people into turmoil. Despite bipartisan efforts to provide Dreamers with a path to citizenship and the certainty that they deserve, the Trump administration has done all it can to block progress on this issue.

Earlier this year, we learned about Republicans' latest efforts to deny these young immigrants access to the American Dream. For years, FHA-backed loans have made it possible for borrowers with little savings and a low downpayment to become homeowners, giving young families a chance at building generational wealth.

This critical resource helps to build our middle class, invigorates local economies, and gives families security to control their own future. Under the Trump administration, HUD has instructed lenders to deny this opportunity to DACA recipients by declaring them ineligible for FHA-backed home loans.

Let me be clear: This new and cruel policy shift takes away a key tool to help Dreamers succeed in this country, allowing the President's anti-immigrant agenda to seep into our Nation's housing policy.

DACA recipients are every bit as American as anyone in this Chamber today. They grew up in this country. They have started businesses and careers in this country. They are raising families in this country. If our government will not take the necessary steps to allow them to live freely as citizens in this country, the least we can do is to make sure that they will be successful here.

That is why I am proud to support the amendment by Mr. Vargas, which would give Dreamers the opportunity to use FHA-backed loans to become homeowners and to build their futures in the only country that they have ever known.

Mr. Chair, again, I thank Mr. Vargas for this amendment.

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