Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Immigration
Durbin Thanks Trump For Keeping DACA In Place
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) came to the Senate floor today to praise President Trump for keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in place. Originally requested by Durbin and former Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), and granted under President Obama, DACA grants temporary reprieve from deportation to certain undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. "[DACA] has enabled approximately 790,000 talented young people to … Continue Reading
July 27, 2017
Durbin, Schumer, Democratic Senators Call On President Trump To Protect Dreamers
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 40 of their Democratic Senate colleagues today asked President Donald Trump to use his executive authority to the greatest extent possible to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary relief from deportation to immigrant students who arrived in the United States as children if they register with the government, pay a fee, and pass … Continue Reading
July 24, 2017
Durbin Discusses Bipartisan Dream Act
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed The Dream Act of 2017, a bipartisan measure that would give young immigrants-more commonly known as Dreamers-a chance to earn lawful permanent residence and citizenship. Durbin was joined by Dreamers who shared their personal stories at a news conference at Harold Washington Community College. "It was 16 years ago - in 2001 - that I first introduced the Dream Act to give undocumented students who grew up in this country a chance to … Continue Reading
July 20, 2017
Graham, Durbin Introduce Bipartisan Dream Act To Give Immigrant Students A Path To Citizenship
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Dream Act, which would allow immigrant students who grew up in the United States to earn lawful permanent residence and eventually American citizenship. These young people, known as Dreamers, have lived in America since they were children, built their lives here, and are American in every way except for their immigration status. However, under current law they live in fear of deportation and have no … Continue Reading
July 13, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Combat Corruption In Border Patrol, Immigration And Customs Enforcement
Bill Would Strengthen CBP Polygraph Requirement, Establish Requirement At ICE Hundreds of DHS employees have been arrested or indicted for corruption since last decade WASHINGTON - In response to the President's proposed hiring surge of thousands of border and immigration agents, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced legislation to combat corruption in the ranks of U.S. Customs and Border … Continue Reading
July 13, 2017
Durbin: President Trump's Wall Won't Fix Broken Immigration System
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, slammed the Trump Administration's simplistic approach to immigration, arguing that a border wall would do little to stop people overstaying visas, who make up the majority of recent unauthorized immigrants. Senator Durbin recalled that the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013 - which he helped author as a member of the "Gang of 8" - would have increased border … Continue Reading
June 29, 2017
Durbin Statement On Trump Administration's Unfair Travel Ban Criteria
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of State issued new criteria in response to the Supreme Court's decision on President Donald Trump's ban on travelers from six-Muslim majority nations and all refugees. "Earlier this week, the Supreme Court exempted from the ban travelers and refugees with a 'bona fide relationship' with individuals or entities in the United … Continue Reading
June 26, 2017
Durbin Statement On SCOTUS Decision On Trump Travel Ban
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement after the Supreme Court decision to hear a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. The Court will hear arguments in the lawsuit against the Administration during its October term. For the President of the United States to be forced to defend his travel ban before the Supreme … Continue Reading
May 08, 2017
Durbin, Feinstein Statement on Drastic, Unilateral Changes to Private Bills
WASHINGTON - Senate Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) issued the following statement in response to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's decision to discontinue a decades-long bipartisan policy of issuing stays of removal for private immigration bills when the Chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee requests a report on a beneficiary's case. "Children's and families' lives are on the line. … Continue Reading
May 05, 2017
Durbin, Grassley: Congress needs to give Labor Department Authority to Investigate H-1B Visa Abuse
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the U.S. Department of Labor's response to a request by the senators to investigate the harm done to American workers by the rising tide of H-1B guest worker visa abuse: "The Labor Department's response further highlights the urgent need to end H-1B visa abuse. The wellbeing of thousands of hard-working Americans is at stake. A number of U.S. employers, including some large, … Continue Reading
April 18, 2017
Durbin Statement on Reports DACA Recipient Deported to Mexico
CHICAGO-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), ranking member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement after USA Today reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection deported a DACA-protected individual in February. "I'm disturbed about reports that a Dreamer with DACA protection has been deported. I've contacted DHS to demand an explanation. Just last month Secretary Kelly promised me that no one with DACA would lose this protection unless they violated the terms … Continue Reading
April 18, 2017
Durbin on Trump Executive Order to Review H-1B Program: Too Little, Too Late
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing several government agencies to review the H-1B visa program. Durbin, who for a decade has sponsored bipartisan legislation to protect American workers from H-1B abuses, sent President Trump a letter more than a month ago urging him to keep his promise to reform the H-1B visa program before the April … Continue Reading
March 17, 2017
Senators Call for Investigation of Sebastian Gorka After Reports Surface of Ties to Neo-Nazi Group
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) today called on the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to investigate whether senior White House counterterrorism advisor Dr. Sebastian Gorka falsified his U.S. naturalization application by failing to disclose his membership in a Hungarian neo-Nazi organization. According to the Forward, leaders of the Historical Vitézi Rend have identified Dr. Gorka as a member of the organization … Continue Reading
March 06, 2017
Durbin Statement On New Trump Travel Ban
CHICAGO - Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement after President Trump signed a revised executive order banning travel from certain Muslim-majority countries and all refugees. "No amount of relabeling will change the fact that President Trump's travel ban is unconstitutional and un-American. Wasting taxpayer dollars and unnecessarily inflicting pain on innocent families isn't going to change that. … Continue Reading
March 03, 2017
Durbin Calls Out President Trump’s Failure To Put American Workers First
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, is calling out President Donald Trump for failing to deliver on his campaign promise to put American workers first by cracking down on H-1B visa abuse. In a letter to President Trump, Senator Durbin slammed the Administration's decision to pursue "cruel and un-American policies that harm our economy, do not make us safer, and are inconsistent with our heritage as a nation of … Continue Reading
March 03, 2017
Durbin Calls Out President Trump's Failure to Put America Workers First
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, is calling out President Donald Trump for failing to deliver on his campaign promise to put American workers first by cracking down on H-1B visa abuse. In a letter to President Trump, Senator Durbin slammed the Administration's decision to pursue "cruel and un-American policies that harm our economy, do not make us safer, and are inconsistent with our heritage as a nation of … Continue Reading
February 28, 2017
Durbin Statement on Trump Address to Congress
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on President Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress: Tonight, President Trump continued to make big promises but didn't offer any real plans to achieve them. He has yet to propose a concrete strategy to create jobs in America, which jeopardizes the historic job growth of the past eight years. The policies he has put forward have already had tragic human costs-tearing families apart and … Continue Reading
February 28, 2017
Durbin Meets With Undocumented Medical Student Who Will Be His Guest For President Trump’s Address
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today met with Illinois DREAMer Aaima Sayed, who will be his guest for President Donald Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress. Aaima, who has temporary legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, is a third-year medical student at the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago. "Our country is stronger thanks to the … Continue Reading
February 27, 2017
Durbin To Host Undocumented Medical Student For President Trump’s Address
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, will host Illinois DREAMer Aaima Sayed as his guest for President Donald Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress. Aaima, who has temporary legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, is a third-year medical student at the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago. "Our country is stronger thanks to the contributions of … Continue Reading
February 20, 2017
Durbin Statement On DHS Mass Deportation Guidelines
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, released the following statement in response to leaked memos from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implementing President Trump's controversial executive orders on immigration. "These guidelines are now the official policy of the Trump Administration, implementing the President's mass deportation Executive Orders. I have called on my counterpart on the … Continue Reading