Fellow Illinoisan,

It has been more than ten years since I joined with then-Republican Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana to call on then-President Obama to use his legal authority to protect Dreamers from deportation.  He responded by creating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, more commonly known as DACA.  

In the time since, more than 800,000 Dreamers have come forward to register with the government, pay a fee, and pass criminal and national security background checks.  Because of DACA, Dreamers have finally been able to get a drivers license, attend college, and work legally in the United States.  Today, they are contributing to our country as soldiers, nurses, teachers, and small business owners.  And more than 200,000 DACA recipients -- including 41,700 health care workers -- are essential workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

DURBIN SPEAKS ON SENATE FLOOR FOLLOWING SUPREME COURT DACA RULING

On September 5, 2017, President Trump decided to repeal DACA.  He had no plan in place for the people hanging in the balance. Hundreds of thousands of Dreamers faced losing their work permits and being deported to countries they barely remember. 

Thankfully, last week the United States Supreme Court found that the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to rescind DACA was “arbitrary” and “capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act.

So, for the moment, DACA is safe.  But our fight is far from over.  Dreamers still do not have a path to citizenship and President Trump could attempt to undo DACA a second time.  That’s why Congress must step in. 

More than a year ago, the House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act, legislation that would give Dreamers a path to citizenship, on a bipartisan basis.  It has been sitting on Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s desk ever since. 

On Monday, I led the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in calling on Senator McConnell to give this bill a vote as soon as possible.  We must ensure that hundreds of thousands of talented young immigrants are not forced to stop working when the need for their public service has never been greater.  And we must give them the chance they deserve to become American citizens.

Sincerely, 

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)