Immigration

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it has been 511 days since the Senate passed bipartisan legislation to reform our broken immigration system. Fourteen Republicans joined the Democrats in supporting a measure which covered what I believe are the major challenges facing America when it comes to immigration in the 21st century.

There was an amendment adopted by Senator Corker, and I believe Senator Hoeven cosponsored it. Their amendment would have strengthened our border security to unprecedented levels.

At this moment in time, we have more Federal law enforcement officials on the border between the United States and Mexico than the combined population of all other Federal law enforcement agencies. It is a massive commitment which would have been enhanced even more by the comprehensive immigration reform bill.

For those border State Senators, we would have reached the point where--from Galveston to San Diego--we would have literally had available a law enforcement agent every half mile 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is a massive investment, and it passed the Senate 511 days ago.

That same bill addressed some serious issues about agriculture workers in Illinois, California, Texas, and all across the Nation. Growers are telling us they are having a difficult time bringing in the workers who will do the backbreaking, hard, physical labor necessary for agriculture. This bill addressed it. In fact, the bill was endorsed by both growers as well as those who do the work. It was an amazing political achievement.

It also addressed the issue of H-1Bs. Why in the world do we bring the best and brightest from around the world to the United States for advanced degrees, advanced education and then welcome them to leave? If they stayed and worked to create jobs and new businesses and new innovations in America, we could build our economy. The bill addressed it.

As important as all of those issues are, the bill addressed 11 million undocumented people in America--11 million, and that is just an estimate. The bill said those who were here undocumented--who had been here for several years--could step up, register with the government, pay their filing fee, submit themselves to a background check, pay their taxes, and then be reviewed annually for years to make sure they were still complying with the laws of the United States.

They would not qualify for government benefits or programs during this period of time, but they could work their way to legal status. That bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan basis with 68 votes. The bill then went over to the House of Representatives where, sadly, it languished. Nothing happened.

The Speaker of the House refused to call the bill up for a vote. In fact, he refused to call any aspect of the bill up for a vote. He refused to call it in committee for any consideration or debate, and then he let it languish. There were times when the House Republican leadership tempted the White House and others by saying: Well, maybe now we can call it up for a vote. They never, ever did. We have waited 511 days, and here we are today.

This evening, President Obama is going to announce an Executive order to address immigration. He has waited patiently, and America has waited patiently for the Republicans in the House of Representatives to step forward and accept this responsibility, but they have refused. They have refused to fix this broken immigration system, and you can bet as soon as the President issues his Executive order, there will be a chorus of complaints that this President has gone too far by using his Executive authority to address this issue.

You won't hear the facts from the critics. You won't hear from the critics that every President since Dwight David Eisenhower--I believe 11 different Democrats and Republicans--have issued Executive orders relating to immigration.

President George Herbert Walker Bush basically said--by Executive order--that we are not going to prosecute 1.5 million undocumented immigrants in America. He used his prosecutorial discretion. That is the kind of thing which we have come to expect from Presidents, and we expect Congress to complain about it. That has continued.

Here is what we believe President Obama will announce today. The details are just starting to emerge in press reports. He is going to announce that we are going to push for accountability in immigration. Senator Marco Rubio was on the bipartisan panel that put together the comprehensive immigration reform bill. He said something that was very pressing, and I wish to refer to it at this moment. He said for those who criticize amnesty, doing nothing is amnesty for those who are here in the United States and undocumented. Doing nothing is amnesty.

What President Obama is going to suggest--instead of amnesty--is accountability. Here is what he will say. Those who have children who are American citizens and have been here at least 5 years will have a chance to step forward and register with the government, pay the filing fee for processing, submit themselves to a criminal background check, and pay their taxes.

The President says, if you will do that--under his order--it is my understanding it will say you can legally work in America. They will not become a citizen nor will they have legal status beyond the work permit, but they don't have to fear deportation. They are down the list and are not considered a dangerous person who should be deported.

The highest priority for those who will be deported are those with criminal records, and they should be deported. There is no room in the United States for anyone--let alone undocumented--who come here and commit a crime.

Secondly, if you have repeat offenders and those who violated the legal system, they will be in the second category.

The third category of those who meet the criteria I mentioned will be given their chance.

This is about accountability. This really says to those who wish to say: If you will play by these rules, we will give you a chance to stay and work.

What is the reason? We want to deport felons; we don't want to deport families. We want to deport criminals; we don't want to deport children. We will focus our efforts on the borders on those who are trying to come across and those who are here and should leave. That means more resources would be put into enforcement, and it also means that those who are here will be registered. We will know who they are, where they are, where they are working, and we will know that they are paying their taxes to stay in this country.

The alternative from the Republican point of view--for 511 days--is to do nothing. That is an unacceptable alternative.

There is a better alternative to an Executive order, and the President will be the first to say it, and that is that this Congress--on a bipartisan basis--rolls up its sleeves and tackles this issue. We should. That is why we were elected. To do nothing, as the House has done for 511 days, is unacceptable. To stand by the sidelines and criticize this President for using his Executive authority--the same Executive authority used over and over again by Presidents of both political parties in the field of immigration--is not constructive.

There is one other thing that is even worse. Some Members of the other party are suggesting they are prepared to shut down the Government of the United States over this issue. If the President uses his legal authority, they have threatened to shut down the Government of the United States.

We saw that last year when the junior Senator from Texas took the floor and said he was going to close down the government over the issue of the Affordable Care Act. It was a terrible strategy. A lot of innocent people were hurt. It cost our government and our economy dearly. It was a politically desperate act which I hope will not be repeated ever again--certainly not when it comes to the issue of immigration.

If there was ever a time for us to stand together--both political parties--and solve a problem, this is it. Standing on the sidelines and complaining--which is what we have heard over and over again from the House Republican leadership and continue to hear when it comes to the President's Executive order--is not the kind of constructive policy the American people need.

I applaud the President. He is going to take a lot of grief for this--for using his Executive power--but thank goodness he is stepping up and addressing the problem. Where others have walked away from it, ignored it, and come up with every excuse on Earth, he is directly addressing the problem. And now it is time for us in the Congress to do the same thing.

We are going to come back after Thanksgiving and will be here for at least 10 days. Speaker Boehner, leader of the Republican House, has the authority to instantly call to the floor of the House this bipartisan immigration bill which passed the Senate. There is no excuse. If he is going to criticize the President for using his power to solve a problem, then the Speaker should use his power to address that same problem. Call the comprehensive immigration reform bill before we leave at the end of this year. Bring it up for a vote in the House. I think it will pass.

If it passes, and we do--by legislation--a much broader review and change in the immigration reform bill, we will have done what we were elected to do. We will have served this Nation, and we will have set out to repair this broken immigration system.

I yield the floor.

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