Department of Homeland Security Funding

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, by calculation, we have today and 3 more days before the Department of Homeland Security is shut down.

Think about what happened this last weekend all across America. It was disclosed publicly that an extremist group, a terrorist group--Al-Shabab--had some communication among their membership targeting malls in America for extremism and terrorism. God forbid that ever happens.

I know those who are managing these malls look at the terrible situation that occurred in Africa and want to make certain it is never repeated anywhere, let alone in the United States. They are making extraordinary efforts to protect people across America, not only as they are shopping in malls but in other places, as they should.

What is the lead agency to protect America against terrorism? What is the lead agency to make sure we never ever again in our history experience 9/11? The Department of Homeland Security. That Department was created after 9/11, because we felt the way we were protecting America wasn't good enough. We took 22 different Federal agencies and put them under the roof of the Department of Homeland Security and said to that Department: Now focus; focus all your time and efforts to keep us safe. They have done a good job. I am sure they have made some mistakes along the way, but they have really dedicated themselves--all the men and women who work there--to keeping America safe.

Now what has Congress done for the Department of Homeland Security? Last December, when we considered the appropriations--the budget--for the Department of Homeland Security, the Republicans insisted we take that Department out of the regular budget process and give it only temporary funding,

a continuing resolution--temporary funding--which limits the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to do his best job to keep America safe. Why would the Republicans pick this appropriation, the single appropriation to keep America safe from terrorism and decide they don't want to properly fund it? They are only giving it temporary funding and a continuing resolution because they disagree with President Obama's position on immigration. That is it.

They want this issue of immigration, separate and apart from the budget of the Homeland Security, to be debated, and they insist they will not fund the Department of Homeland Security until it is debated. So come February 27, in just a few days, this Department of Homeland Security is going to shut down. It is going to shut down.

Many of the employees are essential. They will be asked to come to work even though there is only a promise of a paycheck, and they will show up because they are loyal to this country and they want to do their job to keep it safe. Why won't the Senate and the House do its job?

Why can't we pass a clean appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security? Before we took a break last week for President's week I made a unanimous consent request on the floor to do just that--pass a clean appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The majority leader, Senator McConnell of Kentucky, objected. He objected to funding the Department of Homeland Security. I don't understand it. It doesn't make sense for us to put in jeopardy the security of America over a political debate on immigration.

What is ironic is that now that the Republicans have the majority control of the House and the Senate they can call any bill they wish. After funding the Department of Homeland Security, they can turn immediately to a debate on immigration. It is their right. They pick the topics, they dictate the calendar, and those of us in the minority have to accede to their wishes. They are in the majority. They are controlling, but still Speaker Boehner and Senator McConnell, the Republican majority leader, refuse to pass a clean appropriations bill to the Department of Homeland Security.

Luckily some Republicans are stepping up and saying this is wrong. I commend the following Senators on the Republican side who have publicly stated that Congress should pass a clean Homeland Security bill and stop this tactic that came from the House of Representatives. Those Senators include: Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois, Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain of Arizona, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. We need eight more Republican Senators to come forward and say we need a clean appropriations bill and we need to pass it now. If eight Republican Senators today will say that, then we can move forward and pass this bill. We can fund this Department and stop this gamesmanship. Then, if the leaders want to move to a debate on immigration, so be it. But let's have eight more Republicans step forward and join us to make this a reality.

I don't understand, frankly, the thinking of many of the Republicans who oppose the President's approach to immigration. Here is what it comes down to. If the President used every penny given to him by Congress to deport those who are undocumented in the United States, he could reach about 4 percent of those who are eligible for deportation--4 percent. What the President has said is: Let me focus then on deporting those who are most dangerous to the United States.

President Obama has said there are people who have been here for years. They are part of our communities. They have good jobs. They have raised families. They go to our churches. We see them every day. They are no threat to us. Let's focus on deporting those who are dangerous--the felons, the criminals. The President has basically said we shouldn't set out to deport families, we ought to deport felons. We shouldn't set out to deport children, we ought to deport criminals. So his priority is deportation of those most dangerous to the United States, and the Republicans have opposed that. Why? Primarily because the President supports it. It has reached that point in the debate. It is so divisive.

The President doesn't want to waste any resources in deporting those who are not dangerous. He wants to get those who are dangerous out of the United States first, and Republicans object to that.

There is something else they want to do too. The House of Representatives wants to challenge the President's right to Executive orders when it comes to prioritizing those who can stay in the United States.

Several years ago at the request of 20 or more Senators, the President initiated an Executive action known as DACA. This Executive action said that if someone qualified as a DREAMer, they would be allowed to stay without threat of deportation. We estimate that 2 million young people in America would qualify as DREAMers, and 600,000 have this protection now. What the Republicans want to do in the House of Representatives is to eliminate this.

Who are these young people? They are young folks in America brought to this country as toddlers and infants, young boys and girls who grew up in this country, went to school in this country, have no problems in their criminal record and want to be part of America. That is it.

What the Republicans have said in the House is we want to deport these people--deport them because they are here undocumented, despite the fact that we have educated them and many of them are successes in life and want to be part of our future. The Republicans have said deport them.

The senior Senator from Maine has authored a bill to address this subject, but as much as I respect her and count her as a friend, it falls short of protecting the DREAMers who are in this country under DACA. I have to say that as one learns the stories of those who are protected by the President's Executive order, we wonder what are the Republicans thinking.

I have tried to tell these stories in light of individuals, not statistics, and here is one I wish to tell everyone today. It is about a young man who came to America when he was 9 years old from Thailand. His name is Jirayut New. He was brought here at the age of 9 from Thailand by his parents.

He grew up in San Francisco and he said:

I forced myself to read mystery novels, dictionary in hand, in order to expand my vocabulary, one word at a time. I mispronounced words, even in the face of ridicule, until I mastered the English language.

It is amazing. These stories have happened many times in the past, but it is incredible to think of a 9-year-old facing that ridicule but learning the English language in San Francisco.

This young man became an excellent student and his dream was to be a doctor. Throughout high school New worked 30 hours a week in his family's Thai restaurant. Here is what he said about that experience:

I spent most of my time in the restaurant working as a waiter, cashier and chef, scrubbing toilets, washing dishes, and mopping floors. It taught me to have faith, work hard, and persevere.

His work paid off. He graduated salutatorian of his high school class with a 4.3 grade point average. He was admitted to the University of California at Berkeley, one of the top schools in California and the Nation. He won a scholarship that would have covered most of his tuition, but he couldn't accept it because he was undocumented.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 2 additional minutes.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DURBIN. Despite this setback, New persevered. In May of 2012 he graduated with honors from Berkeley with a 3.7 grade point average and a major in molecular and cellular biology. One month after he graduated, President Obama issued his Executive order, DACA, and now New was protected from deportation. As a result he was able to pursue his dream to become a doctor.

Last fall New went to medical school at the University of California in San Francisco. Now what does he do in his spare time as a medical student? He volunteers at a homeless clinic run by students at the University of California in San Francisco. He has cofounded Pre-Health Dreamers, a national network of more than 400 DREAMers who are pursuing careers in health care.

New and other similar DREAMers have so much to contribute to America. But if the Republicans have their way, this man is going to be deported. Instead of being able to stay in the United States as a doctor, to realize his life's dream and make this a better and stronger nation, he will be deported. Will America be better or worse if this young man leaves? I think the answer is obvious.

So why do the Republicans persist? Why are they determined to take this amazing young man and deport him? They have forgotten our legacy in America. We are a nation of immigrants, and our immigrants have come to this country from all over the world because they appreciate the values and opportunity of America. I am lucky. My mother was an immigrant to this country, and I stand on the Senate floor representing the great State of Illinois. It is my story, my family's story, and it is America's story.

The time is clearly upon us to fund the appropriations of the Department of Homeland Security but not at the expense of this amazing young man. Let us fund this Department to keep America safe but also let us dedicate ourselves to passing legislation which fixes our broken immigration system and helps this young man and others like him to be a part of America's future.

I yield the floor.

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