Durbin Statement on Texas Court DACA Ruling

CHICAGO—U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and original author of the Dream Act, released the following statement regarding a federal court ruling in Texas on the legality of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA):

“This cruel and misguided act of judicial fiat is the culmination of a longstanding Republican campaign to deport Dreamers.  Congress will now act quickly – with or without the party of Donald Trump – to allow these Americans to finally become citizens.  For too many years, Congress has looked the other way and found excuses to put off this decision.”

Durbin first introduced the Dream Act twenty years ago.  Earlier this year, Durbin and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced the Dream Act of 2021.  The Dream Act was also included in the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill that Durbin and Graham coauthored as part of the “Gang of Eight” – 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.

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