WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after attending the oral arguments in the Supreme Court on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In April 2010, Durbin and then-Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) were the first members of Congress to call for the establishment of the DACA program.
“Today, the Court is considering an issue of fundamental human rights – the fate of Dreamers, hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who came to the United States as children. They are American in every way, except for their immigration status.
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“It is now up to the Justices to follow the law and reject the President’s illegal repeal of DACA. But only Congress can provide a permanent pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. Senate Majority Leader McConnell must put an end to his legislative graveyard and give the American Dream and Promise Act a vote.
“I’ll do everything in my power as a United States Senator to protect these Dreamers and give them the chance to become American citizens so they can contribute to a brighter future for all Americans.”
Durbin first introduced the Dream Act nineteen years ago. In March, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Durbin introduced the Dream Act of 2019. The Dream Act was also included in the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill that Durbin and Graham coauthored as part of the “Gang of Eight” – four Democrats and four Republicans. The 2013 bill passed the Senate on a strong bipartisan vote of 68-32, but the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives refused to consider it.
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