Ahead of her confirmation vote, Durbin outlines his concerns about her nomination on the Senate floor, including President Trump's "mass deportation" plans
WASHINGTON – Ahead of the confirmation vote of Governor Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor about his concerns regarding her nomination. Durbin voted “no” on Governor Noem’s nomination.
“The Department of Homeland Security, which Governor Noem is seeking to lead, is now embarking on a new era, the new Trump 47 era, where ‘mass deportation’ is the catch phrase of the day… We don’t know for sure how it will be implemented, but I’m very concerned,” Durbin said. “So Governor Noem’s aspiration to head this agency [DHS] comes at a critical moment in history.”
Durbin continued, “Kristi Noem, the Governor of South Dakota, has said she wants to end birthright citizenship. She’s described the southern border as a ‘war zone’ and called unauthorized immigration an ‘invasion.’ Governor Noem was the first governor to deploy the National Guard to the southern border and sent them a total of eight times during her tenure. I was disappointed she refused my request to meet, because I wanted to ask her a few questions about those decisions.”
Durbin went on to outline the importance that immigrants play in communities across the country.
“As I said before, we need a secure border, that’s why I worked for years to pass bipartisan legislation. But we also need to protect millions of noncitizens whom Americans rely on each and every day,” Durbin said. “Immigrants make up 40 percent of our agriculture workers and 40 percent of our home health aides. They are an outsized percentage of the child care workforce and the farm workforce in America. If they are gone, the cost of day care for families is going to go up, because there’ll be fewer workers.”
Durbin concluded, “Immigrants have been a key part of America’s success story. Our nation, I believe, needs to more than ever in a thoughtful way remember the three elements that I stand for and I hope most people agree. One, we need an orderly process at the border. Number two, no dangerous person should ever be allowed knowingly into this country or allowed to stay if they are seeking permanent immigrant status. And number three, we cannot accept every person in the world who wants to come to America tomorrow. It has to be a thoughtful, orderly process consistent with our values and consistent with our obligation to American families. They do not deserve, those who are here, to live in fear each day. Any real solution to immigration challenges must give them stability and a future that they can count on. Americans deserve a real fix to our broken immigration system that protects American workers and treats immigrations fairly.”
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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