Durbin: We Must Restore Order At Our Southern Border And Enforce Our Immigration Laws In A Fair And Humane Way

Floor Speech

“We must restore order at our southern border and enforce our immigration laws in a fair and humane way—that’s why the Senate has been engaged in bipartisan talks on a path forward for weeks. The Republican Governor of Texas takes a different view. He has implemented cruel and ineffective immigration policies that sow chaos, risk lives, and prevent federal border officials from doing their jobs.
Governor Abbott defends these policies even though there is zero evidence that 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 Texas Governor 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.
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 southern border.
I believe immigration is a critical element in who we are and what we will become. It is part of our past. It will be part of our future. My mother was an immigrant to this country, and I've never forgotten. I'm lucky to be standing here as a United States Senator because her parents had the courage to come to a country where they didn't even speak the language in the hopes of a better life for her and her children.

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