[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 18, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2555-S2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Immigration

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the majority leader reminds us of the 
tragedy that occurred in Buffalo over the weekend and how the shooter 
was somehow captivated by the notion of replacement theory--a theory 
which is so insane and so mean-spirited that it ignores what this 
country is all about.
  A few minutes ago, over at what they call the House swamp, we held a 
press conference. Senator Alex Padilla of California, myself, 
Congresswoman Ross, and Congressman Bera met with a group of young 
people. There were about 50 of them. Some were high school age; some 
were in college. They are the sons and daughters of people who came to 
the United States on H-1B visas. These are visas where people are 
allowed to come here for a period of years and work, and the visas can 
be renewed.
  Children and families who accompany them are growing up in America, 
living in America, while the breadwinner goes off to work each day, but 
the clock is ticking. When the kids of these visa holders reach the age 
of 21, they are subject to self-deportation. In other words, they have 
no legal rights in America to remain.
  The reason that they are in suspense for so long is that the green 
card backlog can be decades while the parents are waiting for 
permission to become legal in the United States on a permanent basis. 
So these young people live in uncertainty.
  Senator Padilla's bill is an effort--and I join with him in that 
bill--an effort to give them the opportunity to earn their way to 
citizenship, to become legal in America. Why would we give up this 
talent? These young people have grown up in America. They have

[[Page S2556]]

been successful in school. They have participated in community 
activities. They are ready to be part of America's future, I can tell.
  One young woman got up there and told the story of how she came to 
California with her parents under similar circumstances. She now is 
completing her Ph.D. in biochemistry at Cornell University. She wants 
to go into cancer research. Is America better if we force her to leave 
this country at this point? She doesn't think so. She thinks she can 
make this a better nation and better world if she can stay in America.
  The folks who are so dead set against immigration ought to just pause 
for a moment and meet the people we are talking about, the people who 
are coming into this country, taking the jobs which Americans don't 
want to take, doing things which Americans aspire to but don't achieve, 
and many other aspects of our life that are really enriched by their 
presence.
  So I would urge my colleagues to support us in this bipartisan effort 
for this bill. But I would also urge them to step back and make it 
clear, the ``replacement theory'' is an insane approach to America. It 
ignores our history; it ignores our future; and it ignores the reality 
of our economy today.