03.18.21

Durbin Statement on House Passage of the Dream and Promise Act & Farm Workforce Modernization Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the original sponsor of the Dream Act, today released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the American Dream and Promise Act, the House companion to the Dream Act.  These bills will establish a path to citizenship for Dreamers, immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and migrant farmworkers. 

“A legislative solution is long overdue for Dreamers who have devoted their lives to our country, undocumented migrant farmworkers doing backbreaking agricultural work during this pandemic to keep food on our tables, and TPS recipients who have built their lives here and are making essential contributions to our nation’s recovery."

“If the Senate is able to join the House in passing these bipartisan bills, we would be able to enact the most significant immigration legislation in more than 30 years.  I hope we seize this moment.” 

In April 2010, Durbin was the first member of Congress to call for the establishment of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.  Durbin has shared the stories of more than 120 Dreamers on the Senate floor since he introduced the Dream Act 20 years ago.  He was a member of the “Gang of 8,” Republicans and Democrats that authored comprehensive immigration legislation that passed the Senate in 2013. 

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