[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4452]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                              IMMIGRATION

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, it has been almost 3 years since the Senate 
passed comprehensive immigration reform. Senate Democrats worked with a 
handful of Republicans to craft a good, fair, comprehensive immigration 
reform bill that passed with strong bipartisan support. Then we watched 
as Speaker Boehner capitulated to the tea party radicals and refused to 
allow a vote on the floor. It would have passed overwhelmingly.
  To his credit, President Obama saw Republicans' inertia on 
immigration reform and decided to act. He told us in his State of the 
Union Address that he was tired of waiting around for Republicans to do 
things, so he had to do it himself, and that is what he has done.
  Using his Executive authority under existing law, he worked to fix 
the system to prioritize enforcement resources on those who actually 
pose a threat to our national security and public safety. On November 
20, 2014, President Obama ordered a series of Executive actions that 
increased border security and ensured greater accountability throughout 
our immigration system.
  One aspect of President Obama's Executive actions was the Deferred 
Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents Program. 
The program provided temporary deportation relief for parents of U.S. 
citizens and lawful permanent residents, if they meet three basic 
requirements. No. 1, they have to be in the country for at least 5 
years; No. 2, they must register with the government; and No. 3, they 
must pass a criminal background check. Today, there are over 5 million 
children--all U.S. citizens--who are eligible for this program.
  President Obama also expanded the Deferred Action for Childhood 
Arrival Program, helping to protect DREAMers, the undocumented children 
who were brought to the United States at a very young age. To date, 
over 700,000 DREAMers have been protected--12,000 in Nevada alone. Not 
only were these Executive actions the right thing to do, they were also 
smart investments. Nevada will benefit from about a $3.5 million-a-year 
increase in State and local tax revenues. Nevadans will see an increase 
in earnings of more than $1 billion over 10 years. Together these 
programs will help grow America by $230 billion over the next 10 years, 
but now this progress is being threatened.
  Shortly after President Obama's announcement, a politically motivated 
lawsuit was filed by the Texas attorney general and joined by 
Republican Governors and attorneys--not all of them but a lot of them. 
The Texas attorney general won a preliminary injunction temporarily 
blocking both programs. This came from a single judge.
  The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider the case and today it heard 
oral arguments. They were good. I thought it was an extremely sound, 
deliberate argument. I think the Justices--most of them--had questions 
that went to the heart of what the issues are, standing and other 
things. A decision to overturn the President's actions would put many 
families with U.S. citizen children at risk of deportation and prevent 
the Department of Homeland Security from doing its job of focusing on 
criminals and other threats to national security and public safety.
  In Nevada alone, President Obama's Executive actions stand to help 
50,000 people. Those are 50,000 Nevadans who should not be separated 
from their families.
  The U.S. Supreme Court must do the right thing and recognize 
President Obama's authority. That is why I joined 38 other Senate 
Democrats and 186 House Democrats in filing an amicus brief with the 
Supreme Court, making clear that Congress granted the Department of 
Homeland Security broad discretion in enforcing our country's 
immigration laws. What the President did was both lawful and it was 
necessary. He helped target limited enforcement resources. It is also 
what every other President since Eisenhower has done, including Ronald 
Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Instead of litigating the President's 
lawful actions, Republicans should work to fix the immigration system 
in Congress. By working with Democrats to pass immigration reform, they 
would render the President's Executive actions unnecessary.
  I hope the Supreme Court decides in the administration's favor. I 
think they will, even though the Court is short a member. I hope these 
Executive orders are implemented to bring hard-working families out of 
the shadows, but our Nation would be far better off with a permanent 
solution. Our Nation would be far better off with a bipartisan, 
comprehensive overhaul of our Nation's immigration laws.
  My friend the assistant minority leader has been at the forefront of 
these immigration issues. The DREAM Act is something he put forward 15 
years ago. I admire the work he has done on this. I think he has kept 
this issue alive, when a lot of Republicans wanted it to go away. He 
has been helpful to the people of Nevada--people who don't know his 
name and will never ever see him, but we have 12,000 DREAMers whose 
lives have been changed forever, and we hope the same will happen to 
their parents.
  Mr. President, would the Chair announce the business of the day.

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