Forced Family Separation

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, first he came for the Dreamers. It was in September of last year when President Trump announced that he was going to abolish the DACA Program, an Executive order by President Obama that protected 790,000 young people who came forward, registered with the Federal Government, paid a $500 filing fee, went through an extensive criminal background check, proved that they had completed at least a level of education, and made clear that they were no threat to this country. For that, they were allowed, under the Executive DACA order, to live in the United States without fear of deportation for 2 years at a time, renewable, and to work in this country.

Last September, President Trump decided to abolish that protection. He challenged Congress. He said: Now it is up to you. Pass a law.

Many of us took him seriously. I worked on a bipartisan basis with many Senators, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, Senator Michael Bennet, and Senator Bob Menendez, and we put a lot of hours into it. We wrote a bill to answer the President's challenge. We produced the bill and presented it to him, and he rejected it. He was not going to allow us to come to a bipartisan conclusion to solve this problem without changing other parts of the law, which he demanded.

We couldn't find bipartisan consensus for the President's proposal. In fact, when President Trump's immigration proposal was called on the floor of this Senate Chamber, 39 of the 100 Senators voted for it--only 39. It was a clear illustration that the President's approach to immigration was not even acceptable to all of the Members of his own political party.

So, today, 790,000 young people across America, because of the action of President Trump last September, have only the protection of a court order that saves them from being deported, which allows them to continue to work, which allows them to renew their DACA status. If that court decision changes in a matter of days, weeks, or months, their protection disappears. Clearly, this President could care less.

First he came for the Dreamers. Then, in April, with the zero tolerance policy, he came for the children--the infants, the toddlers, the little boys and girls who accompanied their parents to the border of the United States.

President Trump did something that most Americans--two out of three-- find not only objectionable but unimaginable. This President decided as a matter of policy--a get-tough policy toward immigration--that he would take children--babies, infants--away from their parents. So far, 2,400, we believe, have been taken this way. What has happened to them? We don't know.

You see, in this great country of America--this transparent and open democracy--the Trump administration will not allow any type of visits by Members of Congress, members of the press, to see exactly what is happening with these children. A few photos have made it out, showing these kids being held in cages--kids in cages. That is the Trump approach when it comes to immigration. The recording came out of the cries of these children when they were being separated from their mothers and their parents. There was the report of a father who had a son yanked out of his arms and in desperation went to his jail cell and committed suicide. That is the reality of this Trump policy.

He has been unapologetic. From where he is standing, with the inspiration of Stephen Miller, his adviser and expert on immigration, getting tough is the only answer, the deterrent, putting pressure on Congress to pass the law this President demands--this ridiculous $25 billion wall that he wants to build on our border with Mexico.

So what has happened? People have spoken out, and I want to thank those Republicans who had the courage to stand up and speak out. Forty- eight Democratic Senators joined Senator Feinstein in making it clear that we were prepared, if necessary, to pass legislation to solve this problem. Some Republican Senators have said the same, that this approach is unacceptable and reprehensible. And the First Ladies of the United States, including Laura Bush, who was quoted earlier by Senator Klobuchar, have just been amazing. They have come forward to let us know, on a bipartisan basis, that what President Donald Trump is doing at the border with children is not only un-American, it is inhumane by any standard.

Treating children this way is something that can have long-term trauma on individuals. We heard from our colleague, Senator Hirono. She experienced an emotional moment here in the Senate, and I have never seen that before from her. She talked about her family's separation and what it meant to her brother and mom. That is the reality of life. It is a reality this President has ignored.

Well, today, after days and weeks of objections from all across the United States, the President said that he would respond to the situation he created with an Executive order that I have in my hand. It is not that long; it is three pages. I read it closely. I read it carefully. I will tell my colleagues, this Executive order by this President does not solve the crisis that he created.

The order doubles down on the President Trump, Attorney General Sessions, Stephen Miller zero tolerance policy that started this whole crisis of punishing children and families.

The order provides no guarantee that families actually will be kept together. Here is what the language says: It just says the administration will try to maintain family unity, including by detaining alien families together ``where appropriate and consistent with law and available resources.'' That is from the President's Executive order. That is no guarantee that these families will be kept together.

The order does nothing, speaks not a word to uniting the 2,400 children who have been separated from their families--not one word in there. For goodness' sakes, that is where the President should start with his Executive order: ordering his agencies to reunite these families as quickly as possible so the children who are going through the trauma of this separation will finally have a chance to see their parents again.

And the order provides for--this is the President's order issued today--the indefinite detention of mothers, fathers, and children who are fleeing violence and seeking asylum in the United States.

There is no law on the books that requires this government or allows this President to rip children away from their parents. The horrific scenes we have seen and heard on television are the result of a Trump administration policy that could have ended today if President Trump had simply issued an order to end it. He has it within his power to end the crisis he created. He chose not to.

Instead, on World Refugee Day, President Trump offered this remedy to the crisis he created: Lock up entire families together indefinitely.

To do this, he has to ignore a court order that applies to his administration and every administration for the last 20 years. The Flores settlement between the U.S. Government and the petitioners resulted in a binding 1997 court order that required that children be released from custody without unnecessary delay. The Government of the United States of America was a party to that agreement. That Flores case recognizes that children should not be treated like criminals, and it prohibits the prolonged detention of children because of harmful effects.

The Trump Executive order seeks to undo the Flores consent decree. Repealing Flores was actually a key component of President Trump's own immigration legislation. That was rejected, if my colleagues will remember, by 39 to 60 in the Senate in February.

Is throwing kids in indefinite detention what we want to do as a nation? Is it a loophole that a 5-year-old child cannot be detained beyond 20 days under Flores? Of course not.

Remember, the Flores settlement does not prohibit detention if it is necessary to ensure the safety of the child. The Flores settlement simply prohibits indefinite detention of children, even with their families, and any order to undermine this critical protection will almost certainly be challenged in court.

This Executive order from President Trump will be challenged on the very first day that it violates the Flores settlement. In this order he sends Attorney General Sessions into court to undo the Flores settlement, which has been the law of the land and the standard for Presidents of both political parties for almost 20 years.

Looking at the administration's policy of so-called zero tolerance, which Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in April and on which the President doubled down on today, here is what we find: The policy means they are criminally prosecuting everyone at the border, no matter what reason brought them to that border.

If someone is coming to the border to smuggle opioids or as part of a criminal gang, throw the book at them. But it makes no sense to throw the book at parents who come to the border with their kids because they are fleeing violence and death threats. There is no requirement--none-- to prosecute every border case as a criminal case. As with many laws, there can be criminal or civil penalties for crossing the border without authorization. Our Nation could criminally prosecute everyone who drives too fast, but we use discretion and prosecute selectively.

Asylum seekers do not need to be caged to remain united with their families. The government has the power to individually assess each person apprehended at the border and determine whether that person presents a flight risk or a safety risk. Those who do not present a risk can be released with their families to await immigration proceedings. We have found that if they are given the benefit of counsel, over 90 percent of those who have court proceedings show up for the proceedings. We should do that. We have effective and cost- efficient alternatives to detention available.

President Trump and his allies have taken thousands of children hostage to try to enact their anti-immigration agenda into law. We will not be fooled. This crisis doesn't need legislation to fix it. It requires Republican Members of Congress to join us, stand up, say no, and put an end to this ill-conceived Trump policy.

Instead, we face efforts like Senator Cruz's bill, which would not protect children and could undermine the due process approach that we have used in this government. This bill, like the President's Executive order, would override the Flores settlement. That is not a good starting point to the humane treatment of children.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen claimed: ``We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.'' Like many of the President's tweets, that was just plain false. Attorney General Jeff Sessions established the zero tolerance policy that separated families--a policy that former First Lady Laura Bush called cruel and immoral. When asked to justify how we could take this immoral position, Attorney General Sessions appeared to find some quote in the Bible that gave him solace.

The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics was more plain- spoken. She called this Trump policy ``government-sanctioned child abuse.''

I urge my Republican colleagues. People are watching and asking across this country: Aren't we better than this? Can't we treat the Dreamers in a more humane way? Can't we save these children from being caged away from their parents?

Do we want this image in the world? Is this what America has come to? I don't believe so, and two out of three Americans happen to agree with what I just said. We are a better country than this. This President's Executive order does not solve this problem. It makes it worse.

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