WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to schedule a floor vote on the House-passed American Dream and Promise Act, which will establish a path to citizenship for Dreamers and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also called on the Senate to address the humanitarian crisis at our southern border created by President Donald Trump’s policies.
“Yesterday, the House of Representatives responded to President Trump’s cruel decision on DACA and TPS. The House passed the American Dream and Promise Act on a bipartisan vote, 237-187. I went over to stand on the floor of the House where I served for a number of years just to hear the debate and to thank my colleagues for their leadership,” Durbin said. “Now, the eyes of hundreds of thousands of Dreamers have moved across the Capitol and are focused on the Senate. They are counting on us to solve the DACA crisis that President Trump created. Will the Majority Leader, Senator McConnell of Kentucky, give them a chance? I certainly hope so. The Senate should send the American Dream and Promise Act to the President for his signature.”
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Durbin continued, “Shouldn’t we come together, Democrats and Republicans, and rewrite our immigration laws, this broken system that has led to this point? It won’t be solved by threats of walls, by threats of closing the borders, by threats of cutting off foreign aid – it makes the situation even worse, and sadly President Trump has proven that point in the two years-plus since he has been in office.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor are available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
During his speech, Durbin also discussed his recent visit to the Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas, and a nearby Border Patrol Station. Two weeks ago, Durbin led 24 Senators in calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Inspector General to investigate these Border Patrol facilities. And last week, the DHS Inspector General’s Office released a report detailing the inhumane and dangerous overcrowding of migrants at the El Paso Port of Entry.
