Pride Month 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, our Founders did not give us a perfect nation. Even they knew that. When Thomas Jefferson, himself a slaveowner, reflected on the existence of slavery in a nation which claimed to believe that all men are created equal, he wrote: ``I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.''

Jefferson was not alone as a slaveowner. George Washington--the namesake of this great city and another great State, the father of our Nation--and his wife owned 300 slaves. Just minutes before he died, he asked his wife to bring the two copies of his last will for him to look at for one last time and to decide.

He handed one of the copies of the wills to his wife and said: Burn this one, and keep the other. What he burned would have released all of his slaves at the moment of his death. The one he signed said that they would continue to be his wife's slaves for as long as she lived. He was the father of our Nation. We might not have had an independent nation without his skill and leadership; yet he was not a perfect man by any means.

The true measure of a nation's greatness is not simply the words written by an earlier generation; it is the work of every generation to make those words not just ideals but facts. We see that work all around us today.

For weeks, Americans have joined together in an incredible display of constitutional petition of this government, of this Nation, for change. In cities large and small and in virtually every State, they are protesting systemic racism and police violence against people of color.

These protests have spread around the world. Videotapes and DNA evidence have done more to assault the foundation of justice in America than anything in our history.

In the midst of a pandemic caused by a new virus, a multi-ethnic, multigenerational alliance seems to have found a collective will to confront one of humanity's oldest viruses--the virus of racism.

It was a different protest 51 years ago this month that began one of the newest chapters of America's long struggle for equal rights. That protest is the reason that June is celebrated as Pride Month.

It started in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. Today, the name ``Stonewall'' stands as a milestone on America's journey toward equal justice, alongside such revered names as ``Selma'' and ``Seneca Falls.'' In 1969, however, the Stonewall Inn was a ramshackle refuge for outcasts--a home away from home for some of the poorest, most powerless members within one of America's most marginalized communities. Its patrons included drag queens and lesbians, transgender and gender nonconforming people, homeless LGBTQ youth who lived in nearby Christopher Street Park after being abandoned by their own families.

Police raids and arrests were regular events at the Stonewall Inn, as they were at most gay bars in America at that time, but something changed during that raid in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. Something in this great universe shifted. That night, when the police became violent, the patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back.

The Stonewall uprising was a 6-day protest against police mistreatment, and while the protests were contained almost entirely within Greenwich Village, they changed the world.

On the first anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the first Gay Pride parade was held in New York and Los Angeles and in the city of Chicago. Within 2 years of that uprising, there were gay rights organizations in every major city in the United States and Canada, Australia and Western Europe.

The month of June is now recognized throughout much of the world as Pride Month--a celebration of diversity, acceptance, and inclusion.

Last year, on the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, the grand marshal leading Chicago's Pride Parade was our city's first openly gay mayor, Lori Lightfoot--an incredible leader.

This year, most Pride parades and festivals in the United States and around the globe were canceled or transformed into virtual celebrations because of COVID-19, but those virtual gatherings still had much to celebrate.

We have witnessed profound progress in the half-century since Stonewall. Public attitudes about gay and trans rights have increased greatly. Marriage equality is now the law of the land. Openly gay men and women serve as corporate and civic leaders, as mayors, Governors, Members of Congress, and an openly gay, married man just ran a serious campaign for President. Gay men and lesbians serve openly in America's Armed Forces. While this administration has regrettably reinstated a ban on transgender persons serving openly in the military, trans men, women, and children are becoming more visible members in much of the rest of our society.

This June also brings a major new cause for celebration. In a landmark 6-to-3 ruling, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is an amazing story in history, where an ultra-conservative Congressman from Virginia in 1964 thought that he would torpedo the civil rights bill by adding the word ``sex'' into those bases for discrimination, thus inviting protection for women. He was sure that would be the end of the conversation. His amendment was adopted and of course led to a lot of debate on gender equality and ending gender discrimination. Little did he know--or many others--that it would lead to this historic Supreme Court ruling when it came to sexual orientation. This is history happening before our eyes, and thank goodness--thank goodness--we are alive to see it.

But work of equal justice under the law is never finished. We were reminded of that 2 weeks ago when the Trump administration released a discriminatory rule that attempts to eliminate explicit healthcare protections for LGBTQ Americans. We are reminded that the work of equality is not finished each time we learn of another victim of alarming violence--violence against Black transgender women, including the deaths of 25-year-old Riah Milton in Ohio and 27-year-old Dominique ``Rem'mie'' Fells in Philadelphia.

On May 29, 4 days after George Floyd's murder, more than 100 of the Nation's most prominent LGBTQ civil rights groups released a letter condemning racial violence. Their letter said that violence against transgender and gender nonconforming people of color happens ``with such regularity, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a[n] epidemic of violence.'' The groups went on to say: ``We understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than them, that our lives don't matter. . . . Today, we join together again to say Black Lives Matter and commit ourselves to the actions those words require.''

Among the organizations signing the pledge are the Human Rights Campaign, Equality Illinois, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

Nearly all Americans recognize Dr. King's ``I Have a Dream'' speech at the 1963 March on Washington. It was a great moment in America's long struggle for equal rights. But how many of us know that the organizational genius behind that great gathering was a gay Black man-- Bayard Rustin?

How many of us know the names of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera-- activists and transgender women of color, members of one of the most marginalized and victimized groups in America. They were also leaders of the Stonewall uprising. They both continued to fight for gay and trans rights all of their lives--until Marsha's death in 1992 and Sylvia's death a decade later.

Years after Stonewall, Marsha P. Johnson recalled:

History isn't something you look back and say it was inevitable. [History happens] because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive and of the moment, but these moments are cumulative realities.

James Baldwin, a brilliant writer and thinker, a gay Black man, warned us that ``nothing can be changed until it is faced.''

Stonewall was a tipping point. The protests today against the deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, and so many other Black men and women and children are, in fact, a tipping point.

Let's not look away from this historic moment of change. Let this Senate join on the right side of history. Let's not let a procedural setback on the floor of the Senate stop us from finding some common ground to move forward. Let's acknowledge the rightness of this month's Supreme Court decision and pass the Equality Act to make it plain that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal and will not be tolerated, not just at your place of employment but all across America in every walk of life. Let's act to end state- sanctioned violence and oppression against our Black and Brown brothers and sisters. Let's do our part, in our time, to make the noble promises of our Founders real for all Americans DACA

Mr. President, last week, in another landmark decision, the Supreme Court rejected President Trump's effort to repeal deportation protections for Dreamers and young immigrants who came to the United States as children.

In an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts--an opinion which I have here--the Court held that the President's decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program was ``arbitrary and capricious.''

It was 10 years ago--10 years--that I joined Republican Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana on a bipartisan basis to call on President Obama to use his legal authority to protect Dreamers from deportation. President Obama responded by creating DACA, which provides temporary--2 years at a time--protection from deportation to Dreamers if they register with the government, pay a substantial fee, and pass a criminal background check.

More than 800,000 Dreamers came forward to sign up for DACA. It unleashed the full potential of these young men and women, who are contributing to America as teachers and nurses and soldiers and small business owners. More than 200,000 DACA recipients are now characterized by our government as ``essential critical infrastructure workers.'' I didn't make that up; it was a definition of President Trump's own Department of Homeland Security. Two hundred thousand of the 800,000 DACA recipients are essential critical infrastructure workers. Among these essential workers are 41,700 DACA recipients in healthcare--doctors, intensive care nurses, paramedics, respiratory therapists.

But on September 5, 2017, President Trump repealed DACA. Hundreds of thousands of Dreamers faced losing their work permits and being deported to countries they barely remember. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has now rejected that effort.

Unfortunately, the President, through his tweets, has responded by attacking the Court and threatening the DACA protectees again. But Chief Justice Roberts made it clear it is not going to be easy for the President to carry out his threat. The Chief Justice wrote that in order to repeal DACA, the administration must consider ``accommodating particular reliance interests.'' Here is what it means: In order to repeal DACA, the administration must consider the interests of those who have come to rely on the program. This includes not just DACA recipients but their American citizen children, the schools where DACA recipients study and teach, and the employers who invested time and money in training them.

Today, I am calling on President Trump to do the right thing for our Nation and not make another effort to repeal DACA. Instead, the President should direct the Department of Homeland Security to reopen DACA. Since 2017, when the President announced the end of DACA, the program has been closed to new applicants. As a result, there are tens of thousands of Dreamers who have never been able to apply for their opportunity under DACA.

Now Congress also has a responsibility. Last week, President Trump tweeted, ``I have wanted to take care of DACA recipients better than the Do Nothing Democrats, but for two years they refused to negotiate.'' Here is the reality: President Trump has rejected numerous bipartisan offers to protect the Dreamers.

One example: On February 15, 2018, the Senate considered a bipartisan amendment offered by Republican Senator Mike Rounds and Independent Senator Angus King, which included a path to citizenship for Dreamers. A bipartisan majority of Senators supported the amendment, but it fell short of the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate because of the Trump administration's opposition. On that same day, the Senate voted on the President's immigration proposal, and that amendment failed by a bipartisan majority of 39 to 60. In other words, we came close to 60 in a bipartisan effort to answer the President's challenge. His response legislation received 39 votes for and 60 against in the Senate.

On June 4, 2019, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6, the Dream and Promise Act--legislation that would give Dreamers a path to citizenship--with a strong bipartisan vote. The Dream and Promise Act has now been pending in the Senate, on the desk of Senator McConnell, for more than 1 year.

On Monday, I sent a letter signed by all 47 Democratic Senators calling on Senator McConnell to immediately schedule a vote on the Dream and Promise Act. The President has challenged us: Do something legislatively. Do something, Congress.

Senator McConnell, it is within your power for us to do something and to do it quickly.

Over the years, I have come to the floor of the Senate many times to tell the simple stories of these Dreamers. These stories show what is at stake when we consider the fate of DACA

Today I want to tell you about Diana Jimenez. She is the 123rd Dreamer whose story I have told on the Senate floor. She came to the United States from Mexico at the age of 6 and grew up in Laredo, TX. She wrote to me, and here is what she said about her childhood:

Growing up in the United States was both great and challenging. I loved the people, the culture, the language. At times it was also hard. Assimilating and learning English, a totally new language for me, came with its setbacks. Still, my neighbors, my teachers and the community around me were very welcoming. I'll never forget that.

When Diana was 13, her mother was admitted to the hospital. Because her mother didn't speak English, Diana had to serve as a translator. This experience inspired her to become a nurse.

Diana attended Texas A&M. She was on the dean's list and offered a scholarship for academic accomplishments, but she had to turn it down because she is undocumented. She went on to earn her degree in nursing and history, along with a minor in economics.

Thanks to DACA, she now works as an operating room nurse on the cardiovascular/cardiothoracic specialty team in a hospital in Austin, TX. She is married. She has a baby girl.

Here is what Diane says about DACA:

DACA means opportunity to me. I am glad I live in a country that gives me the chance to better myself if I want to. There are doors and opportunities for the taking all around me, and DACA is the key to my success.

Now Diana is on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in a State that is seeing a dramatic increase in infection. She is worried about infecting her little girl. Here is what she says about her experience:

I have come in contact with patients infected with COVID multiple times, and I will continue to do so as long as I am doing my work. . . . [E]ven though this pandemic has affected both my personal and professional life, I will continue to do my job as a nurse.

I want to thank Diana Jimenez for her service. She is, in fact, a health hero. She is a DACA health hero. She is putting herself and her family at risk to save American lives. Can we ask for anything more? She shouldn't have to worry about whether a decision by this administration will lead to her deportation.

As long as I am a Senator, I am going to continue to come to the floor to tell the stories of people just like Diana Jimenez. It would be an American tragedy to deport this brave and talented nurse who is saving lives in the midst of this pandemic.

We must ensure that Diana and hundreds of thousands of others in our essential workforce are not stopped from working when the need for their service has never been greater, and we must give them the chance that they deserve to become American citizens.

Would America be better if Diana Jimenez was returned to Mexico, if this nurse left the operating room at that hospital, if she decided that she could no longer stay in the United States and was forced, deported to leave in the midst of this pandemic? Of course not. Every American knows that--Democrat, Republican, or Independent.

Why don't we stand together and remind the President that there are values worth fighting for, and one of them is to make sure that this land of opportunity also has room for the immigrants who bring so much to our shores.

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