Richard Durbin

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) is necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) and the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in 1901, superintendent of Joliet Township High School J. Stanley Brown and University of Chicago president William Rainey Harper committed themselves to an historic experiment. They founded Joliet Junior College, the Nation's first public community college with six students as the initial enrollment. Brown and Harper designed the school for students who wanted to remain in the community, but also wanted to pursue a college education. The community college system is vastly different than Harper and Brown's initial work today. Community colleges are helping millions of Americans carve a pathway to middle-class prosperity and a chance to fulfill the American Dream. Earlier this month, Mike Monaghan, a champion of Illinois community colleges with more than 40 years of legislative and higher education experience, retired from the Illinois Community College Trustees Association. During his time there, he worked hard to make sure Illinois has some of the finest colleges in the country. Mike will certainly be missed. Originally from Springfield, he earned an associate arts degree from Lincoln Land Community College, a bachelor's degree in political science from Bradley University, and a master's degree in legal studies and administrative law from the University of Illinois at Springfield. I have known Mike for decades from our days as staffers in the Illinois State Senate. Mike was fighting for improving education in the State as the principal staff to the State senate's higher education committee when I was legal counsel to the State senate judiciary committee. He also was my neighbor, living a block away from me. I might add Mike also was a precinct captain for a couple of my races, too. In 1989, Mike became the Illinois Community College Trustees Associations director of government relations. In this role, he developed a statewide advocacy program and regularly organized trips to Washington, DC, with students. One of his major efforts was the successful implementation of a State insurance program for community college retirees. In 1998, the Illinois Society of Association Executives awarded him with their Government Relations Award for the program. Mike's hard work led him to become the ICCTA's executive director in 2005. For the past 14 years, he has continued fighting for resources for community colleges. He earned the Cook County College Teachers Union 2008 Innovation in Education Award for his leadership in promoting community colleges. When community colleges are not funded properly, the costs fall on students. When Mike started, some remarked that community colleges were 13th and 14th year schooling and dismissed them as ``Tinker Toy Tech.'' This is certainly not the case today. Today, 35,000 students are enrolled at Joliet Junior College, and Illinois has 519,000 students enrolled in community colleges. More and more students know community colleges are one of the best investments in education for students and are the best alternative in the competitive college marketplace. Americans hold more than $1.4 trillion in student debt, making it the largest household debt after mortgages. Community colleges, with low tuition rates and quality educational programs, are a key to breaking the debt stranglehold of our current higher education system. I want to take this time to honor Mike for his hard work in making Illinois one of the top community college States. The future of William Rainey Harper and J. Stanley Brown's experiment looks bright because of Mike's work. We thank him for his service and look forward to his next chapter in life.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if you study the recent course of American history, you can note there has been the emergence of opportunity and debates on freedom many times during the last 50 years. I think back to my time, my early years of education in high school and college, when America was in the midst of debate about the rights of African Americans--the civil rights movements in the 1960s. We have also had debates as well on the question of liberty and freedom--freedom from discrimination for women in America and for those who are disabled. It really is the hallmark of this democracy that we continue to expand opportunity and continue to question our own beliefs when it comes to the freedom which each of us cherishes. We are now in the midst of an interesting transformation in this country on the issue of rights of people with different sexual orientation. We have seen some dramatic changes in just the last few years as we find more and more people speaking out against discrimination against those of a different sexual orientation, and, of course, the landmark decision in Obergefell, where the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right for same-sex marriage. This is not without controversy and not without dissenters, but the mainstream of America, the vast majority of Americans believe we are moving along the same path we did when we talked about the rights of those who are minorities, women, and the disabled, when we say people should be free of discrimination because of their own sexual orientation. That is why it strikes me as unusual, more than coincidental, that in June--the LGBTQ Pride Month--our Republican colleagues decided to bring to the floor the nomination of Texas district court nominee Matthew Kacsmaryk, who has repeatedly written in his personal capacity about his opposition to LGBTQ rights and the Obergefell decision. Mr. Kacsmaryk's nomination was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote in February, but for some reason, the Republican leadership decided to wait and force a vote on the floor of the Senate during Pride Month. Now they are calling for a vote this week. Mr. Kacsmaryk has not been shy about his hostility to marriage equality in transgender Americans. On June 24, 2015, he wrote an article in which he noted that the Supreme Court would decide the Obergefell case in the next few weeks and speculated whether five Justices would, in his words, ``invent a constitutional right to same- sex marriage.'' After the decision, Mr. Kacsmaryk wrote a disparaging summary--which I will not quote into the Record--but it certainly shows his opposition to the fundamental premise behind that decision. He was quoted in the Liberty Institute blog of October 16, 2014 saying ``the pro-marriage movement must prepare for the long war.'' He signed a letter in 2016 relating to transgender Americans, calling them ``a delusion.'' Last December, the parents of 300 transgender children--including 39 from my State of Illinois--wrote the Senate in opposition to Mr. Kacsmaryk's nomination and said: ``Our children are not a delusion, and neither is our love and support for them.'' Even though Mr. Kacsmaryk has expressed strident personal views opposing LGBTQ rights, and even though he has litigated frequently in cases involving these matters, he would not commit to recuse himself from cases involving this issue if he were to be confirmed by the Senate. I oppose the Kacsmaryk nomination. This is yet another extreme nominee outside the mainstream of American thinking who does not deserve to be rubberstamped for a lifetime appointment by the U.S. Senate. The Kovler Center and Cameroon Mr. President, just 2 weeks ago, I had a meeting in Chicago with my colleague Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. We were at Heartland Alliance's Marjorie Kovler Center. What happens at this center is truly remarkable and a reflection of America's long history of welcoming those who are fleeing political violence. The Kovler Center is home to one of our Nation's oldest and most respected facilities, helping those recovering from complex consequences of politically sanctioned torture. This is its 32nd year in operation. More than 3,000 torture survivors from 80 different countries have received assistance and counsel at the Kovler Center in Chicago. The problem of torture among refugees is significant.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for an additional 2 minutes.

Mr. DURBIN. The problem of torture among refugees is significant, with an estimated 44 percent of refugees in the United States having been victims of such horrors. Those from Bosnia, Cambodia, and many other places all receive free treatment at the Kovler Center to recover from their trauma. During my visit I had the privilege of meeting refugees who had fled the mounting violence in Cameroon. Cameroon is a West African nation that is dealing with a complicated colonial legacy. Following World War I, the League of Nations appointed France and Great Britain as joint trustees to what was previously a German colony. Not surprisingly, the two colonial powers imposed their own cultures on the new Cameroon. Tragically, following the country's independence in the 1960s, Cameroonian strongman President Paul Biya, one of the world's longest serving leaders--now almost 40 years in office--further favored the French-speaking population over its Anglophone regions. The results were not surprising. The mounting resentment and calls for greater autonomy within the Anglophone population caused ensuing violent suppression from the Biya regime. The refugees I met with told harrowing stories of this crackdown and violence. I was pleased to join Senator Van Hollen last year in a letter urging Secretary Pompeo to focus attention on the unrest in Cameroon, and I was equally pleased when the administration scaled back U.S. military assistance to Cameroon due to this government's violent repression. As a Member of the Appropriations Committee, I will be watching carefully the level of violence in Cameroon and, when the day comes, when we consider any foreign aid to this Nation. The work of the Kovler Center is a reminder that if we are going to stand up for human rights we must be willing to be vigilant at all times, even for small countries as far away as Cameroon. I yield the floor.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono), and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Hawaii (Ms. Hirono), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand) and the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from Minnesota (Ms. Klobuchar), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. DURBIN

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

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I listened carefully this morning to Senator McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, who came to the floor to speak to the issue of the border crisis which we now face. I acknowledge, as everyone should, that we are facing an unprecedented number of people who are presenting themselves at our southern border from primarily three countries--El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. These people who are presenting themselves, for the most part, are not trying to sneak across our borders; they are literally coming up and presenting themselves--identifying themselves--to the first person they find in a uniform. The reason is they want to apply for asylum in the United States. They want to make the argument that they have credible fears that might entitle them to be considered as asylees in this country, which is a legal classification. After they state that they seek that status, they are taken into our system. They then, ultimately, go through a hearing process, but that hearing process is not done quickly. In fact, it can take months and sometimes years before the actual hearings take place. Because we are seeing so many people coming--especially young children who are accompanied by their parents or who are even on their own--it has created a special challenge for our border authorities. I was down in El Paso just a few weeks ago. I met with the Border Patrol agents and the Customs and Border Protection agents, and we talked about the challenges they face. In my mind, there is no question that the numbers have overwhelmed the system to the point at which there are things happening down there that are absolutely unacceptable by American standards. I will give you an example. Those who present themselves at the border are processed and put into detention cells, but these detention cells are not large enough to accommodate the number of people who come to our border. In El Paso, there was a cell that had a plate glass window on the outside so one could see everyone inside. Above the door of that cell was a sign that read ``Capacity: 35.'' I counted the number of people in that cell on the day I visited. There were 150 who were jammed shoulder to shoulder inside the cell. About 20 of them, maybe 30, had an opportunity to sit on benches along the perimeter, but for the most part, they stood. They stood all day. They were fed their meals while they stood up, and I have no idea how they possibly worked out their sleeping arrangements. There was just no room for all of them to lie down on the floor at any given time, and there was one toilet in that room for 150 people. I learned afterward that the number in that cell increased shortly thereafter to 200. Next to it was a cell for women--capacity 16. Inside that cell, I counted 75 women, including women with nursing babies. We now have press reports that state, because of the desperate situation these detainees face, there have been attempted suicides. This is in the United States of America. This is a situation we need to address. I couldn't agree more with the Republican leader from Kentucky that we need humanitarian assistance quickly to provide temporary housing or whatever is necessary so that there will be humane treatment of those who have been detained at our borders until they are processed through our legal system. I might say, although the Republican leader came to the floor to blame the Democrats for not coming up with more money in a timely fashion, it was just this February when we joined, on a bipartisan basis, in voting for $400 million more for humanitarian assistance at the border. There has been no resistance from this Senator or from this side of the aisle when it has come to humanitarian assistance in addressing the issues that have been before us. We remember--and it was not that long ago--the Trump administration's policy that was called zero tolerance. Do you remember? Certainly, I do. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that we were then going to have a policy of treating as criminals those who came across the border. Now, understand what I mentioned earlier. You present yourself at our border for the purpose of seeking asylee status so that you will not be considered a criminal when you present yourself, which is perfectly within our legal system. Rather, Jeff Sessions said, if you come to our border and do not have legal status in the United States, you shall be treated as a criminal. In his having said that, there was a problem. It meant that they separated the children from their parents because, under Sessions' zero-tolerance policy, the parents were presumed to have been engaged in criminal conduct. The result was awful. There were 2,880 infants, toddlers, and children who were separated from their parents at the border under the zero-tolerance policy. Yet there was a swift public reaction against it, and court cases were filed to stop this policy. In one of the few times since he was elected President, this President came forward and said he was wrong--that this policy was not good and that he was going to end it. The problem was, in his having separated those children, our government has not kept track of where their parents have gone and how we might possibly reunite them in the future. It took a Federal judge in Southern California to come forward and mandate that our agencies of government find those children and reunite them with their parents. We didn't accomplish it completely. Overwhelmingly, it took weeks and months for us to put them together because no one thought to keep track of where the parents were headed and where their children were headed. Eventually, we put it together for all but, say, 100, I think--the final number of children for whom we just couldn't find their families and parents. That was a horrible situation, but it is a reminder to us today as we reflect on what is going on at the border. For goodness' sake, we should all demand the humane treatment of people at our border, particularly of the children. Six children who came to our border died while they sought this asylum status. That is unacceptable. In fairness to the Department of Homeland Security and to all of those involved in it, I don't believe for a second that they consciously allowed this to happen, but we did not provide the kind of medical assistance that might have ordinarily been provided in these circumstances. We are told that this is changing for the better, and I salute and applaud the efforts to reach that. When it comes to the humanitarian assistance that Senator McConnell spoke about on the floor this morning, I could not agree with him more. We need to put the resources in place. There are serious differences of opinion about the policy at the border--of the so-called Flores consent decree and the TVPRA legislation. There is also no common agreement between the parties in the House and Senate on that policy's language. I am not sure we will reach an agreement when it comes to some fundamental questions about how long you can hold a child in detention, for example. In the Flores decision--and this was a consent decree entered into by our government--we say that you can't detain a child for more than 20 days. The proposal now is 100 days. Let me ask an obvious question. As a father and as a grandfather, what impact does it have in one's holding a child in detention for 100 days? Imagine, if you will, all of the possible circumstances of these kids in their having come to the border, what they have been through to reach this point, and what we then do in response. I think we need to be very sensitive to the reality that children are often harmed in ways we can't even imagine by things that happen so early in their lives. The notion of a longer detention needs to be carefully scrutinized to make sure we are never doing anything at the expense of these children and their long-term development. I wanted to raise another issue too. While I agree with Senator McConnell when it comes to the humanitarian treatment of children and young people and others, too, at the same time, we are in a circumstance now where the President of the United States, in September of 2017, eliminated a program called the DACA Program. I know a little bit about this because 18 years ago I introduced a bill called the DREAM Act, and the DREAM Act said that if you were brought to the United States as a child, where you didn't have any conscious part of the decision to come to this country, and you grew up in this country, went to school, did not have a criminal record, and went through a basic background test, then, you ought to be able to be allowed to stay in the United States and ultimately achieve legal status. That is the DREAM Act. We haven't passed it or enacted it into law, though I have tried many, many times. But we did prevail on President Obama to create the DACA Program so that these young people can step forward, pay a fee, go through a background check, be finger- printed, make certain that they were no threat to the United States, and be allowed to stay in this country for 2 years at a time without fear of deportation and be allowed to work. Ultimately, 790,000 of these young people came forward. I have told their stories on the floor of the Senate many, many times. They are incredible young people who simply want a chance to be a part of the country--the only country they have ever known. President Trump decided to abolish the DACA Program, leaving these 190,000 people in a precarious situation in terms of their legal rights and their future. Fortunately for them, the Federal Court stepped in and said that the President needed to justify eliminating this program. While we are going through the argument in court, they will be protected--790,000 will be protected. No new ones have been allowed to sign up. I see that my friend from New York is here, and I just wish, if I can, to make a statement about one of these Dreamers and then yield the floor to him. I am certain that he has some important things to say. But I would like to, if I can--he helps me with my signs when he comes to the floor. I thank Senator Schumer. I produced on the floor more than 100 of these colored photographs of these Dreamers to tell their story. This is Pratishtha Khanna, the 117th Dreamer I have spoken about on the floor of the Senate. She was brought to the United States from India at the age of 10, and she grew up in Laurel, MD. Her parents were university graduates with professional degrees. They both worked long hours in blue collar jobs for less than minimum wage with no time off. Pratishtha said: My parents believed in the hallmarks of American values: Work hard and you can achieve anything. They encouraged me to study hard and be the best I can be. This is exactly what this young lady did. She was an excellent student who was placed in the gifted and talented program, and she was a peer mentor who tutored fellow students in math. In high school, Pratishtha earned college credits in an advanced placement class, was a member of the color guard, and served as treasurer and vice president of the student government association. In 2009 she graduated from high school with honors. She attended her local community college. Because of her undocumented immigration status, she was not eligible for financial aid and had to pay international student tuition. She cleaned homes and tutored high school students to help pay the tuition. She volunteered at a local infectious disease laboratory. She graduated with an associate's degree in biology. Then, on June 15, 2012, President Obama announced DACA, the program I mentioned earlier, which was abolished by President Trump. Pratishtha says: [It was] a monumental day for my family. For the first time in many years, my family sat together to eat dinner. I saw tears stream down my father's face. He talked about everything my brother and I could achieve with the basic scraps of dignity given us by DACA. The stress and despair in his eyes was replaced with energy and hope. In May 2014 Pratishtha graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Following graduation, she worked as a scribe in the emergency department at Baltimore Washington Hospital Center. She kept studying, obtaining a nursing assistant and patient care technician certification. She then obtained a position at the medical intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins, while she continued working in the emergency department at Baltimore Washington Medical Center. Her father passed away in November of 2015, just a few years after she was given DACA status. Through long night shifts in the ICU and the 5 a.m. shifts in the emergency department, Pratishtha had become the family's breadwinner. She is now studying for a master of science in biomedical science at Western University of Health Sciences, in Pomona, CA. Her dream is to become a doctor. She wrote me a letter, and she said: America is my home. My father's ashes will lay to rest here. I don't have another home. As assaults on immigrants and democracy run rampant, the world looks to Congress for leadership and justice. The eyes of Pratishtha and hundreds of thousands of Dreamers are on Washington and on the U.S. Senate. Last week the House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act in an effort to save Pratishtha and the hundreds of thousands of others like her. We want you to be a part of America's future. You are an extraordinary person. Her life and what she has already given are an indication of why we need her in America's future. The fact that the Republican leader would come to the floor and speak about the humanitarian treatment of young children and overlook the fact that we have a bill that has been sent to us by the House of Representatives, which would help 790,000 and more with the American Dream and Promise Act, tells me that he is not closing in the loop on humanitarianism. I call on the Republican leader in the Senate: Do not make this a legislative graveyard. Let's use the power of this Senate to pass the legislation that passed the House of Representatives and give this young woman and thousands more just like her an opportunity to be a part of America's future. I yield the floor.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. DURBIN

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) is necessarily absent.