[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S208-S209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BORDER SECURITY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I would like to turn briefly to another 
urgent topic. We must restore order at our southern border and enforce 
our immigration laws in a fair and humane way. That is why the Senate 
has been engaged in bipartisan talks on a path forward for weeks.
  The Republican Governor of Texas takes a much different view. He has 
implemented cruel--even deadly--and ineffective immigration policies 
that sow chaos, risk lives, and prevent Federal border officials from 
doing their jobs.
  Last week, a woman and two children tragically died in the Rio Grande 
River while Mexican authorities rescued other migrants in distress. The 
U.S. Border Patrol could not reach these migrants in need because the 
Texas National Guard actively blocked access to the Rio Grande River. 
This is just the latest tragedy resulting from Governor Abbott's 
policies.
  As part of its so-called Operation Lone Star, Texas has strung razor 
wire along the border which has seriously injured migrants, and it has 
dropped migrant children off at truck stops in Illinois in subzero 
temperatures. We warned him. The Governor of Illinois warned Governor 
Abbott of Texas that if you haphazardly drop these migrants off in 
Chicago at this time of year, terrible things can occur. A few weeks 
ago, a little boy died. God knows who others were in danger because of 
the Governor of Texas and his strategy.

  Texas passed a new law that makes it a State crime to cross the 
border without inspection and recently began arresting immigrants who 
crossed the border, placing them into State custody. Governor Abbott 
defends these policies, even though there is zero evidence they deter 
migrants from crossing the border.
  We must discourage migrants from risking their lives by approaching 
the United States between ports of entry, but we cannot stand by while 
Governor Abbott increases the likelihood of injury or death. Despite 
their desperation to reach safety, most migrants wish to enter the 
United States lawfully. Many wait months at our border for appointments 
to make asylum claims.
  In defending his policies, the Governor of Texas recently bragged:

       [T]he only thing that we're not doing is we're not shooting 
     people who come across the border, because of course the 
     Biden Administration would charge us with murder.

  This is a direct quote from Governor Abbott.
  His actions are not only dangerous and cruel, they are 
unconstitutional. Under our Constitution, States do not have the right 
to pass their own laws preempting Federal laws on immigration.
  Just yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Federal 
Government, allowing Border Patrol agents to cut through or remove 
razor wire that the Governor of Texas installed on the border.
  As former Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his opinion in Arizona v. 
United States, which found parts of Arizona's anti-immigration law 
unconstitutional:

       [T]he history of the United States is in part made of the 
     stories, talents, and lasting contributions of those who 
     crossed oceans and deserts to come here.

  With that sentiment in mind, Congress must do its job and pass 
immigration laws that honor our history as a nation of immigrants and 
provide the critical resources necessary to address the challenges at 
our border.
  I guess I pretty well know, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary 
Committee in favor of immigration--legal immigration--to this country, 
I believe immigration is a critical element of who we are and what we 
will become. It is part of our past, and it should be part of our 
future.
  My mother was an immigrant to this country, and I have never 
forgotten it. I am lucky to be standing here today as a U.S. Senator, 
because her parents had the courage to come to a country where they 
didn't speak the language in the hopes of a better life for her and her 
children. One of her children is now standing in the U.S. Senate.
  I believe that is part of America's history, but there are certain 
elements which we must acknowledge. No. 1, the United States cannot 
absorb all of the people who want to come to this country at this 
moment. We have to have an orderly process that makes sense not only 
for the migrants but that also makes sense for America, first and 
foremost. We have to be cognizant and sensitive to our Nation's safety 
and security. That is No. 1. We should never knowingly allow anyone to 
come to this country who would cause us harm.
  Secondly, we have to make sure that those who come will add to 
America, and I believe most will. If given a chance, they will become 
part of our economy, even starting at the lowest levels and working 
their way up. It is the story of immigration in America.
  In addition to that, we need to work with other countries to regulate 
the flow of refugees. The refugee crisis in the world today is the 
worst it has ever been, and we are seeing it evidenced in the fact that 
those who present themselves at our southern border are often from 
places like China and Asia and Africa, and they find their way to the 
Mexican border with the United States in the hopes of a future. We need 
an orderly process.
  We also need to make sure that we have the legal authorization of 
people to come to this country to work. I can't tell you how many 
people in Illinois have come to me and said: We are desperate for 
workers. Americans won't fill these jobs, and we need people who will. 
All the way up from farming to industry, that is the story, and that is 
the reality.

[[Page S209]]

  What we need to do is come to an agreement that is sensible here, a 
bipartisan agreement, and do it quickly. The numbers approaching our 
border are so overwhelming, we have no choice but to do that.
  I want to work on a bipartisan basis with those in good faith and 
good will who will recognize that immigration is not only our history 
but our future, but it must be in an orderly fashion. That is what I am 
looking for, and I think America is as well.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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