[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 101 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4100-S4101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, almost exactly 1 year ago to this day, 
all of the Members of this Senate came to this Chamber for what each of 
us understood was a historic vote because after years and even decades 
of debate and discussion, a small group of bipartisan Senators--Members 
from different backgrounds, different States, and certainly different 
philosophies--came together to reach an agreement on landmark 
legislation, a bill that would truly change the lives of millions of 
Americans. They had reached a deal that would significantly boost our 
economy, make every one of our communities fundamentally safer, and 
help millions of men and women pursue the American dream. But most of 
all, it was a deal that showed the United States was still capable of 
adapting, improving, and striving for perfection.
  Still, the deal was not perfect. After all, it was a compromise, and 
once it was reached, it had to survive incredible scrutiny throughout 
the committee process and then during the floor consideration. But 
somehow it made it through.
  So 1 year ago this week when each Member of the Senate came to the 
Chamber, we did something we don't normally do: We honored an old 
Senate tradition and actually cast our votes from our desks. That 
night, we finally passed comprehensive immigration reform through the 
Senate. I well remember the optimism we all shared that night. After 
years of trying, we had finally passed--with votes from both 
Republicans and Democrats--legislation that would finally start to fix 
our broken immigration system. It would strengthen our borders, support 
our businesses and, most importantly, provide a real path to 
citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who are forced 
to live in the shadows as Americans in all but name. The Congressional 
Budget Office even estimated that the Senate bill would grow our 
economy and reduce the deficit by nearly $1 trillion over the next 2 
decades.
  We sent the bill to the House of Representatives knowing the path 
forward there might not be easy, but we heard from Speaker of the House 
John Boehner, majority leader Eric Cantor, and dozens of other Members 
from both sides of the aisle that they also knew immigration reform had 
to happen this Congress.
  Well, since then we have watched and we have waited as the Speaker 
and House Republicans simply refuse week after week, month after month 
to take up the Senate bill and move this process forward. For a full 
year we have witnessed exactly what it looks like when Congress simply 
fails to do its job for the American people.
  Our broken immigration system is not a hypothetical problem. This 
isn't an obscure, philosophical disagreement over the role of 
government. This is an issue that has real, tangible consequences for 
millions of Americans. While America has watched House Republicans fail 
to act for a full year, we have seen some of those consequences up 
close.
  Since the Senate passed immigration reform, tens of thousands of 
people--many of them women and children--have been senselessly deported 
from this country and separated from their families for no reason other 
than their undocumented status.
  Businesses large and small have begged Members of the House to pass 
reform, including tech companies that need to hire the best and 
brightest from around the world and agricultural businesses that 
desperately need a stable workforce.
  Now we are seeing hundreds of unaccompanied young children along our 
country's southern border. Many of these children are fleeing horrific 
gang violence in their home countries. They are desperately seeking 
safety and a new life in the United States. But because of our broken 
immigration laws, we are nearly helpless to respond and live up to our 
Nation's global reputation as a place of safety and fairness and 
freedom. Although these children broke our immigration laws, they are 
not criminals. They are simply coming to our country to escape violence 
at home and strive for a better life in America.
  It is not only along our southern border where our immigration system 
is hurting families and hurting communities. In my home State of 
Washington I have heard from hundreds of families and businesses that 
have been directly impacted by this broken system, businesses such as 
West Sound Lumber Company on Orcas Island. It is a small sawmill that 
has been owned by the Helsell family for more than four decades. West 
Sound Lumber is only able to keep its doors open because of one young 
man--Benjamin Nunez-Marquez. He goes by ``Ben.'' Ben is an undocumented 
immigrant from Mexico, and he arrived on Orcas Island more than a 
decade ago. He has become a cherished member of that community and an 
expert sawyer. The Helsells will tell you that they would have to close 
down if they lost Ben, and that possibility nearly became a reality 
when Ben was randomly stopped by an immigration official while he was 
taking an elderly neighbor to a doctor's appointment out of town. 
Although he posed no danger to his community, the Department of 
Homeland Security scheduled him for deportation, which was only 
narrowly avoided this year after I took his case directly to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security and the Seattle Times told Ben's story 
on its front page.
  We should not be kicking people like Ben Nunez-Marquez out of this 
country. We should welcome him, treat him as a human being, and give 
him an opportunity to become a citizen in the country he loves--our 
country.
  Senseless deportations are not the only symptom of our broken 
immigration laws. Just this year local headlines and television reports 
in Washington State have revealed very concerning treatment of 
undocumented detainees at the Northwest Detention Center. That 
treatment led to a widely publicized hunger strike and protest in 
communities across my State.
  This is simply unacceptable. We must demand better than an 
immigration system that leaves men and women whose only crime is 
pursuit of the American dream to be locked up, abused, and discarded 
over the border. These problems are not new, and they are not going 
away.
  Throughout this year we have heard that House Republicans will have a 
window of opportunity to act on immigration reform. Well, we are in 
that window now. Republican primaries are behind us and the general 
election is months away, but that window is quickly closing. The 
pressure is on House Republicans, and millions of Americans across the 
country are hoping they do the right thing. The time to act is now.
  I think it is time to hope for the best but also plan for the worst. 
President Obama has made it clear that he is

[[Page S4101]]

willing to take administrative action if the House refuses to pass 
comprehensive immigration reform. I am on the floor of the Senate today 
to lay out my principles of what that action should look like and what 
I will urge the President to do if the worst happens and Republicans in 
the House do nothing.
  First of all, the administration should make changes to ensure that 
while we are being tough on those who are a threat to our public safety 
or our national security, we are also enforcing our immigration laws in 
a smart, humane way for the millions of undocumented immigrants who are 
American in all but name. Frankly, that means changing our priorities. 
It means focusing our immigration enforcement efforts, including 
deportations, on actual criminals who are a danger to our communities, 
not innocent people such as Ben who randomly cross paths with an 
immigration official and not undocumented immigrants who live in our 
communities, attend church alongside us, and whose crime is seeking a 
better life in the United States of America.

  It also means we should stop relying on detention centers to lock 
away undocumented immigrants who pose no public safety risk, are 
already in our country, and are contributing members of their 
community. Rather than simply locking them up under terrible conditions 
and then sending them away, we should take advantage of more humane, 
more cost-effective methods of enforcement, such as weekly check-ins 
with our immigration officials.
  Secondly, we need to reestablish in our immigration system the most 
basic of American principles: due process of law. For example, if you 
are in our country, absolutely no one should be deported or turned away 
from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge. 
Part of making that a reality is providing the funding for immigration 
judges and access to legal information for undocumented immigrants.
  The policies at every single Federal agency that deals with 
undocumented immigrants, including ICE, Border Patrol, and any other 
agency, should be reformed so they are consistent, transparent, and 
fair. For far too long the rules have been different from one Federal 
agency to another and the policies have been so convoluted and 
illogical that innocent families are being torn apart.
  We should also discontinue the use of unconstitutional ICE detainers 
when there is no probable cause, as many counties have bravely done in 
the Pacific Northwest, because not only is holding someone without 
probable cause a violation of our constitutional rights, it is 
expensive to local sheriffs and diverts precious law enforcement 
resources away from policing and protecting communities.
  We should reduce the 100-mile enforcement radius for Border Patrol 
agents and make sure there is not 1 inch of land in this country that 
can be called a Constitution-free zone.
  Finally, we must expand prosecutorial discretion and decide that 
before we deport someone such as Ben Nunez-Marquez out of this country, 
we should take a second to use our common sense first. We should build 
on the great success the administration has had with DACA--the deferred 
action for childhood arrivals policy--and ensure that Federal agencies 
are focusing their efforts on actual criminals, not families trying to 
make a life in the United States.
  None of these actions can solve the underlying problem of a broken 
immigration system. Only legislation from Congress can do that. If the 
inaction of the House Republicans continues--and I hope it doesn't--we 
could be left without a choice.
  Since that historic vote 1 year ago, we have all watched as more and 
more of our friends and neighbors fall victim to immigration laws that 
were designed for criminals, not families or our economy. We have seen 
Members of the House of Representatives choose politics over good 
policy and completely ignore a full-blown crisis that we have the power 
to change.
  I look forward to working with President Obama, along with 
Republicans and Democrats alike in Congress, to make sure our 
immigration system works. I know so many people here and around the 
country join me in hoping the House Republicans step up and do the job 
the American people expect them to do.
  I thank the Presiding Officer.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________