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Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, we can all agree that the border of the United States should be secure. And, of course, we must deport any dangerous individuals who are here unlawfully.
But the Executive orders that President Trump signed this past week don't target criminals. In fact, President Trump terminated a Biden administration policy that required immigration officials to prioritize for arrest and deportation individuals who threaten public safety or national security. Instead, President Trump has authorized Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers known as ICE officers, to make arrests in schools, churches, and courthouses across the country. The President has reportedly even directed ICE to set quotas for arrest, ramping up from a few hundred a day to more than 1,500 per day.
These kinds of arbitrary quotas will ensure that essential workers, family members of U.S. citizens, and so many others who are no threat to this country and are not criminals are caught up in these mass deportations.
For example, just this weekend, Trump officials stated that the raids they conducted were targeted toward criminals. Yet in Chicago, a husband and father with no criminal history was reportedly arrested by ICE on his way to work. His family was only made aware that something was wrong when he didn't show up at his shift. In New Jersey, ICE agents detained and questioned a military veteran and U.S. citizens simply because they weren't carrying on their person a passport or a license. These actions, like many of the President's decisions on immigration, have nothing to do with protecting public safety or national security.
President Trump has also suspended the refugee admissions program. Why is that important? Well, because when American soldiers go overseas to represent this country and to risk their lives for the country that they have sworn allegiance to--the United States--many times they rely on local citizens in those countries to help them. That is what happened in Afghanistan. Men and women risked their lives to step forward and to help our troops, many times to risk their own lives in the service of their country and doing it for the United States. They included families of Afghans who are now facing persecution for that political decision to help the United States.
We have offered to them, after going through extensive background checks, an opportunity to come to the United States. The same thing is true with Uighurs fleeing Chinese persecution and the Rohingya fleeing Myanmar's military dictatorship. Many of these refugees literally wait for decades to come to the United States lawfully--lawfully--and all must undergo extreme rigorous vetting before coming.
But the President canceled flights for approximately 10,000 refugees who had been approved to travel to the United States after waiting for long periods of time and going through extensive background checks. This includes nearly 1,600 Afghans who had been cleared for resettlement. Many of them risked their lives for the United States' cause, and we were giving them safety and security. Those flights have been canceled by President Trump. Many of them fought alongside U.S. troops. Others are family members of U.S. servicemembers. Flights were even stopped for Afghan children who were reuniting with their families in the United States.
Stopping these flights makes America less safe. It is needlessly cruel to American families waiting to be reunited with loved ones. It also sends a message to allies supporting our troops around the world that we will not protect them if they face retribution for helping the United States.
Additionally, President Trump is attempting to deny birthright citizenship to children born in the United States if their parents are not citizens or lawful permanent residents. This is a clear violation of the Constitution.
I want to read the first sentence of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It is explicit. It reads:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
One sentence is clear as can be.
This order has been blocked. The order by President Trump has been blocked by a judge who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Listen to what he said about the lawsuit challenging birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment's explicit language:
I've been on the bench for over four decades. I can't remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.
I was disappointed to see White House border czar Tom Homan come to Chicago recently with ICE agents, arresting immigrants and asking them questions even after they had requested to speak to an attorney. Do you know who accompanied him on this raid? Dr. Phil. Dr. Phil--a TV doctor--is not an M.D., but for some reason, he was invited to go along with this raid.
Now, do you remember the many speeches given by President Trump, during the campaign, about dedicating himself to ferreting out the young people who were murderers and rapists and drug dealers and the mentally ill who were dangerous to the United States? I took him at his word that that is what he set out do.
Apparently, Dr. Phil is an accomplice in this effort. He, obviously, has been invited to go along for the ride--on a raid involving people who would be dangerous to the United States? If this mass deportation is truly focused on dangerous individuals--murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and the mentally ill--Dr. Phil has as much business being on these raids as he does performing surgery. Why is he there? In fact, he could complicate the situation. We are talking about a legal process and the possibility of criminal prosecutions following. So to have this television character come along for the ride is dangerous and makes no sense.
I am concerned that these sweeping Executive actions will leave those arrested by ICE, including those with lawful status and U.S. citizenship, with little opportunity to even state their cases and show that they belong in this country.
Let's be clear: 90 percent of undocumented immigrants have no criminal convictions--90 percent. Immigrants make up more than 40 percent of home healthcare aides and children's assistance, daycare. An outsized percentage of them and the agricultural workforce are undocumented. Immigrants are a key part of America's success story.
I do not want a single dangerous person to remain in this country or to be allowed to seek permanent residence here--period--but there are many who have been here for periods of time, who have paid their taxes, who have followed the law, and should be part of America's future.
Our Nation needs immigrants in many important places. Come to my State of Illinois and ask the agricultural organizations. They will tell you flat out that, without the assistance from migrants and immigrants, they just can't do their work. Whether they are running dairy operations, orchards, or regular agricultural pursuits, they need a helping hand, and many times, the only ones who will come to help them are those who come from other countries.
They put food on our tables, they care for our children, and they help care for our parents and grandparents. Many of these people are Dreamers who grew up alongside our kids and have gone on to serve our Nation as members of the armed services, as doctors, and as first responders. They believe in the American dream, and I will continue to fight to protect them for as long as I serve in the U.S. Senate.
There is no room in this country for dangerous people, but there is plenty of room for those who aspire to make this a better nation. We should be fair in making a distinction and in realizing the difference is significant.
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