Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On President-Elect Trump's Threats of Mass Deportation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, "How Mass Deportations Will Separate American Families, Harm Our Armed Forces, and Devastate Our Economy." The hearing examined the consequences of President-elect Trump's threats of mass deportations, as well as stressed the need to shift congressional efforts toward sensible solutions that bring order to the border and provide a path to citizenship to longtime residents with no serious criminal convictions.

Durbin began his questions by asking Mr. Foday Turay, an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, about his experience as an undocumented immigrant in the United States.

"Why are you undocumented?" Durbin asked Mr. Turay.

Mr. Turay spoke about his family's migration from Guinea, where they first fled to from Sierra Leone because of intense civil unrest in the country. Mr. Turay shared that he immigrated to the United States at just seven years old, but he did not learn that he was undocumented until he was trying to obtain a driver's license years later. Mr. Turay then spoke about his role as a prosecutor in Philadelphia-a role made possible by DACA.

Durbin underscored that the government should not assume that all undocumented immigrants are a threat to society. Durbin emphasized that background checks should be necessary in order to ensure immigrants with a criminal record, like the man who assaulted and killed Patty Morin's daughter, should not be allowed to enter the country, but Durbin noted that most immigrants live as valuable community members.

"Is there a difference between Mr. Turay and the [man] that attacked Ms. Morin's daughter? Of course there is. This man [Mr. Turay], for a living is prosecuting criminals. This other individual [the man who killed Rachel Morin] is a clear criminal with a record. When we say mass deportation, should we consider them the same because they're both undocumented?" Durbin said.

Durbin then asked Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, "Is it realistic if we're talking about a massive deportation for us to be looking at federal budgets forfinancing it?"

Mr. Reichlin-Melnick reiterated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) already prioritizes seeking out immigrants with a criminal record. As a result, if the Trump Administration were to carry out a mass deportation, a majority of those targeted would be tax-paying immigrants without a criminal record.

"You estimate, at least in one publication here, that the cost of mass deportation would be $316 billion?" Durbin asked Mr. Reichlin-Melnick.

Mr. Reichlin-Melnick confirmed the statistic, adding that over the course of an 11-year effort, mass deportation could cost as much as one trillion dollars.

"If you want to do a mass deportation… you're talking about a massive amount of money that has to be spent… We heard from General Manner the impact it could have on our National Guard and military if they are given this responsibility. Have you taken that into consideration?" Durbin asked Mr. Reichlin-Melnick.

Mr. Reichlin-Melnick explained that he was not able to account for the cost of using the military, telling Durbin to consider his cost estimates conservative.

"To carry out over 13 million arrests in a short period of time would require between 220,000 and 409,000 new government employees and law enforcement officers-nearly impossible given current hiring challenges across law enforcement agencies. Could you explain that?" Durbin continued.

Mr. Reichlin-Melnick noted that ICE has about 8,500 officers in the agency, of which less than 1,000 are assigned to fugitive operations. Mr. Reichlin-Melnick emphasized that expanding operations to execute a mass deportation would require an enormous investment in personnel.

"So if we are determined to remove Mr. Turay, a prosecutor from Philadelphia and send him back to Sierra Leone… you're talking about massive amounts of money. If we are to focus on the truly dangerous people in this country, to make sure that they are removed and should be, that is a lesser amount?" Durbin asked.

Mr. Reichlin-Melnick agreed. He pointed to data provided by ICE's non-detained docket, explaining that 1.2 percent or less of immigrants have been found to have committed any serious offense. He noted that trying to deport those immigrants with criminal records would be a better use of government resources than attempting to deport 13 million undocumented immigrants.

"Making a priority the dangerous people who are in this country or those who are here illegally and could be dangerous certainly is a different assignment than saying mass deportations," Durbin concluded his questioning.

Video of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.

Durbin has long been a champion for immigration reform. Durbin introduced the Dream Act 23 years ago with the late Republican Senator and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Orrin Hatch (R-UT). In 2010, Durbin sent a letter, joined by the late Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), asking then-President Obama to stop the deportation of Dreamers. Twelve years ago, President Obama responded by announcing the DACA program. More than 830,000 Dreamers have since come forward and received DACA, which has allowed them to contribute more fully to this country as teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, small business owners, and more.

The Dream Act was also included in the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill that Durbin coauthored as part of the "Gang of Eight"-made up of four Democrats and four Republicans. The 2013 bill passed the Senate on a strong bipartisan vote of 68-32, but the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives refused to consider it. Over the years, Senate Republicans have filibustered the Dream Actat least five times.

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