-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, when I hear the Republican leader come to the floor and talk about the fact that President Biden has waited until this point in his first term to issue an Executive order on border security, I can't help but think how long the Senate has waited to do anything on immigration.
The Senator from Kentucky knows as well as I do that for more than 30 years, this Senate has failed to pass any meaningful immigration legislation.
Part of the problem on our border today hearkens back to decades of neglect by the Senate and the House of Representatives to meet their constitutional responsibility to upgrade our laws.
How many times have you heard it said that our immigration legal system is broken? They are right. I happen to know that. I have paid personal attention to this issue for a long time.
For the Senator from Kentucky to berate President Biden because he waited until this moment in his first term to take action is to ignore the obvious.
We passed comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. Senate, and it was passed by more than 60 votes. It was sent to the Republican House of Representatives. They refused to act on it.
To bring it closer to home, we were told last October not to pass any defense supplemental bill unless it included a provision related to border security. So we waited for a bipartisan group of three Senators--one Republican, one Independent, and one Democrat. Senator Lankford led the effort on behalf of Republicans. We waited until they produced a work product which, in fact, President Biden embraced. Though it was controversial, I felt it was a reasonable step forward.
What happened at that moment? We had a chance to do something-- finally, to do something--in the Senate on immigration. We had a bipartisan bill, a bill which was crafted by able Members of the Senate and addressed the major problems facing us on the border.
What happened? Do you remember? I will tell you exactly what happened. Donald Trump, former President of the United States, announced he opposed the bill, instructed any Republican who happened to agree with his point of view to oppose it as well, and then said: And if you want to assign any blame, blame me. Well, I am blaming him. A chance to pass legislation was stopped by Donald Trump and the Republicans in the Senate even though they initiated the process themselves.
That is the reality of the status that President Biden faces on the border.
We are facing the largest refugee crisis in modern history all over the world, and we are seeing it on our southern border and in the United States as well. The question is, Will we do anything?
President Biden has decided to step forward with an Executive order which would limit the access of individuals between ports of entry on the border in an effort to slow down the pace of those presenting themselves. That, to me, is a step in the right direction.
I wish he would do more. I wish he would also do something to help those immigrants in the United States who have shown that they can be worthy citizens of this country, have contributed mightily toward the betterment of this country, and have been here long enough to prove that that is true. I think they deserve opportunities and legal recognition. I think that should be included.
But for now to argue from the Senate floor, where little or nothing has taken place on immigration reform in more than 30 years, that President Biden isn't moving quickly enough is a really difficult argument to understand, let alone explain to anyone.
Let me say another word. To call those people who present themselves for asylum in the United States and who are waiting for their case to be resolved in court illegal aliens is a misnomer. They are here by a legal recognition status as asylees seeking protection. A final status has not been determined, and that will determine what their final classification will be. But at this point, they are legally in the United States awaiting a hearing. To call them illegal is not proper.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source