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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the majority leader reminds us of the tragedy that occurred in Buffalo over the weekend and how the shooter was somehow captivated by the notion of replacement theory--a theory which is so insane and so mean-spirited that it ignores what this country is all about.

A few minutes ago, over at what they call the House swamp, we held a press conference. Senator Alex Padilla of California, myself, Congresswoman Ross, and Congressman Bera met with a group of young people. There were about 50 of them. Some were high school age; some were in college. They are the sons and daughters of people who came to the United States on H-1B visas. These are visas where people are allowed to come here for a period of years and work, and the visas can be renewed.

Children and families who accompany them are growing up in America, living in America, while the breadwinner goes off to work each day, but the clock is ticking. When the kids of these visa holders reach the age of 21, they are subject to self-deportation. In other words, they have no legal rights in America to remain.

The reason that they are in suspense for so long is that the green card backlog can be decades while the parents are waiting for permission to become legal in the United States on a permanent basis. So these young people live in uncertainty.

Senator Padilla's bill is an effort--and I join with him in that bill--an effort to give them the opportunity to earn their way to citizenship, to become legal in America. Why would we give up this talent? These young people have grown up in America. They have been successful in school. They have participated in community activities. They are ready to be part of America's future, I can tell.

One young woman got up there and told the story of how she came to California with her parents under similar circumstances. She now is completing her Ph.D. in biochemistry at Cornell University. She wants to go into cancer research. Is America better if we force her to leave this country at this point? She doesn't think so. She thinks she can make this a better nation and better world if she can stay in America.

The folks who are so dead set against immigration ought to just pause for a moment and meet the people we are talking about, the people who are coming into this country, taking the jobs which Americans don't want to take, doing things which Americans aspire to but don't achieve, and many other aspects of our life that are really enriched by their presence.

So I would urge my colleagues to support us in this bipartisan effort for this bill. But I would also urge them to step back and make it clear, the ``replacement theory'' is an insane approach to America. It ignores our history; it ignores our future; and it ignores the reality of our economy today.

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