WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke for eight hours on the House floor in a record-breaking speech on behalf of DREAMers, who are facing deportation if the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is not extended. During the “DACA-buster”, Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) offered Leader Pelosi a story from an Alabama DREAMer, Fernanda Vera, which Pelosi highlighted in her speech.

Watch the full video of Leader Pelosi reading the Alabama DREAMer’s story.

Below is the transcript of Fernanda Vera’s story:

My name is Fernanda Herrera. I came to the US when I was 2 and a half and grew up in Gadsden, AL where I attended Gadsden City High School and played the flute in the band, serving as section leader for two years. I moved to Birmingham in 2013 to attend Samford University as an honors student majoring in International Relations. I graduated this past May, with thousands out in loans for my degree and am hoping to attend law school. My parents and US-born little brother live in Ragland, where they own a small Mexican restaurant, under my name since I am the only person of age with a social security number. I recently had a car wreck that put me $40,000 further into debt. If DACA is taken away, I will not be able to work to pay back my loans, my hospital debt, my car payments, or my debt from helping my parents with their restaurant. Without a clean DREAM Act, my US citizen brother is forced to choose between having his sister or his parents here.

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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.