WATCH: On Senate Floor, Sen. Schiff Delivers Remarks Honoring 14th Anniversary of DACA

Schiff: "Congress has failed to act at every turn to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. But it's within our power to do so…we just need to act"

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor in honor of the 14^th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program - known across the country as DACA.

In his remarks, Schiff highlighted the enormous impact of DACA and how it has provided more than 800,000 young people a shot at the American Dream. Schiff emphasized the importance of Congress and the administration working together to find a pathway to preserve, codify, and extend the DACA program, and provide all Dreamers a real pathway to citizenship.

Watch his full speech HERE. Download remarks HERE.

Read the transcript of his remarks as delivered below:

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program - known across the country as DACA.

As a Senator for California, home to thousands of Dreamers and DACA recipients, I stand here to acknowledge the enormous impact of DACA, a program that's provided more than 800,000 young people a shot at the American Dream.

A chance to form families, buy a home, attend college, achieve a career, and pursue their dreams.

And a chance to feel safe in the only place that they have ever called home.

Today, we also reflect on the road ahead as we seek to achieve a permanent solution for Dreamers: a pathway to citizenship.

Most Dreamers arrived in the U.S. as children, have grown up in the United States, and spent the vast majority of their lives here.

DACA recipients, one of every four of whom live in California, are part of the fabric of our communities and essential to our economy.

They are interwoven in the very fabric of our society.

They are our doctors, our teachers, our nurses, our engineers.

They are our neighbors and contribute nearly $17 billion to the U.S. economy annually. They are our family and friends. They want to be our fellow citizens.

Despite the relief this program has provided in the past, hundreds of thousands of Dreamers and DACA recipients live day to day facing an oppressive uncertainty and they have faced that for years. Living from one court case to the next. One presidential whim to the next.

And with each passing anniversary, we are reminded how fragile this lifeline has turned out to be.

Because of this administration's draconian immigration policies, thousands of Dreamers, and many others are living in a constant of fear of deportation.

Since the program was created, Republicans have tried to strip DACA recipients of their protections - repeatedly attacking the program in the courts, failing to support comprehensive immigration reform, refusing DACA recipients a pathway to citizenship, and creating significant delays in their ability to renew their status and work authorizations.

Right now, many DACA recipients are being forced out of their status and losing their jobs through no fault of their own.

Under this administration, 261 recipients have been detained. 261 DACA recipients detained. And dozens have been deported.

In March, I met with María, a DACA recipient from Sacramento. María was wrongly detained and deported just 24 hours after what she thought would be a routine immigration appointment. She has lived in the United States for nearly 30 years, and yet even with her DACA protections, she was deported and separated from her daughter - causing enormous pain and fear. She is now back in the United States after a judge ruled her deportation unlawful, but this never should have happened in the first place.

Every month, I receive alarming letters from constituents concerned that their DACA status is going to be taken away and they will be separated from their family and friends.

Elidio, a DACA recipient from the Bay Area, wrote in a letter to me:

"I was recently diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, and I was inquiring if you can help out with an inquiry on the timetable of the process. My work authorization is set to expire soon and with it the prospects of losing my health insurance which I deeply rely on."

His life - his very life - depends on the renewal of his DACA application.

Another of my constituents, Ravina from the Inland Empire, wrote to express frustrations and deep concerns with ongoing renewal delays - which have already negatively impacted them.

They came to this country as a one-year-old. Now, they're a civil engineer, living what they called a 'dream come true' and contributing to California's vital infrastructure and transportation sectors - but that dream has always carried with it the threat of an expiration date due to processing delays and the uncertainty of the program.

Ravina's work permit lapsed due to deliberate delays on the part of this administration, and they are now on mandatory leave and at risk of losing their job entirely.

They want to work. They want a stable future. They want, as with all DACA recipients, certainty.

Certainty that from one day to another they will not be forced to leave this country, their home.

Another of my constituents, Marco from the Southern California area, also wrote to me worried about the future. He works for a local health department while going to school to obtain a degree in microbiology.

Since he doesn't qualify for federal student aid, he is paying everything out of pocket - working while a student to get by.

Without his work authorization, he could lose his job and ultimately be forced to drop out of college.

These stories are real. Their constant worry is real. These Dreamers just want a permanent fix and a pathway forward.

My constituent services team is working diligently to assist DACA recipients with their applications, but we need something more permanent.

We need to provide Dreamers a pathway to citizenship in this country and ensure that they and their families are not living in limbo that they have the certainty they need to achieve the American Dream.

Just recently, Congress voted to give ICE and CBP a budget so astronomical that it rivals the military budget of many industrialized nations.

All in the service of a draconian immigration enforcement agenda that is anything but American.

And this comes at a time when instead of addressing our nation's challenges - American taxpayers are being forced to give even more to ICE and Border Patrol agents.

More money to fuel cruel immigration policy and raids that are separating families.

More money for an out-of-control federal police force without even a modicum of accountability.

Including agents that have killed American citizens in cold blood, in broad daylight, on video, for exercising their Constitutionally protected right of free speech.

These agents have broken into homes, refused to show their faces or their badges, and have ripped children from their parents.

If we can afford $70 billion more for these agents, why can't we afford a clear path for Dreamers.

Why can't we afford to process work applications in a timely way?

But of course, we can, if there's the will to do it.

This administration could start fixing the delays that DACA recipients are facing. This won't just help families across the country; it will also help stabilize the workforce and boost our economy.

But Congress itself needs to act as well. Because we have failed at every turn to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. And it's within our power to do so.

President Trump once said he himself believed that Dreamers need protection.

He once said: "I'd love to be able to do something for them…they should feel safe, but I'd like to be able to do something."

That was then. I guess we are living in a different kind of now.

But nevertheless, this body should act.

Members on both sides of the aisle should recommit today to work together to find a pathway to preserve, codify, and extend the DACA program, and provide all Dreamers a real pathway to citizenship.

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