[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 180 (Tuesday, November 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6495-S6497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 6
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, for clarity, I ask unanimous consent to
bring to the floor the Dream and Promise Act for a vote in the Senate--
a measure which would address the very issue that is before the Supreme
Court today. I am making this on behalf of Senator Schumer, Senator
Leahy, Senator Rosen, Senator Tim Kaine, Senator Menendez, and Senator
Cardin.
As if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 112, H.R. 6;
further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and
the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon table, with
no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I am reserving the right to object,
and I will object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I would like to articulate the reason
for the objection to the legislation that is brought forward by my
friend the Senator from Illinois.
Once again, I found it necessary for the good of the order to object
to a unanimous consent request brought by our friends in the minority.
Once again, they are attempting to bypass the Senate's rules on behalf
of a piece of legislation this body has not had time to debate, to
deliberate, or to consider in committee.
The American Dream and Promise Act passed the House of
Representatives by a near party-line vote; unsurprising, considering
the bill addresses the contentious issue of immigration law. This bill,
supported by the Senator from Illinois, would offer temporary legal
status to 2\1/2\ million undocumented immigrants.
Those affected immigrants have tried to remain in the United States
under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or the DACA Program--
a backstop made possible by nothing more than an Executive memo signed
by former President Barack Obama.
I think this is important for us to realize that it was an Executive
memo that put this program in place. It is not a Federal law. President
Trump ended the DACA Program in 2017, arguing the Obama
administration's attempt to subvert immigration law on such a massive
scale was unlawful and possibly unconstitutional. Soon after, President
Trump offered a path to legalization for DACA recipients, but our
friends in the minority refused to take him up on that offer.
We have to remember this: There was a path to legalization for DACA
recipients that was offered by President Donald Trump. Our friends in
the minority said: No; no, we do not want that.
They continued with the issue. I will tell you, every Dreamer in the
country should be outraged by the minority's
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refusal to come to the table and negotiate on an offer that was on the
table. I encourage my friends on the other side of the aisle to
remember that the Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision to
maintain an injunction on the nationwide DAPA Program--a scheme similar
to DACA but aimed at parents, as opposed to children.
Although that decision set no legal precedent, it did open up an
opportunity for the new administration--and for each and every one of
us in the Senate--to rebuild various fixes in our immigration system
without running afoul of existing legal barriers.
As my friend the Senator from Illinois likes to point out, Senators
from both sides of the aisle have been working on this issue--it has
been with us for years--and it is imperative we find a consensus
solution.
If the minority wishes to offer peace of mind and a path forward to
Dreamers, they should do it in such a way that allows the American
people to hold each and every one of us accountable for repercussions.
We should do this through regular order. I reiterate my objection to
the minority whip's motion.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator object?
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, yes, I do object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, for the record, how many pieces of
legislation did we consider in the Senate last week? None. The week
before? None. How many months has this measure been sitting in the
Senate, the Republican-controlled Senate? Five months, and for five
months the Republican leader has not considered it worthy to even bring
it before the Senate for debate.
I don't control the agenda. Senator McConnell does. He has decided
this measure is not worth debating on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
When I come and make a unanimous consent request to bring this
measure to the floor, it isn't as if we are taking away an option,
which the Republican leader is using. He is not. When we look back to
the debate or at least the effort to find a compromise with President
Trump on this issue, it is next to impossible. He is surrounded by
people who are completely against DACA and Dreamers. Stephen Miller is
a good illustration of one. It used to be Jeff Sessions. He is no
longer with the administration. Every time the President starts to lean
toward DACA and the Dreamers, these people intervene and stop him, and
negotiations come to an end.
It is time for us in the Senate not to wait for a permission slip
from President Trump to pass legislation. I am prepared to bring this
matter to the floor and to accept the decision on the amendments on the
floor. We are in the minority. We will lose some of these amendments.
So be it. Let's let the Senate be the Senate and deliberate these
measures. To argue that I shouldn't be asking to bring it to the floor
because it has to go through regular order, the obvious question is:
When is Senator McConnell going to pursue regular order on a measure
that has been sitting here for 5 months?
Let me say a word, if I can, while we are on the subject, about the
people who are involved. We can talk about Senate procedure and law all
we wish, but what we should do is discuss the real people who are
involved.
In 1,000 days in office, this President has issued 11,000 tweets. No
surprise, is it? There are 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 a day. He issued one this
morning about the young people who are in question here. I would like
to read President Donald Trump's tweet from this morning, as the case
was headed to the Supreme Court. Here is what he tweeted:
Many of the people in DACA, no longer very young, are far
from ``angels.'' Some are very tough, hardened criminals.
President Obama said he had no legal right to sign order, but
would anyway. If Supreme Court remedies with overturn, a deal
will be made with Dems for them to stay!
May I address one particular aspect of the tweet of the President of
the United States on this subject affecting the fate of 780,000 young
people living in the United States? Probably the best thing is not to
do it generically but to talk about specifics.
Let me tell you a story about two DACA recipients, both attending
Loyola University in Chicago--the city I am honored to represent. They
both came to Washington, DC, today, and sat in the Supreme Court during
the argument. I am going to leave it up to my Members and colleagues in
the Senate, as well as those who are following this debate, to reach
their own conclusion about these two whom I am about to tell the story
of. You decide whether this man is a tough and hardened criminal. His
name is Cesar Montelongo. He grew up in the State of New Mexico. He was
a pretty good student. In fact, he was an excellent student. He
graduated from high school with a grade point average of 4.0 and ranked
third in his class. He went on to New Mexico State University, where he
was a triple major in biology, microbiology, and Spanish, as well as
two minors in chemistry and biochemistry. Cesar graduated with a 3.9
GPA.
This hardened criminal then went on to earn a master's degree in
biology, with a minor in molecular biology, while working as a teaching
assistant. Then DACA came along. For the first time in his life, he had
a chance to apply for medical school. He never thought that could
happen. He applied and was accepted at Loyola University's Chicago
Stritch School of Medicine. It is quite an achievement.
The Presiding Officer, who is also a medical doctor, I am sure
understands that, but he did one better. He enrolled in the M.D.-Ph.D.
program at Loyola University. He was just in my office upstairs, and he
told me that in a matter of 2 or 3 years, he will have completed his
Ph.D. in microbiology, and then he can go on to complete his medical
degree and his residency.
This tough, hardened criminal--according to the President--has
designs on becoming a medical researcher in the United States of
America. When he completes this highly competitive program, he will
have a medical degree and a doctorate degree in science.
He is one of dozens of DACA recipients at the Stritch School. My hat
is off to Loyola University. They have admitted more DACA students to
their medical school than any other medical school in the United
States. They are amazing students. I have met them. Many, if not all of
them, have promised to come back to my State of Illinois, having had
this chance to go to medical school in Chicago, and serve in
underserved areas after they have become practicing doctors. Loyola
doesn't give them any special treatment in the selection process. They
are not eligible for any Federal financial assistance.
I just want to thank them and say to the President of the United
States: Before you put out a tweet calling Cesar Montelongo or people
like him hardened criminals, Mr. President, take a minute and meet
these young people.
While you are at it, meet this young lady too. She was just in my
office. Her name is Fernanda Herrera Vera. When she was 2 years old,
her family brought her from Mexico to the United States. When she was
7, her family was forced to leave Guntersville, AL, when her father
lost his job due to his immigration status. The family settled in
Gadsden, AL, where Fernanda attended a private Catholic school on a
scholarship.
When she was 10, her parents opened a restaurant. Every day after
school, she went to the restaurant to wait tables and help run the
restaurant, doing her homework in her spare time. During Fernanda's
junior year of high school, Alabama passed the harshest anti-
immigration law in the country, which forced her family to close down
their restaurant.
Alabama barred Dreamers from attending even public colleges, but
thanks to DACA, Fernanda was able to attend a private school, Samford
University in Birmingham, AL. Her parents worked hard to pay tuition.
She qualified for no Federal financial assistance. Her dad worked 80
hours a week at a chicken plant so that she could go to college. She
graduated from Samford in 2017, and her experience has driven her to
become an immigration activist. She worked at the Alabama Coalition for
Immigrant Justice.
After President Trump repealed DACA in 2017, Fernanda came to
Washington for a 4-day hunger fast with other DACA recipients on the
Capitol lawn.
Last year, Fernanda was admitted to the Loyola University Chicago
School
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of Law. But this spring, her mother was pulled over in Georgia for
driving with a broken taillight. Her mother is now in deportation
proceedings.
It is tough enough to go to school without Federal financial help. It
is tough enough to work your way through it. It is tough enough not to
know how the Supreme Court is going to rule tomorrow or the day after
and whether it will change your fate. It is tough enough to know that
any knock at the door could mean deportation for members of your
family. Yet she has persevered.
A hardened criminal, Mr. President?
Fernanda's dream is to become an immigration lawyer. She wants to
help people just like her mom.
Without DACA, Cesar Montelongo will not become a doctor. Fernanda
Herrera Vera will not become an attorney. Will America be a better
country if they are forced to leave, if they are deported? I don't
think so.
Cesar, Fernanda, and hundreds of thousands of other Dreamers are
counting on the Supreme Court to do the right thing and reject
President Trump's repeal of DACA. They are also counting on those of us
who serve in the Senate to stop making excuses and solve this crisis.
A bill has passed the House. I tried to bring it to the floor of the
Senate, and there was an objection today. It isn't because we are
overwhelmed with work. As you can see, we spend a lot of time making
speeches.
Since Senator McConnell refuses to take any action to address the
plight of the Dreamers, I am going to continue to make this unanimous
consent request. Next week, I don't want the excuse to be that we are
not following regular order, but in the meantime, I hope the Senate
Judiciary Committee will take up this measure, as they have so many
times over the last 15 years or so, and bring it to the floor of the
Senate.
Once and for all, could we be the U.S. Senate for a week? Could we
actually consider a piece of legislation here that addresses an issue
that is critically important to hundreds of thousands of people living
in the United States of America?
What a relief it would be to see this Senate actually as a Senate, to
see Members on the floor debating issues. I am not going to win every
debate. Every amendment I want is not going to pass, but I am prepared
to accept the outcome. Let's do what the Senate was elected to do.
I am sorry there was an objection today. As long as I am a U.S.
Senator, I am going to continue to come to the floor of the Senate to
advocate for Cesar, Fernanda and all of the Dreamers. It would be an
American tragedy to deport these two promising young people.
Now it is in the hands of Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican
majority leader, to give the Dream and Promise Act a vote and to say to
those 780,000 who do not know what their future will be just days or
weeks from now that there is an answer: We want you to be part of
America.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I know my friend from Illinois, Senator
Durbin, is sincere in his desire to get some relief for the DACA
recipients, whose case is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. I
share a desire to give them some certainty. That is why I supported
what President Trump offered in February of 2018, which was a pathway
to citizenship not only for the individuals who had applied for and
received deferred action under President Obama's administration but for
all those who were eligible but did not apply.
What continues to confuse me is how our Democratic colleagues will
routinely vote against that offer, which was incredibly generous. I
don't think any other President in my lifetime would have had the
boldness and the courage to offer a pathway to citizenship for 1.8
million DACA-eligible young people, but President Trump did, and our
Democratic colleagues turned it down. That leads me to wonder about
their sincerity. Do they like this political issue more than they have
a desire to find a solution to the problem?
I agree that these young people, who through no fault of their own
came to the United States because their parents brought them here, are
the most sympathetic and deserving cohort of immigrants in the country.
I wish we could work together to come up with a solution. But at some
point you have to wonder whether our Democratic colleagues prefer not
to solve the problem but would rather try to portray this as a
political football for partisan advantage in the runup to the next
election.
That is tragic--toying with the lives of these young people, stoking
their insecurity, telling them you are on their side but on the other
hand voting against an offer to provide them a pathway toward
citizenship. I don't know how you reconcile those two positions.