Cornyn: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Must Remain Top Priority

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee made the following statement this evening regarding his intention to vote tomorrow against the motion to proceed to the DREAM Act (S. 2205) which was introduced by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin D-Ill.

“As I have long said I have a great deal of sympathy for the plight of children who have no moral culpability for being in this country illegally. Congress should continue seeking reasonable and responsible ways they can complete their education and achieve opportunity.

“Unfortunately the Durbin bill contains a number of gaping loopholes while failing to address the much larger need for comprehensive immigration reform and the immediate crisis at our borders. For example it contains no firm requirement for the illegal immigrant to graduate with a degree from an accredited U.S. institution of Higher Education (either a two or four-year institution) it grants them broad access to federal student loans at a time when we are struggling to meet loan needs for our own citizens and it extends the benefits to adults rather than focusing on children.

Moreover from a law enforcement perspective his bill does nothing to prevent fraud allows certain criminal aliens to qualify for legal status and ties the hands of law enforcement by severely limiting their access to application information.

“If my colleagues who support this measure are committed to solving America’s immigration crisis and the plight of illegal immigrants then the focus of this Congress should be on passing a comprehensive reform bill that addresses all of our pressing immigration matters including securing our broken borders and the needs of American businesses for more workers.”

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee.