In a positive way. Given life to this democracy and hope coming to our future. I will be the first to admit a do not come with strong personal feelings like millions of s americans like a son of an immigrant. In 1911107 years ago my grandmother came to this country with three little kids. One of those was my mother. She was two years old when they landed in baltimore. My grandmother didnt speak one word of english but somehow she managed to take those three kids and make it her way to join my grandfather in illinois. On the credenza behind my desk is my mothers naturalization certificate. I keep that as a reminder of my heritage. That is my story. That is my family story. That is americas story. Because of my family history, i really believe in immigration. There is a positive force in america and i remember going back to the tiny village then in 1911 to be taken on a tour of my moms birthplace. I could see it where she was baptized, the well in the town square that people used and i thought what it mustve t been like that evening when my grandparents would call them to tell them the news that they were leaving their home in lithuania and the church that had served the family for generations, leaving all friends and relatives, every stick of furniture, the dogs and cats and chickens and everything. Yt to go to a place where they did not speak the language. G this place called america. They heard Great Stories of the land of opportunity and lithuanians who have gone to east st. Louis illinois. I am sure they said whatever got into their mind . They are giving uphe everything to a place they dont even speak the language . They never returned. Like millions of americans they had thee courage to come to americas and wonder crisis after crisis to build the future and i stand here because of that decision. How can you tell when a country is in decline . Immigrants stop wanting to calm and cannot wait to leave many other developed countries have this experience watching their economy decline as a result that has never been our experience in the history of america. Look at our history. If every generation immigrants come to our shores to make us a better and stronger nation. Immigrants are not a drain on america, immigrants are the future of america. Hardworking men and women who leave behind everything they know for a better life for themselves and their children to breathe new life and revitalize and you have heard the stories with Silicon Valley look at the best and brightest and to marvel at the fact how many people were immigrants to finally be able to take that idea to turn into a business with employees well paid helping the country move forward. Seventeen years ago i introduced a bill called the dream act Bipartisan Legislation giving a path toed immigrants who came to the United States as children. They have come to be known as dreamers and i know the president went to a republican retreat and mocked the term dreamers. But i am proud of the term dreamers before the bill was introduced if you asked to they were most people answer isnt that a British Rock Group . Now it symbolizes something in america. Young people brought here to have grown up pledging allegiance to their flags being the only national and they have ever, known and want to be a part of their future. Those are the dreamers. They sent a letter years ago to president obama, the republican senator from indiana joined me. Wesa asked on a bipartisan basis to find a way to protect the dreamers and he responded he established Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals Program known as daca to provide temporary legal status if they step up and identify themselves, register with the government pay a filing fee and submit themselves to a background check. InterNational Security background check then they were giving temporary renewable twoyear protection to stay in the United States not be deported with the legal right to work. Daca has been an extraordinary success in your thousand dreamers have come forward to receive daca protection they can contribute more to this country as teachers and nurses and First Responders and members of the military. These daca individuals have stuffed up even without the legal rights of citizenship to raise their hand to swear to put their life on the line for america. How many of us have done that . We should admire them for their commitment to this country but instead on september 5, attorney general jeff t sessions announced the trunk administration was putting an end to the program the same day the president called on congress to legalize daca. Now the deportation clock is literally taking on these young people and as we gather here today, more than 18000 of these people have lost their protection under daca. And in beginning in less than a month, march 5, every day for the y next two years 1000 dreamers will lose their work permits and be subject to deportation because the President Trumps decision. The administration itself told us if we do come up with legalization they may need six months to make it work. So as Congress Responds to the challenge so the answer is one word. Nothing. Not a single bill has passed the senate or the house in response to the present challenge despite the fact 122 every single day lose because of President Trumps decision. Teachers almost 20000 nationwide that are Daca Recipients will be in a situation to leave behind their classroomsir and their students. Forced behind to leave their patients because the President Trumps decision, First Responders who have a record of courage to serve their community forced to leave the post. Soldiers willing to die for America Force to be the army they have volunteered to serve. This isnt a humanitarian crisis but an economic crisis as well. More than 91 of Daca Dreamers are employed and paying taxes to our government. The nonpartisan institute on taxation reports that 19 eligible individuals with an estimated 2 billion per year taxes. E and local the Cato Institute, conservative think tank estimates ending daca and the Daca Recipients will have a result of 280 billiondollar reduction of Economic Growth over the next decade. Over the daca protecting is a drain . Not according to the Cato Institute they are a plus. Poll after poll shows overwhelming bipartisan support even fox news said 79 of americans support a path to citizenship including 63 of those who identify as the trunk voter and the Trump Administration shut down the daca program they called on congress to legalize theng program. The day after reviewing daca President Trump was with senator schumer and democratic leader and nancy pelosi and said check and nancy would like to see something happen and so word i. Said the president but very quickly he walked away from those words in october the white house released seven pages of immigration principles a wish list of immigration hardline anti immigrant proposals many of which have been opposed by both parties of congress then four weeks ago i was invited to a meeting at the white house to sit next to President Trump along with a dozen members of congress. He said at that meeting broadcast on my television he wanted to protect Daca Recipients and would sign any bipartisan bill sent to him and said send me a bill i will find. Sign it. I heard it and so did america. Also with this daca legislation other issues should wait or comprehensive. Good news for me and then under graham a republican from south carolina. Working performance on a bipartisan plan coming back to the hell and the next day we hammered out an agreement, six senators and be called the president january 11, personally i told him we have ad bipartisan bill. I wanted him to hear about it and know the details and i hope it would solve the problem in the challenge thatt we face. It was a real compromise. The day after we finalize the agreement, we addressed the priorities the president laid before this one s including the multibilliondollar payment towards Border Security. The president said he looked forward to the briefing and would be back in touch i received word within minutes the president wanted me to join senator graham and two hoursus later we were at the white house hoping the president would embrace our bipartisan plan. But we were surprised and disappointed when we entered the oval office in a matter of an hour and a half five of the hardliners on immigration were invited to shoot down the plan. The president s views in less then two hours during the meeting took 29 to build the wall i and said give me 20 billion i will build the wall in one year. He reacted negatively to the agreement we had reach to protect immigrants from deportation to ensure the one immigrants could be permitted to come to our country. Wanting nothing to do with security and jobs that is a sad commentary on the president. Two weeks ago senator schumer made another good faith attempt writing a generous offerng but after a promising meeting the president called and withdrew any offer. That was a third time Senate Democrats offered to find the wall in exchange for the dream act. We have been willing to support an unpopular proposal in exchange for a broadly popular and bipartisan proposal of the dream act. But the president will not take yes for an answer it is no wonder senator schumer said trying to reach the immigration agreement is like trying to negotiate with jello. Two weeks ago the white house released a onepage one framework claiming it as a compromise because it includes the path to citizenship for some dreamers. I might add it is supported by the overwhelming majority of American People to put the shin hardline immigration on the backs of the people. For example to dramatically reduce Legal Immigration by prohibiting american citizens from sponsoring parents, siblings and married children. Literally millions of relatives of american citizens who have done the right thing, follow the laws and waiting patiently in line for as long as 20 years. Listen to what the Cato Institute says. And the most likely scenario to cut the number of legal immigrants by 44 or half a Million Immigrants annually. But the policy driven immigration cut the 1920s compared to current law it would exclude the president proposal nearly 22 Million People from the opportunity to immigrate legally over the next 50 years. This proposal would cut the 1965 immigration and nationality act establishing the Current System with the focus on reuniting families. If you think about the bedrock principles of america, family, love of country, and to unify and strengthen our families in america those in a legal manner and thinking this would change dramatically with the National Origin the 1924 Immigration Law was written to specifically exclude people that the congress and president thought should not be part of americas future focusing on people like my family who came from the baltics like the Eastern European countries to restrictiS Immigration. Lucky for me my family got here before 1924 or to exclude italians believing we had enough from that country and jews. That is the 1924 security act was about. President johnson signed the 1965 law to say it corrects a cruel law over four decadeS Immigration policy has been twisted and distorted by the harsh injustice by theuo National Origins quota system. Listen to what Calvin Coolidge said he signed the law the last major reduction of Legal Immigration in america. There are racial considerations to grave to be brushed aside. Law tells us certain people will not mix or blend the nordics propagate themselvesce successfully. But with other races the outcome shows deterioration on both sides. I cannot understand why attorney general sessions at one point prays that law and said it was good for america. Th the president S Immigration frameworkom also fasttrack deportation of children who come to our borders to flee the gangs and sexual violence. A jewish refugee fleeing the holocaust United States has led the world to provide a faith those fleeing war and terrorism and persecution. Now in the midst of the worst crisis on record 65 Million People worldwide forcibly displaced including child refugees from Central America theg northern triangle consider the opinion of current john kelly from 2015 heading u. S. Southern command. He said children from Central America arriving are the direct result of our drug consumption in the United States. General kelly said in many ways parents are trying to save their children from the violence in their own countries. He was right in the past to support those proposals like changes in family immigrations to eliminate the diversity of the visa lottery but that was all part of a significantly comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. I was part of the gang of eight that drafted the original bill for republicans and democrats. We brought the bill to the floor with a vote 68 32. Ahe month of negotiations but fortunately they refuse to even consider it now we are asked to accept this administrations proposale. With no giveandtake. If the administration that we have priorities to care for. Talking about National Security why dont we those the loopholes of the pso repair program . Thirtyeight people travel here under the visa Waiver Program. A they arrive in american airport airports. Also the 20th hijacker of 911 and also the shoe bomber we should strengthen the Waiver Program to check the credentials before they land a iny america so we know they are before they board the airplane. If you are sincere about the security of our nation this is obvious. Congress should close the loophole to let people who enter the United States to the visa Waiver Program, 20 million every year, allowed them to w buy guns even if on the fbi terrorist watchlist. When it comes to security it is an obviously pull. With mom loophole. And that falls on our shoulders i see my colleague is here from texas and we have talked extensively. I hope we can find some way to resolve this in a t bipartisan fashion. Because to date the congress have doneee nothing. Tree weeks ago a Bipartisan Group finally persuaded senator mcconnell to address daca and i salute him for doing that making aa statement twice on the floor that we can bring this agreement by this friday then consider the level Playing Field of amendments on both sides. We havent seen that kind of debate on the floor of the senate it over one year. If it comes to that i will look forward to it i would like theme senate seat gets will to. We only have three days for today and i hope we can make some progress. OnBipartisan Legislation has overwhelming support it would pass in the house in the senate if Republican Leaders would bring it to a vote. I look forward to the debate. Speaking about the deadline we have in todays, question is will we find or will we shut down the government again over the unrelatedno issue . So my friend talks about daca at some length but there is no reason why we have to do daca first because we are engaged in good faith negotiations and if the majority leader has problems that he would take up a bill on the floor. But the fact of the matter is, our friends across the isle have basically with those measures i will talk about that relating to the funding of the government. What did we have to do . Shortterm continuingd resolutions. We have had five in september alone. Now r the impact of these was brought home to me again yesterday. Usually i think about our military and general addins with us to provide Additional Resources is ready, and in in wars but when the adversaries look at us with our military just a pale reflection because of the lack of funding provided, that is a provocation for others to step in and feelor the void harm caused was brought home to me with the number of people of the Texas Association of Community Centers come visit. They are vital to net for many texans and americans who dont have a place they can go for medical care. In treat people based on a sliding scale and that those constituentse but those that dont know how to plan. They dont know they are doctors or medical assistance and other support staff. They dont know if they will have a job afterfe thursday when the current continuing resolution expires they dont know if the patients that they treat will have a place to go. We need to provide more certainty and predictability. General mattis we have the but if government does shut down then you have to restart and stop and start and it is a waste. And it is unnecessary. My friends across the aisle and the funding needed for and all of those other organizations leaving behind disasterel relief. And in december the house passed 81 billiondollar relief package but so far the democratic because of this unrelated immigration issue they think is more important than all the people hurt by hurricane maria, harvey and the wildfires out west. We do need to address daca and we will. But in the interim to hold the Disaster Relief hostage. This time we stand up in a bipartisan fashion to show these folks in texas florida Virgin Islands and those out west that we remember and we will help them. Why should they have to wait any further . There is no good answer to that question. But it is important somebody come out on the floor of the senate to ask the question. I said i wanted to talk about the issue of our democratic colleagues shut down the government over the last month with but this is what the president obama did unilaterally to assure that a new administration would not only be called into question for the courts but also the new administration. So President Trump recognizes the t importance for what president obama tried to do was illegal and basically continue that for a time to give congress a chance to respond. He has a deadline of march the fifth. But i heard my friend blame president obama for trying to fix a problem that was caused by an overreach by the previous and the parent who struck down the daca program. President trump continue long enough to have congress and the chance to fix it. That is the appropriate response. It doesnt help to engage in the blame game but to step up and not give speeches on the floor only but also need to have good faith negotiations. Today President Trump has issued a reasonable framework but as children they will fix other gaps and also to make sure those who are waiting in lineg patiently could be unified with their families like to narrow the scope of family based immigration for the future. But then one proposal is with those additional green cards to accelerate theag passage of people patiently waiting in line some as many as ten or 20 years. President trump has done something that president obama never d did offering 1. 8 lien. That is three times more than the that president obama did unilaterally. That is incredibly generous. What if the president requested in addition and i want to address legal loopholes and regain the public trust. One of the reasons why this president was elected because people are angry the federal government has failed them when it comes to securing our borders and enforcing our laws. The second part of what President Trump is talking about is that also technology and personnel going with these ingredients of Border Security. Have to ensure that people dont enter illegally. We all know a porous border is an opportunity for drug traffickers in human traffickers and other criminals to exploit. But as i said it isnt a wall or fence or barrier but technology i heard our colleagues across the aisle and not only a plan for Border Security but also the funding. But to make sure the federal government finally. Not that long ago but to pass the bill by 68 votes that provided 50 billion for Border Security. They were more than generous with Border Security and now they change and resist and refuse basically to negotiate on this item when they voted for double that amount with a gang of a bill a few years ago. The president s and then it just makes sense to give up but i suggested in the past but you have skill and merit we all should look at immigration as a way to track the best and brightest who have skills, talent, education , things to offer theirir new country. We dont have to end diversity but add to it. The skills to help make our country better to allow the citizens to contribute in a substantial way. The fifth pillar addresses family unification. Because i have this but with this very complex area of law but what he has proposed is inll the future versus family relationships we can find. But one suggestion has been the green cards that you would save to not allow collateral family members to come in or and and uncles and cousins but based strictly on theon relationship is to plow those back into the backlog because there are people who have been playing by the rules and waiting patiently some ten or 20 years that just doesnt make sense to let them reunite with their family members even faster than that so they dont have to wait so long. Ha that makes an awful lot of sense. During the time the backlog clears, there would be no reduction of Legal Immigration. I dont know the right number for Legal Immigration wet, naturalize and have about 1 Million People per year. I support Legal Immigration i think it makes our country better but i am not sure exactly what the right number is for the right formula. A number of countries like australia and canada look at the meritbased system in addition to family relationships. That makes a lot of sense but what are those rates of legal but those were basically on the family relationship but those families are waiting for their loved one who has been in line waiting legally in the United States. One thing i appreciate about the president s proposal is to address the shortcoming of the gang of eight bill considered in 2013. This is where i differ from my colleagues in illinois to celebrate the fact they could get 60 votes in the senate. I am not sure that is a cat can take those pillars and to get a president ial signature on a lot of passes not only the senate but the house and that the president will sign. That is the goal. And with one branch of the legislature but that was because it has some Serious Problems with no real objective metrics to determine technology and infrastructure. It didnt require the department of Homeland Security to achieve 247 Situational Awareness and operational control. Or the personality improvement we know we desperately need on our borders and ports of entry andgh finally even though the gang of eight contain some provisions with gangs and drunk drivers and aggravated felons but generous waivers that still allow some criminals to qualify for legal status. Make sense then or n now. Why would we allow those of criminal records to emigrate into the United States . I did not and catch and release and it did nothing to deter the influx of people exploiting a loophole of the unaccompanied minors. By way of contrast to new proposal addresses these concerns the way the gang of eight bill did not and i predicted we t would embrace the president s words and to pass a bill and the president would sign it which would then provide a pathway to citizenship for 1. 8 million but to look all these young people in the face tuesday, we had the chance, you have the opportunity to receive one of the greatest gifts a human being could possibly accept which is a pathway to american citizenship but we turned it down because we miscalculated and we figured maybe get it to the senate but not the house or the president signature. S so we end up he handed and you are in the same box were in the first place. How does that help these young people . But under the current law if somebody is under 18 years of age showing up at the border the Border Patrol processes them they are given to hhs and if they make a claim immigration benefit given a notice to appear but the backlog there is so great it could be years then they are placed with a sponsor. Heres the problem. First of all no adequate monitoring of these individuals to make sure they actually show t up to their court hearing. Current law allows them to be placed with theac sponsor not supposed to be in the country in the first place. No criminal background checks, we dont know if the unaccompanied children are being placed with those who would abuse them more traffic or recruit into criminal gangs. In 2017 along the Department Department of Homeland Security u apprehended 41000 unaccompanied minors from the southern border 37 between the ages of 15 and 16 and another 32 17 years old. We are not talking about Young Children but by and large grown young men. As i mentioned earlier this number has increased significantly they have figured this out the Transnational Criminal Organizations that traffic into human beings have figured this out and have the pull which allows them with that loophole to charge a fee for these men who may or may not be part of ms 131 of the most violent gangs now unfortunately in the United States no way the government can keep them out even under current law. I dont know how our colleagues who refuse to take up this issue and address it, justify it. I cannot understand it. In my opinion we have a problem that her colleagues dont want to fix or deliberately ignoring. We cannot solve these problems by putting our head in the sand this is just one example of the billd from mexicos mung months ago. If the colleagues are serious coming up with a solution to provide a lifelong to these young adults who are Daca Recipients and eligible they need to work with us and recognize the reality that trump has laid out a pathway for that to happen. You cannot just cherry pick the parts that you like and ignore the rest to expect we will get an outcome. But the basic failure of the gang of eight bill to have 60 votes in the senate including 50 billion for Border Security but they could not get it through the house or the president for signature. I dont know how to sugarcoat it but that is failure. Not success. Success is to get a bill through both houses and getting the president to sign it and President Trump gives us all a map and a pathway how to do that. To my knowledge there has never been a counter offer that addresses the four pillars the president has proposed. Again the people that have the most to lose are the great American People are the adults who would benefit from the stability and predictability from the path forward and receive the greatest gift any human being could possibly aspire to choose the gift of american citizenship. But it will be squandered the president s generous offer, will be squandered because my colleagues dont like his proposal that they are unwilling to come up with a counter offer to have a negotiation