Good afternoon. On behalf of the 12 million members of the AFL-CIO, I’d like to welcome each and every one of you to the House of Labor.

In this house, we’re not divided as immigrants or native-born. We are united by our vision and values—our vision of an America where hard work is fairly rewarded.

And as we stand together today, it’s our pleasure to thank President Obama for showing political courage by deferring the deportation of one million young people who are eligible for the DREAM Act.

I want to thank everyone who has poured creativity, energy and courage into this movement for fairness, and I especially want to recognize and salute the millions of aspiring U.S. citizens who live and work in the United States.

With your exercise of free speech, with your public activism… you have been showing us all what it is to be a responsible and active citizen of the United States…. Unafraid to raise your voice. Passionate in your resolve. Fearless in your organizing.

Everyone in America could learn a lesson from you, and I promise you that the labor movement has learned a critical lesson from you, and it’s one we take to heart.

I’ve seen you build momentum for a movement in support of a beautiful and necessary piece of legislation that languished unmoving in the halls of Congress.

I’ve watched as you built a moral case for the dream that one day hard-working immigrants who know no country but ours will be helped to citizenship with a clear path, not hounded with threats of detention and deportation. And I’ve seen you bring a basic and humanistic approach to the entire immigration debate.

That in itself is a monumental achievement.

So let’s take this victory and celebrate. Enjoy it. We have a lot of work to do. I say “we” because I promise that the labor movement will keep working with the DREAMers and with communities across the country as together we continue to struggle to transform real and comprehensive immigration reform from a dream into a reality.

Thank you, and God bless you.