Durbin Announces Tereza Lee, His Inspiration For The Dream Act, As His Guest For President Trump's State Of The Union Address

Tereza Lee was Durbin's inspiration for writing the Dream Act in 2001

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that he will host Tereza Lee as his guest for President Trump's State of the Union Address. Tereza was Durbin's inspiration to write the Dream Act in 2001 when he learned of her story after outreach by Ann Monaco, Tereza's teacher at the Merit School of Music in Chicago. Tereza was a musical prodigy who had played as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She had been accepted into several of the country's most prestigious music schools, but she had a problem-her parents had brought her to the United States when she was two, and she was undocumented.

"My office contacted the Immigration and Naturalization Service to see how we could help Tereza, and they told us there was only one option: Tereza would have to leave the United States for 10 years," Durbin said. "I was frustrated by the lack of options in our immigration system for these young people who were brought here as children and infants by their parents. That's when I started working on the Dream Act. Simply put, Tereza was my inspiration."

Beginning in 2001, Durbin introduced the Dream Act to give young immigrants the chance to earn U.S. citizenship. He has introduced the legislation every Congress since. The bipartisan legislation would allow noncitizens without lawful status who were brought to the United States as children and meet certain education, military service, or work requirements to earn lawful permanent residence. These young people, known as Dreamers, have lived in America since they were children, built their lives here, and are American in every way except for their immigration status. However, under current law there is often no chance for them to ever become citizens and fulfill their potential.

In 2010, Durbin sent a letter, joined by the late Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), asking then-President Obama to stop the deportation of Dreamers. In 2012, President Obama responded by announcing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. More than 830,000 Dreamers have since come forward and received DACA, which has allowed them to contribute more fully to their country as teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, and small business owners. As of September 2024, roughly 530,000 people had active DACA status. Over the years, Durbin has told the stories of 150 Dreamers on the Senate Floor. Durbin introduced the Dream Act of 2025 with U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in December.

"Tereza went on to obtain her BA, Masters, and Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music and has been a teacher there since 2011. In 2009, Tereza played her debut at Carnegie Hall, and this year, she has been named Teacher of the Year at Church Street School and will be honored at their annual gala next month," Durbin said. "Thankfully today, Tereza is an American citizen. However, over the past 24 years, I have met hundreds of other amazing young men and women-Dreamers-who are American in every sense of the word except on paper. But because Congress has failed to pass the Dream Act and with DACA hanging by a thread in the courts, these Dreamers live each day in fear of deportation."

Durbin continued, "I am forever grateful to Tereza Lee for her bravery in sharing her story. Because of her, more than 500,000 people have active DACA status today and are able to work and contribute to their communities. But my work is not yet done. Passage of the Dream Act is a matter of simple American fairness and justice. To the Dreamers who have been with me in this fight: I promise to do everything in my power to fight for you and your future every day. As I have said to you many times: I'm not giving up on you. Don't give up on me."

Durbin concluded, "President Trump's animus towards immigrants is on full display in his second term. He attempted to eliminate DACA during his first term, and now, his Administration is doing everything it can to strip Dreamers of their lawful presence and deport them from the country they grew up in. Only Congress can give Dreamers the stability they crave and deserve. The time to pass the Dream Act is now."

The Dream Act was included in the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill that Durbin coauthored as part of the "Gang of Eight" - made up of four Democrats and four Republicans. The 2013 bill passed the Senate on a strong bipartisan vote of 68-32, but the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives refused to consider it. Over the years, Senate Republicans have filibustered the Dream Act at least five times.

Photos of Durbin and Tereza Lee over the years are available here.

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