12.09.24

Durbin Previews Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On The Dangers Of Mass Deportation To American Families

During his speech, Durbin highlights his 148th Dreamer story on the Senate floor, Foday Turay; also a witness at tomorrow's hearing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor previewing tomorrow’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “How Mass Deportations Will Separate American Families, Harm Our Armed Forces, and Devastate Our Economy.” The hearing will examine the consequences of President-elect Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportations, as well as stress the need to shift our focus toward sensible solutions that would bring order to the border and provide a path to citizenship to longtime residents with no serious criminal convictions.

Durbin said, “Millions—some 13 million—undocumented immigrants live in this country, and many have been here for a decade or longer. These immigrants have become our nation’s health care workers, teachers, farmworkers, entrepreneurs, police—you name it. And many grew up alongside our own kids with the same hopes and dreams of getting their first job, getting a driver’s license, and [receiving a] college acceptance letter.”

Durbin has long been a champion for immigration reform. Durbin introduced the Dream Act 23 years ago with the late Republican Senator and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Orrin Hatch (R-UT). In 2010, Durbin sent a letter, joined by the late Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), asking then-President Obama to stop the deportation of Dreamers. Twelve years ago, President Obama responded by announcing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. More than 830,000 Dreamers have since come forward and received DACA, which has allowed them to contribute more fully to this country as teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, small business owners, and more. 

The Dream Act was also included in the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill that Durbin coauthored as part of the “Gang of Eight”—made up of four Democrats and four Republicans. The 2013 bill passed the Senate on a strong bipartisan vote of 68-32, but the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives refused to consider it. Over the years, Senate Republicans have filibustered the Dream Act at least five times.

Durbin continued, “These young Dreamers [who are DACA recipients] … earned $27.9 billion and contributed [nearly] $2.1 billion to Social Security and Medicare in the year 2022. They’re a big part of America [and] a big part of our economy. One of those DACA recipients I’m going to highlight today [is] Foday Turay. He is currently a prosecutor, a husband, and a father, and he is going to testify before our Judiciary Committee tomorrow. Foday is the 148th Dreamer whose story I have shared on the Senate floor.”

“He [Foday] came to the U.S. from Sierra Leone when he was seven, after his grandmother became ill and died. Foday didn’t know he was undocumented until much later in life. He decided to apply for a driver’s license and they said ‘you’re not a citizen, you can’t apply.’ He was devastated. He had dreamed of going to law school and becoming an attorney, and now everything seemed utterly impossible because of his citizenship status. But Foday never wavered in his faith and hope to make it in this country. He said the day DACA was announced was the best day of his life,” Durbin said.

Thanks to DACA, Foday attended college and then Penn State Dickinson Law, where he received his J.D. Foday now works full time as a prosecutor for the District Attorney’s office in Philadelphia, where he protects his community from violent crimes and helps crime victims navigate a complex legal system. Growing up in the United States since he was a little boy, Foday has put down deep roots. He met and married his wife, who is a U.S. citizen. He is a proud homeowner and father to a beautiful 18-month-old baby boy.

Durbin continued, “DACA allowed Foday to pursue his dreams of becoming a lawyer, husband, and father, but his life is still in limbo.” 

In 2017, Trump shut down the DACA program. Thankfully, the Supreme Court blocked his effort, but he also encouraged MAGA Republicans to file lawsuits against DACA, endangering the program’s future.

“President-elect Trump stated in an interview yesterday that he now wants to ‘work something out’ to help Dreamers. My ears perked up. After 23 years, I'm ready. Then he went on to say that ‘Democrats [have] made it very, very difficult to do [anything].’ I just want to say to President-elect Trump, and I’ve said it to his face, and I will say it again, anytime, anywhere—let's sit down. Let's start talking about these hundreds of thousands of young people who are doing their best to lead a good life and to help America and just want a chance for a future. I'm ready and willing to negotiate in good faith with my Republican colleagues in the Senate and the President-elect to finally provide Dreamers with a pathway to citizenship, which they deserve,” said Durbin.

“But there’s a reason to be skeptical, if not cynical. [In his] last term, President-elect Trump walked away from four different bipartisan compromises with Democrats to solve the DACA crisis. Democrats were willing to provide billions of dollars, at one point, for President Trump’s unpopular border wall in exchange for a bipartisan Dream Act, but we just couldn't seem to reach a positive answer. I'm not giving up on this quest, because I'm not going to give up on these DACA [recipients and Dreamers],” Durbin said.

Throughout President-elect Trump’s time in office and during the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump and his anti-immigrant advisors like Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, and Tom Homan have threatened to use the power of the American military to deport upwards of 13 million noncitizens, including long-time DACA holders, farmworkers, and TPS beneficiaries.

“We can all agree that any undocumented immigrant found guilty of a serious crime should not be allowed to stay here… But the last time the President-elect was in office, it wasn’t just criminals who were deported. We saw parents separated from young children, causing permanent trauma. Sadly, some of those kids have not been reunited with their families. We saw meatpacking plants and other workplaces raided. These raids were not targeted at criminals—or even those without citizenship status. In some of these raids, we saw U.S. citizens detained for hours,” Durbin said.

“And we saw Dreamers like Foday deported. Immigrants who were pillars of their communities. So, once again, I come to the floor and say: Would America really be better off [with] an outstanding public servant like Foday gone from this country? I think not. Would our country be better if we lost farmworkers who have contributed to America for decades? Or if the military was used to round up hardworking immigrants with no serious criminal backgrounds? The answer is, over and over again, a resounding no,” Durbin continued.

Nearly 65 percent of Americans support a pathway to citizenship for long-time undocumented immigrants, and a majority oppose the use of the military to conduct mass deportations.

Durbin concluded, “At tomorrow’s hearing, we will examine the need to protect tax paying, hardworking Americans like Foday. And we will discuss the cruelty and chaos that will inevitably result [from] mass deportation… Immigrants like Foday deserve stability and certainty—not fear. I stand ready to work on a bipartisan basis to protect families like Foday’s and provide them with the security they deserve.”

Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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