Immigration Reform

Floor Speech

IMMIGRATION REFORM -- (Senate - June 07, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, a number of us stayed on the floor this evening long after the Senate finished its business on the immigration bill. It is bittersweet to be here after all this effort and time, with so little to show for it. I think the comments made since the decision on the motion to end the debate was voted on have been constructive and positive. I join in that spirit.

First, I acknowledge we learned an important lesson about the Senate, a lesson that bears repeating so those who follow these proceedings will understand what happened. The Senate is a different institution, different than most city councils, different than the House of Representatives, where I proudly served for 14 years. It is an institution designed to protect the minority's points of view. It is an institution that guarantees to every State, large and small, the same number of Senators, and an institution which has honored and protected the rights of the minority since its conception.

It was in 1916, if I am not mistaken, when President Woodrow Wilson asked the Congress to pass a law to arm the Merchant Marine; with the great world war about to begin, German U-boats were sinking American merchant vessels. President Wilson wanted to stay out of the war, but he wanted to protect our fleet. He asked the Congress for the authority to arm the Merchant Marine, and it passed the House. It was stopped cold in the Senate by one Senator, who in those days had the power to stand and filibuster and, by that filibuster or debate, end the possibility of enacting a bill into law. The American people responded with outrage. The Senate was forced, for the first time in its history, to create a way to stop this power of one Senator; so they invented the motion known as the cloture motion, which we had tonight. They said it would take 67, two-thirds of the Senate, to stop one Senator from ending debate and stopping progress on a bill--67 votes.

It wasn't until many years later--almost 50 years--that the Senate amended that and said it would only take 60 votes. This came up during the civil rights debate. It was considered a great reform during that era, and 60 votes became the standard for cloture. In other words, three-fifths of the Senate would have to vote so any single Senator who tried to stop a bill from progressing would be foreclosed, or closed off with the cloture motion. That is the rule that applies today, some 40 years later. It is a rule we have lived under, and it is a rule we tried to apply to this debate.

It was the belief of many that we had enough votes to pass this bill. There were some who wanted to extend debate with more amendments and more amendments, and many of us felt most of these amendments had run their course and were repetitive, and the real ambition of those offering amendments was not to improve the bill, or even challenge the bill, but to stop the bill. So we tried, under the Senate rules, with the cloture motion, to close off that debate and bring this matter to a close. We fell short of that, despite our best efforts. The rollcall this evening fell short, with a vote of 45 to 50. We needed 15 more votes.

So what those who followed the debate saw this evening was an example of what the Senate is about, why it was created, why it functions, and the frustrating role it sometimes plays. The second thing those who followed the debate saw was the continuing saga of immigration in America. Almost from the first boat that landed in America, immigration has been an issue. How many more people can this great Nation absorb? What kind of people do we want to be our neighbors and future leaders in this country? What kind of people can come here and make this a better place? What kind of people would come here and perhaps make it worse?

We have been engaged in this debate from the earliest days of this country. There have been bitter chapters in this debate--chapters of discrimination and prejudice against those who arrived, glorious chapters when immigrants came and literally gave life to a country in its infancy.

I said on the floor before, and I think at this moment it bears repeating, I am one of those fortunate few. My grandmother and grandfather immigrated to this country. They brought my mother, a 2-year-old infant, from Lithuania and settled in East St. Louis, IL. They lived an immigrant life, a spartan existence. They managed to survive. They managed to prosper and raise a family. And the son of an immigrant mother now stands as the 47th Senator in the history of the State of Illinois. I am so proud of that, not for myself but for the fact that it says a lot of good things about America and about immigration.

This debate evoked a lot of emotional responses. I say to my friend Senator Salazar from Colorado, who is truly one of the most extraordinary Senators--he brings his heart to this debate--when he stands before us on issues such as the official language of America and tells what it was like to be raised in a family that spoke Spanish and to be faced with discrimination because of that heritage, it touches my heart.

Of course, Senator Salazar and his family are not newcomers to the United States. They were here centuries before my family arrived. I think 500 years ago, if I am not mistaken, the Salazar family started coming into this country, long before any settlers.

When I listen to Senator Salazar speak on these issues, I listen very carefully because I know his voice is so important in this debate.

I listen to Senator BOB MENENDEZ from New Jersey, a relative newcomer to the Senate as well, but the man has made a real mark as a child of immigrants to this country.

Senator Martinez, who spoke a moment ago, from the Republican side of the aisle, is an immigrant to this country from Cuba.

America is a better place because of these three people and their families. We know that. Immigration is why we are such a powerful and great Nation. Our diversity is our strength. Those who cannot understand that do not understand this country. Those who think the nature of America is ``I am up, let's pull up the ladder,'' have lost sight of why we are truly unique in this world's history, why many of the things that divide other countries do not divide America, because we have said to people: You are welcome in this country as long as you are tolerant--tolerant of people of different colored skin, different ethnic background, different accents, different religions. These are what make us different. But in that difference is our strength. Immigration is the reason America is as great as it is today, and the detractors and critics have forgotten that.

I listened to Senator Reid, Senator Feinstein, and so many others as they talked about this bill. There is one section in this bill that is as close to my heart as any other section. It is the DREAM Act. I decided to introduce the DREAM Act over 5 years ago. At the time I did, a few members of my staff said: This is a serious mistake, Senator Durbin. People will not like it, they will not understand it, they are going to use it against you.

I disagreed. I believe the DREAM Act tells the story of America in its proper form. The DREAM Act says if you are a child who came to America before the age of 16, brought here by parents, and you are undocumented, if you have lived in this country for 5 years, if you graduate from high school, if you are prepared to either serve our country in the military or to finish 2 years of college, we will give you a chance to be an American citizen.

Why did I introduce this bill? Because, frankly, in my office in Chicago and Springfield and all across the State of Illinois, most of our work is on immigration. I introduced it because I met a young woman, a Korean American who came here at the age of 2, whose family did not file the papers, who learned much later in life when she thought her star was going to soar that she had no country. Her mother came to my office and said: What are we going to do about this little girl? We never filed papers, Senator. Everybody in the house with her is a citizen, but she is not. What can we do?

We went to our agencies of Government and said: What can we do for this 18-year-old girl who has such a bright future, who has been offered a music scholarship because of her skills on the piano? The immigration office said: The answer is obvious: Send her back to Korea.

Send her back to Korea after 16 years of living in this country? After 16 years of American dreams she was to be sent away? That is when I wrote the DREAM Act. I said it isn't fair. It isn't fair for us to talk about bringing any new people into America until we at least give these children who should not be faulted for any shortcomings of their parents a chance.

I salute all those involved in writing the bill we considered, S. 1348, because from the beginning, I was so honored that they came to me and said this bill will not go forward unless the DREAM Act is included. They worked hard on both sides of the aisle--Democrats and Republicans--and the White House to include in this bill the DREAM Act.

I want to make a promise to those young men and women I still see almost every time I return to my home State of Illinois: I won't quit on you. I promise you I will continue this fight. We are going to pass this law. You are going to get your chance, and you are going to make this a better country. I made you that promise, and I am going to keep it. It wasn't today, but it will be tomorrow. I want to keep that promise. The DREAM Act will become the law of the land. Tens of thousands of kids who are going to school now and are wondering what the future could possibly hold, if you are undocumented and educated in America, those kids are going to get a chance. That is what this country has always been about.

I wish to say a word of praise to a handful of Senators on both sides of the aisle.

On the Republican side of the aisle, there were some true profiles in courage, as Senator Reid said. Arlen Specter stepped up and became a real leader on this issue. I have disagreed with him in the past, and I have agreed with him. But I have always respected this man. I watched him day to day battling cancer, never missing a bell, coming to the Senate Judiciary Committee and to the floor of the Senate, keeping up a breakneck schedule, running his staff into the ground while he was undergoing chemotherapy on the weekends. He is truly a man dedicated to public service and brings a special talent to the job.

JON KYL of Arizona. The last time we considered immigration reform, JON KYL was the harshest critic of immigration reform. When I heard he was in on the negotiations, I thought: What is this all about? I quickly

learned. It was genuine. He was committed to trying to find a bill. I didn't agree with JON KYL's approach in many areas, but I respect the fact that his commitment was genuine and he tried up until the very last minute to pass this bill.

LINDSEY GRAHAM of South Carolina. I watched the rollcall votes for LINDSEY GRAHAM and thought many times how can he possibly do this? How can he go home, maybe even face a Republican primary, and have the courage to take these votes and cast them the way he has? But he did it over and over again.

MEL MARTINEZ of Florida, I mentioned earlier, from Cuba, wears two hats, not only a Senator from the great State of Florida, but is chairman of the Republican National Committee--chairman of the National Republican Committee. He has been a true leader on this issue. I have come to know MEL and respect him so much. He has told us in private meetings with Senators the story of his life. I understand why the issue means so much to him personally.

JOHN MCCAIN. JOHN MCCAIN has been kicked around for a lot of reasons. He can take it. He is tough--a POW for over 5 years, a veteran of war. He has been through a lot in his life. He stood up for this bill when people wouldn't have had the courage to do so. I respect him for doing that.

On the Democratic side, what can I say about TED KENNEDY? I am sorry he has left. Maybe his staff or somebody watching will share my feelings about him. It was 40 years ago I sat right up there as a college student. It was 1968. I had heard Senator Bobby Kennedy, a Senator from New York, was coming to the floor and was going to speak out against the war in Vietnam. I waited for a long time until early evening, and through those doors came Bobby Kennedy with his brother TEDDY KENNEDY. He walked over and gave a speech on the Vietnam war. I sat up there in awe of these two great men, Bobby Kennedy and TEDDY KENNEDY. I looked down on them and said: I can't believe I am seeing these giants in American history. I never thought I would see the day when I would serve with TEDDY KENNEDY. He and I disagree from time to time; that is expected in the Senate. But I never had but the greatest admiration for his courage and leadership. This is a man who struggles each day with a disability that might stop others but never stops him, often in pain, often in discomfort. He comes to the floor every day. He comes to the committee every day and fights with all of his heart for what he believes in, and we saw it in this immigration battle.

Senator DIANNE FEINSTEIN, who was here a few moments ago, is a terrific ally on these issues. She is truly looking for bipartisan responses every step of the way, a practical solution, and never gives up. Down in the well as we voted on the cloture motion, she didn't give up the hope we might put together 60 votes. She walked around begging Senators to vote. She is that kind of committed person.

I said a word about Senator Salazar, and I won't return to that chapter other than to say he has been a major part of this debate. A newcomer to the Senate, he has made his presence felt. I know he has many years of contribution to this country and the State of Colorado he represents so well.

BOB MENENDEZ I mentioned earlier, Cuban background, another newcomer to the Senate. Both he and Senator Salazar on the Democratic side of the aisle are important voices in this debate from the Hispanic community.

And finally, Senator SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, brand new to the Senate,
who is gaining in stature every single day, has been an important part of this effort.

Those are the 10 who come to my mind who deserve special credit and praise.

Let me say in closing, for those who may stand and argue we didn't give them a chance to debate this bill, I think we did. I think we were more than fair. Last year before cloture was invoked on the last immigration bill, the Senate disposed of 30 amendments, 23 rollcall votes. This year the Senate disposed of 42 amendments, not 30, 42 amendments, 28 rollcall votes. In the entire consideration of the immigration bill last year, the Senate disposed of 44 amendments, only 2 more than we have already considered at this point in the debate.

I believe we did everything in our power to offer even more amendment opportunities. I was here with Senator Reid today when he repeatedly offered on the floor a chance to bring forward amendments, let's debate them, let's vote on them, let's move forward. And every time he tried, a Senator from the other side of the aisle, the side of the aisle that was begging for amendments, stood up and objected. They objected to calling up the very same amendments they argued were the obstacle to bringing this bill to finality.

Let me say this: It is very difficult and rare to revive and resuscitate a bill that doesn't get cloture once we have moved beyond it. I hope this is an exception. To paraphrase what Senator Martinez and Senator Salazar said, there are so many people counting on us when it comes to this vote, thousands and thousands of young people who are begging for this DREAM Act, praying it will pass and give them a chance, millions of people living in shadows, in fear, working hard every day, loving their families, going to the church of their choice, trying to be part of their community, and realizing they are just one knock on the door away from deportation and the destruction of their family and their life as they know it. I cannot imagine living with that shadow over one's life, and so many do. We owe it to them to do something that is honorable in response to this need. And we owe it to our country to repair our broken borders, to slow this flow of illegal immigration, to make sure there is enforcement in the workplace, and to make sure America's doors are still open for those who bring their dreams to America and make it the great Nation we love so much.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

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