“I was stopped five times by the filibuster to accept it. I had a majority, I did not have 60 votes. Do I have 60 now? I think I’m close,” the Illinois Democrat told Dana Bash, CNN, said. “State of the Union” Sunday.
Durbin, the Senate’s second-ranking Democrat, said he intends to sit down with Republican members and ask if they will support the DREAM law, which gives young undocumented immigrants, known as ‘Dreamers’, permanent residency. and possibly make citizenship possible.
“I think I will have support. Whether that is enough remains to be seen,” he said.
Durbin had earlier told CNN that he did not believe there was enough support in this Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that would revamp the U.S. immigration system and provide a roadmap for citizenship for the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.
On Sunday, Durbin said he supported President Joe Biden’s immigration plan, the 2021 Citizenship Act, calling it ‘long overdue’, but reiterated his conviction that it would be difficult to succeed in the 50-50 partisan split Senate.
Durbin’s remarks come as the Biden government faces increasing scrutiny over the handling of a recent increase in border crossings, including an influx of unaccompanied migrant children being scrambled by the U.S. government. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Bash on Sunday that the southern border was currently closed to migrants, but that the government “would not abandon the needs of vulnerable children.”
This week, the House passed two separate immigration bills aimed at giving recipients under the Deferred Action for Childhood Program, or DACA, a path to citizenship and expanding the country’s agricultural workers’ program.
However, these two dual measures face an upward climb in the Senate, renewing the debate among Democrats over the destruction of the Senate filibuster.
Durbin is prepared to lower the threshold for breaking a filibuster and told CNN that he wants his colleagues in the Senate to ‘prove to me’ according to current rules, with the filibuster needing 60 votes, that we can deliver something. ‘
“I want to tell you something, as chair of the Judiciary Committee, we urgently need to rewrite our immigration laws to stop this mess at the border, and to stop the problems we face,” Durbin said, adding : “It’s a challenge for my colleagues, let it work. At the moment, we know that the 60-vote requirement could stop the Senate from making meaningful activities.”
Biden told ABC News that he would support changing the Senate’s subsidiary rule by bringing back the filibuster, which requires a senator who wants to block legislation to stand on the floor and argue. Although the ruling filibuster rule still requires 60 votes to end the debate on a bill, it will bring all matters from the Senate floor to a standstill. Current Senate rules allow for other matters while a bill is being illustrated.
“I certainly support the filibuster as proof that it is positive that if someone cares enough to stop the Senate in its tracks, it should tell the Senate that you can not even consider the measure before you. Is it too much to ask them to stand up “their desk to show that personal commitment?” Durbin told CNN on Sunday.
This story was updated on Sunday with additional details.
CNN’s Manu Raju and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.
.Source
Related
