Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 -- Motion to Proceed -- Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I listened carefully to the remarks of my friend and my colleague from Texas.

If my friend has a moment as he walks out this door, he should take a sharp left and stop at the staircase and look up. At the top of the staircase the Senator from Texas will see this amazing portrait that has been copied and referred to over and over again. It is an incredible painting that shows President Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation in the midst of the Civil War while surrounded by his Cabinet. This Emancipation Proclamation freed 3 million slaves in America from involuntary servitude.

Was the President signing a bill that had been passed by Congress? No. He was signing an Executive order--the same type of Executive order used by President Obama to address the issue of immigration.

All right, Senator Durbin, you found one moment in history. According to arguments you heard on the floor, there could not be very many more. Let's fast forward to the late 1940s with President Harry Truman. President Harry Truman, after World War II, decided to finally end racial discrimination in the ranks of our military. How did he do it? Did he do it by signing a law passed by Congress? No. He signed an Executive order ending the discrimination and segregation taking place in our military.

I don't argue that Presidents can exceed their constitutional powers. It has happened. But to argue that Executive orders that have been used by President after President are inherently unconstitutional defies any accurate, honest reading of history.

Here are some realities. The immigration system in the United States of America today is broken--broken terribly--to the point where we may have 12 to 13 million undocumented people in this country, where our borders are stronger now than they have ever been, but still have to be fortified to make sure we don't have the unnecessary migration of people into the United States in an illegal status. There are so many things we need to do to fix this broken immigration system, and we addressed them.

Two years ago eight Senators came together--four Democrats and four Republicans. I was honored to be part of it. We sat down for months and wrote a comprehensive immigration reform bill. We brought it to the floor of the Senate after considering 100 amendments in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and it passed on the floor with 68 positive votes. Fourteen Republicans joined the Democrats for the bipartisan bill which was supported by the Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO, and conservatives and liberals across America.

Pretty good work for a Congress that is blamed many times for just being obstructionists. We passed it with 68 votes, sent it to the House of Representatives, where it languished for almost 2 years, never being called for a vote--never.

At that point the President stepped forward and said: I have to do something to deal with the problems of illegal immigration in America. Here is what he proposed--two things, basically. He said: If you are here in America and are the parent of a child who is a U.S. citizen or the parent of a child who is a legal resident alien, you can come forward, pay about $500 as a fee, subject yourself to a criminal background check. If you clear it or you committed no serious crimes and are no threat to America, then we will give you a temporary work permit to be in the United States and work. We want to know who you are, where you live, the members of your family, and where you work. That is what the President proposed, and that is what they want to stop.

We would continue the current situation with millions of undocumented people working without background checks, working without any registration to this government, so we know their whereabouts and what they do. That is what they want to end. They think the President went way too far in setting up this process. I think they are wrong.

The Republicans had a chance to pass a comprehensive immigration bill and they refused. In refusing, they left the President no alternative. He is trying to make sense out of a broken immigration system. It would be better if the Republicans joined us in the House and the Senate in a bipartisan effort to achieve that.

The last point I want to make is this: I think one of the most heartless things I have seen in my time in the House and Senate is the effort by the Republicans to end DACA. DACA was the protection the President gave to DREAMers. DREAMers are children brought to America--children, infants, toddlers, and young kids--by their parents, who grew up in America and went to school, have no serious criminal issues in their background, and who simply want the chance to be part of America's future. That is all they are asking for.

The President's Executive order gives them that chance to prove themselves, and the Republicans want to eliminate that order. I don't understand it. If they take the time to meet some of these young people, they would realize what a waste it would be of such great skill and talent and love of America.

I will close--and I see my friend and colleague Senator Murray--and say this: We are a nation of immigrants. Our diversity is our strength. The people who are willing to risk everything in their lives to come to this country, to be part of this great American experiment, to have an opportunity for their next generation to have a chance for a better life, that is what defines us. That is who we are.

I stand here--and I have said it so many times and proudly so--the son of an immigrant mother who was brought here at the age of 2. She was the first DREAMer in my house, and she raised a son to serve in the U.S. Senate. That is my story. That is my family's story. That is America's story.

It is time for us to fund the Department of Homeland Security and protect America and then have an honest debate about an immigration policy consistent with American values.

I yield the floor.

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