Floor Statements

Mr. President, it is important that everyone keeps their word.

I am pleased the Republican leader acknowledged that the immigration system is broken and needs fixing, and we will have a full and open debate on this over the next 3 weeks. That is very good. I am very glad to hear the Republican leader will vote to help us move forward on this legislation.

For 15 years, James Courtney fought for this country as a Member of the U.S. Army. He did that for a decade and a half.

For most of those 15 years, James' wife Sharon was at home in Las Vegas fighting being deported. She has lived in America since she was a young teenager. She speaks fluent English. She has three sons with her husband James, and he has been her husband for 13 years.

She has supported James through three tours of duty in Iraq where he was wounded significantly, suffered brain injury, and because of his wounds had to retire medically from the military. But because she is in the United States without the proper paperwork, she has lived with the fear that she, on any given day, would be deported back to Mexico and her family would be torn apart.

Servicemembers and veterans of the U.S. military--and their family members who support them--deserve a better life than worry and fear.

In March, just a few weeks ago, James and Sharon came to Washington. They came with hundreds of other immigrants who are concerned about being deported. They are concerned about immigration reform. They know the system is broken and needs to be fixed. This is what James said:

I did what my country asked me to do. Now I'm asking my

country to keep us together for the sake of humanity and

freedom.

James spoke about keeping his three American children together with the mother of those three children, his wife.

When I heard James and Sharon's story, I was recommitted to doing something to help them. And I did. Not only is Sharon a wonderful mother and wife, she is also caretaker to her disabled husband. Her family needs her.

Last month, James and Sharon learned that immigration officials have deferred her status, her deportation. She is no longer in immediate danger of being separated from her family.

See, Mr. President, she was a DREAMer, and that is who President Obama stepped forward to help. In effect, what this did is it allowed her to stay and care for her husband and three children. Her children are 16, 11, and 8 years of age.

While I was happy to help James and Sharon, it is unfortunate that they needed any help in the first place. When our servicemembers are fighting overseas, they should be focused on the difficult and dangerous job they face--not worried about their family members back home.

Think about that. If she had been deported while he was overseas, what would the three boys do? Dad is overseas. They are Americans. They were born here.

No veteran of the U.S. military should have to fight to keep his wife, the caretaker of his children, by his side. Her story is compelling. Their story is compelling. But there are millions of stories just like it--stories of mothers and fathers terrified of being torn away from their U.S. citizen children; stories of young men and women fearful of being deported from the only country they know, they have ever called home; stories of families forced to live in the shadows despite coming to America in search of a brighter future.

There are 11 million reasons to pass commonsense immigration reform that mends our broken system--11 million stories of fear of being deported, fear of heartbreak, fear of suffering, and actual suffering they have facing them every day worrying about if they can go to the store, do they have to stay home. They certainly cannot travel. But for this fine young woman, that has been taken away because of President Obama.

These stories should motivate Congress to act. The bipartisan proposal before this body takes important steps to strengthen border security. It is remarkable what we already have there. We have drones, 700 miles of fencing. We have sensors. We have fixed-wing aircraft flying around with helicopters. We have 21,000 Border Patrol agents. But if there are ways people believe we could do better on security that is important, that is not just some reason to try to kill this legislation, let's take a look at it.

I spoke this morning with the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Carper. He has some ideas. He is preparing amendments. I like Senator Carper always. He is very thoughtful, and I am sure he will do something that he believes would improve the situation on the border. He has gone, as a member of that committee and chairman of that committee, all over the southern part of this country looking at what is happening on the border.

So the bipartisan proposal before the Senate takes important steps to strengthen border security. It also makes crucial improvements to our broken immigration system so families like James and Sharon's are never subject to this kind of anguish again.

While this legislation is not an instant fix for families, it does provide a pathway to earned citizenship. It does not put them at the front of the line. It puts them at the back of the line. They have to stay out of trouble. They have to work, pay taxes, and focus on learning English. That is what it is about.

Passing meaningful immigration reform will be good for our national security, it will be good for the economy, it will be good for James and Sharon Courtney and millions of families just like them.

James is a veteran who sacrificed his time and his health to keep this Nation safe from harm. He is now disabled. We can at least thank him by keeping his family safe--and together.

Would the Chair announce the business of the day.

Mr. President, I would ask the Chair at this time to recognize the Senator from Hawaii, Mr. Schatz, who replaced Senator Inouye. I understand he is going to give his maiden speech in the Senate today. I would ask that the Chair recognize him.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, June 12; that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and that following any leader remarks the Senate be in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each during that time, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans the final half; further, that following morning business the Senate resume consideration of S. 744.

Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. President, following leader remarks the Senate will resume the motion to proceed to S. 744, the immigration bill. That will take place until 5 p.m. today. Senator Sessions will control 2 hours, and Senator Leahy will control the remaining time today. Senator- designate Chiesa will be sworn in today as a U.S. Senator at 4:30 p.m. At 5 p.m. the Senate will resume consideration of the farm bill. At 5:30 p.m. there will be a vote on passage of that bill. Following that vote, we will resume the motion to proceed to the immigration bill. There will be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed at 2:15 tomorrow afternoon.

There are two bills at the desk due for a second reading.

I object to any further proceedings with respect to these two bills.

Mr. President, for most of her life Anna Ledesma has been afraid. She was a model student at Centennial High School in Las Vegas, an artist and a member of the Key Club. As one of the top academics of a large high school, she received the Millennium Scholarship to study nursing at the College of Southern Nevada. Now she is studying hard for her nursing exams. But 23-year-old Anna has lived for a long time with the constant fear that she will be deported. She is an undocumented immigrant. She was born in the Philippines and brought here by her parents when she was 7 years old. She was in the second grade.

This is what Anna told the Las Vegas Sun newspaper:

I would tell myself that they're not going to deport me

because I'm a nursing student and I'm working really hard and

I want to make a difference in my community . . . [But] all

the time, constantly in the back of my head, I think about

being deported and having to start over.

Thanks to a directive issued last year by President Obama, Anna and 800,000 other young people like her--young people who are American in all but paperwork--won't be deported. President Obama's directive suspended deportation of DREAMers--students brought to America illegally when they were children. These young people share our language, they share our culture, and they share our love for America, which in most cases is the only country they have ever known. Like Anna, the DREAMers are talented, patriotic young men and women who want to defend our Nation in the military, get a college education, and work hard to help their communities and our country.

Still, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives sent a chilling message last week to Anna and others when it voted to roll back President Obama's directive. Republicans voted to resume deportation of upstanding young people--I repeat, just like Anna--who were brought to this country illegally through no fault of their own. That is why it is vital that Congress act at long last to fix this Nation's broken immigration system.

President Obama's directive is temporary--and squarely in the crosshairs of the tea party-driven Republican rightwing. The directive is also no remedy for more than 10 million others--many of whom are the parents or siblings of DREAMers--who are living here without the proper paperwork.

But a permanent commonsense solution to our dysfunctional system is in sight. The bipartisan legislation on

which the Senate is now working is the solution our economy needs, it is the solution immigrant families need, and it is the solution Anna needs.

This bill isn't perfect. That is the nature of legislating. Compromise is necessary and inevitable. But this measure takes important steps to reform our broken legal immigration system, strengthen border security, and hold unscrupulous employers accountable.

Over the next 3 weeks Senators will propose a number of ideas to make the legislation better. Some will offer ideas to make it worse. But those suggestions must preserve the heart of the bill--a pathway to earned citizenship that begins by going to the back of the line, paying taxes and fines, learning English, and getting right with the law. Whether we are Democrats or Republicans, whether we are from red States or blue States, we can all agree that the current system is broken. We can all agree on the need for action. This bipartisan legislation is our best chance in many, many years to bend the system toward it working right. We need to mend this broken system.

The Senate is about to engage in this important debate about the kind of country we are and must continue to be. This Nation was founded on the promise that success should not be an accident of birth but, rather, a just reward for hard work and determination. It is no wonder so many people from so many nations wish to share that promise, but they can't all get the promise of coming to America, and that is what this legislation is all about.

The United States has always welcomed immigrants, and that is never going to change. For those like Anna, the words of the Jewish proverb are appropriate: Dreams do not die. Therefore, it is up to us to help fulfill those dreams and fix our broken immigration system.

At 4:30. The Senator can talk until 4:30. Go ahead and talk until 4:30.

Madam President, I welcome Senator Chiesa to the Senate. I congratulate him on his appointment to fill the seat of the late Frank Lautenberg. Senator Chiesa--I am sure we will struggle with that name for a little while until we get used to it, but I think I have done it just about right--has served as attorney general for the State of New Jersey.

As attorney general, he has done some very remarkable work. He has worked with law enforcement and the State legislature to combat human trafficking, to protect children from predators, to crack down on gang violence. He implemented a successful gun buyback program that took 10,000 weapons off the streets, including 1,200 illegal guns.

I commend him for his efforts to keep New Jersey's streets safe, protecting Americans from gun violence. As we all know, that was something that was very close to Senator Lautenberg's heart.

Prior to becoming attorney general, he served for 2 years as chief counsel to New Jersey Governor Christie, after leading the Governor's transition team. He spent 7 years in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and more than 10 years in private practice. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame, got his law degree from Catholic University in the District of Columbia and certainly because of that is familiar with the District of Columbia.

I am confident he will serve the people of New Jersey with honor. I welcome him to the Senate.

We have one more vote tonight on final passage.

Mr. President, following my remarks--and perhaps Senator McConnell's, if he wishes to speak--the Senate will resume the motion to proceed to S. 744, the comprehensive immigration legislation, on which the Chair has done a masterful job of getting us to where we are on this matter as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

The time until 1:30 p.m. will be for debate on the motion to proceed.

Mr. President, I have been told we need a little extra time, so what we will do is extend that time until 2 p.m.

Order of Procedure

I ask unanimous consent that the prior order, which is in effect, be extended until 2 p.m., and that the extra half-hour be equally divided between the majority and minority, each taking 15 minutes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be recognized at 2 p.m.

There will be no rollcall votes today. The next rollcall vote will be on Monday at 5:30 p.m. on passage of the farm bill.

Mr. President, today Senators will have an opportunity to debate the bipartisan immigration bill reported by the Chair's committee last month. As I have already done once today, I again commend the chairman of that committee Senator Leahy for leading a thorough and transparent process in the committee.

I thank Senator Sessions for working with us yesterday to move forward on this measure as quickly as possible. As I have said before, Senator Sessions and I--once in a while--disagree on substance, but we have always had a friendly relationship, which I appreciate.

I applaud the efforts of the Gang of 8--four Democrats and four Republicans--to set aside partisanship to address a critical issue facing our Nation. The system is broken and needs to be fixed.

It is gratifying to see the momentum behind this package of commonsense reforms, which will make our country safer and help 11 million undocumented immigrants get right with the law.

I had a number of meetings over the last few days with pollsters who have taken a look at this legislation, and they all acknowledge that the vast majority of American people want us to move forward. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans recognize the system is broken and needs to be fixed. They all agree on a pathway to citizenship.

I have been committed to a process that is as open as possible for amendments. I don't want to say totally because sometimes with the procedures we have here--as with the farm bill--people throw a monkey wrench into things, and we are not able to do things as we would wish to do them.

We will wrap up work on this legislation before the July 4 recess. I hope

Senators will take advantage of today's time for debate. I look forward to a thorough and thoughtful discussion of the deliberation in the days ahead.