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Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I am heartened and encouraged that there is finally a bipartisan agreement to provide Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and Taiwan critical funding to meet their urgent national security and humanitarian needs. It should have happened months ago, but Republicans demanded that any discussion of this assistance be tied to changes in border policy here in the United States, using national security as a bargaining chip and gambling, sadly, with people's lives. The future and fate of Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific hung in the balance.
Last week, the European Union reached an agreement to provide an additional $54 billion to stand by Ukraine and shore up its war-ravaged economy, bringing the total European Union support to well over $100 billion and comparable to what the United States has done.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin continues to think he has more resolve than we do, reveling in his belief that Western democracy is unable to sustain its rejection of Russian tyranny. But more than just Putin, other destabilizing forces around the world are watching what we do, from Iran to North Korea. We must prove to them our commitment to democratic ideals.
Our response to Putin's aggression has consequences--not just in Ukraine or even in Russia but global and historic consequences. In fact, NATO's Secretary General Stoltenberg recently issued a very plain warning to all of us in the West. He said:
If Putin wins . . . there is a real risk that his aggression will not end there.
Putin will continue to wage his war beyond Ukraine. Further, if other despots sense Western weakness, they will be emboldened to attempt their own aggression.
Stoltenberg went on to say:
Our support is not charity. It is an investment in our security.
It is time for Speaker Johnson and Republicans to realize that bipartisanship is the only--the only--way to ensure that Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and innocent civilians in Gaza will receive critical, lifesaving assistance.
Let's not flinch when it comes to standing up to such obvious threats to democracy and the rule of law. The world is watching. That is why we must pass this national security package.
But this agreement also addresses our immigration policy. And let me be clear. We do need to fix our disastrous immigration laws and secure the border. That has been a fact for more than three decades. That is why I have worked for years to pass bipartisan legislation that would fix our immigration system.
Leader Schumer came to the floor earlier and recalled the time when the so-called Gang of 8--four Democrats and four Republicans--worked for months to put together a measure which passed with a bipartisan rollcall on the floor of the Senate. I was honored to be part of that effort.
This bill that we have before us includes important measures, such as a one-time increase in green cards and protections for the children of H-1B visa holders who age out of legal status when they turn 21.
I am deeply, deeply disappointed that this bill does not include a path to citizenship for Dreamers, recipients of temporary protected status, farmworkers, or other essential people who have spent years contributing to our society. These individuals fill a critical role in America.
A study showed that undocumented immigrants--undocumented immigrants--pay nearly $80 billion in Federal and $40 billion in State and local taxes every single year. Many of these immigrants were brought to the United States as children. They don't know any other home. Yet, without congressional action, they spend each day in fear of being deported.
Madam President, 12 years ago, in response to a bipartisan request from myself and the late Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, President Obama established the DACA Program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It really was a reflection of the DREAM Act, which I had introduced over 20 years ago.
DACA has protected more than 800,000 young people from deportation, all of whom arrived in our country as children. These young people are known today as Dreamers. They grew up alongside our kids, and many have gone on to serve our Nation as servicemembers, doctors, first responders. They believe in the American dream.
I have come to the floor of the Senate 138 times--this is it--to tell their stories. I don't think there is any more compelling argument to be made for the Dreamers and DACA than to let people know exactly who they are, what they have done, and what they dream of.
This is a story of a young woman who came to America at the age of 4, Alyssandra Abrenica. She first arrived in Orange County, CA, from the Philippines, and she vividly remembers sharing a single, tiny room with all six of her family members.
While attending college, Alyssandra discovered a passion for healthcare, and she applied to the only medical school which was accepting Dreamers at the time, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago. In 2020, she was accepted to the school and received one of the first of the American Medical Association's DREAM MD Equity Scholarships, which is given to DACA recipients or first- generation immigrants to study medicine.
DACA was always intended to be a temporary solution, and since President Obama established the program, Republicans, for reasons I cannot explain to you in any political or human terms, have waged a relentless campaign to overturn it and to deport these Dreamers back to countries they may not even remember.
Last September, a Federal judge in Texas declared the DACA Program illegal. Although the decision left in place protections for current DACA recipients like Alyssandra while the appeal is pending, they live in fear the next court decision will end their careers and upend their lives.
Until a permanent solution is written into law, Alyssandra's service to her community is at risk, as is the service of other Dreamers who work as teachers, doctors, engineers, and in so many more important professions. The permanent solution is enacting the DREAM Act, a piece of legislation which I have mentioned that I introduced two decades ago. It would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers across America and allow them to live stable lives and to live out the American dream, which they richly deserve.
Immigrants have been a vital part of the American success story. Our Nation still needs them. If DACA is struck down, experts predict that our economy will lose over $11 billion a year in lost wages. Moreover, as we face a decreasing population and shortages of medical professionals, immigrants can help mitigate that gap. Without continued immigration, the U.S. working-age population will shrink by over 6 million by the year 2040. As Americans retire, this could lead to a 23- percent reduction in monthly Social Security payouts to retirees. Remember, these immigrants, even undocumented, and Dreamers are paying taxes and paying into Social Security for us, for our children, for the next generation.
To resolve these challenges, we need to create additional lawful pathways for immigrants while also providing legal status for our undocumented population who have been here for decades. That is why good-faith efforts to reform and improve our broken immigration system cannot stop with this bill.
Madam President, I think about the situation with these Dreamers and what they are facing and how many of them I have met over the years. When I first introduced the bill, they used to come up to me in Chicago, wait until it got dark outside so that no one would see them, and they would whisper to me: ``I am a Dreamer. Can you help me?''
It became a cause for me, and certainly I have worked at it. I am disappointed that I cannot tell a story of success even greater than we have achieved with DACA. But they are still waiting to hear.
This bill that we are considering gives some help to what they call documented Dreamers. Here is how it works. The H-1B visa is offered to foreign experts and professionals to come to the United States and work for 3 years--renewable 3 years. They can bring their families with them.
A lot of people from China, from India, and from other places come and take some critically important jobs in our economy under this program of H-1B. They are accompanied by their families. They continue to work, extending year after year, in the hopes that eventually they will become citizens themselves of the United States through what is called a green card. While they are doing this, their spouses cannot legally work in many instances, and their children are running a real risk.
You see, when these kids reach the age of 21, they are no longer eligible to stay with their families. Now, these kids could have spent their whole lives in America because their families came here. They could have gone to school and succeeded over and over again. But to have a future in America, they need a green card. And if they don't get it by age 21, they are eligible for deportation.
Does that make any sense at all? Well, this bill starts to solve that problem. And I certainly support the efforts to solve it and applaud those who are behind it.
But the same conditions apply to Dreamers, brought here as little children. They were raised in the United States, went to school in the United States, stood up and pledged allegiance to that flag in the classroom every single morning. And they asked to be a part of our future. They did nothing wrong. They were kids when they were brought here. Why they weren't included in this bill, I don't know.
I am sorry to say, I think there are a few Senators who are just dead-set on stopping the Dreamers and DACA every chance they get. What a loss that would be to America--for us to lose that talent, that drive, that determination, that important part of our future. And what a commentary it is on us as Americans that our Nation of immigrants has no room for Alyssandra and so many others who can make this a better nation.
There are thousands of them. There were 800,000 under DACA, initially; and there are many more who are still eligible. I am sorry this bill does not include that provision for the Dreamers. But I will tell you this: I will fight for every opportunity I have to bring the Dream Act before the U.S. Senate in the hope that one day we will give these young people exactly what they deserve--part of America's future.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
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