Durbin Criticizes President Trump For Disparaging Somali Americans, Refugees During Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing

Durbin Criticizes President Trump For Disparaging Somali Americans, Refugees During Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing

"This racism should have no place in our society or in our immigration system. And it should have no place in this Committee," said Durbin during his opening remarks

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered opening remarks in today's Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration hearing on fraud in Minnesota. Rather than examining cases of fraud across the United States-particularly within the Trump Administration, which has allowed its officials to financially profit off the government-the hearing attempted to degrade Somali Americans and refugees as the President continues to make racist attacks against them.

In his opening statement, Durbin criticized the Committee's approach to this hearing, and he called for oversight on the Trump Administration's mass deportation scheme. Durbin also denounced the President's vile and racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in a now-deleted post on Truth Social.

Key quotes:

"Under the Trump Administration, we have also seen an unprecedented number of deaths in federal immigration detention, one of which was recently ruled a homicide. Desperate families are waiting for answers. These are the devastating impacts of this Administration's reckless, aggressive mass deportation campaign."

"As members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, it is our responsibility to conduct much-needed oversight of the Trump Administration and to have a reasoned, bipartisan discussion on how to stop these abuses of power and fix the broken immigration system. Instead, we are having yet our second hearing in two weeks demonizing an entire community based on a few individuals' misconduct."

"This Administration shut down refugee admissions on day one-except for white Afrikaners. They have justified this decision based on alleged fraud. To be clear, under the Biden Administration, refugees went through multi-layered, rigorous vetting process, considered the 'gold standard' of vetting. In contrast, under this Administration, from the comfort of their homes in South Africa, Afrikaners can apply for the refugee program using a Google form."

"This Administration is rounding up lawfully admitted refugees. In recent weeks, immigration agents arrested over 100 refugees with no criminal record in Minnesota and flew them to detention centers in Texas for 'interviews.' Some were released in the middle of the night, thousands of miles from home. They had no idea where they were. They were not given their paperwork or identification."

"These individuals had immigrated 'the right way' to the United States. Many waited for years in refugee camps overseas. They underwent extensive vetting by the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies. They arrived on flights coordinated by the U.S. government."

"It is wrong to treat these refugees like fraudsters. So why is the government putting these highly vetted refugees in shackles, transporting them thousands of miles from home, and 'interviewing' them in detention? We only have to look to the President's own words. He has repeatedly made bigoted and racist attacks on Somali immigrants, calling them 'garbage.'"

"The racist attacks have not stopped with immigrants. Just last week, Trump posted a disgusting, racist image of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. They are my personal friends. Barack was my colleague… I resent that President Trump created an image that is so demeaning to this man and his wife. His staff took the image down but he refuses to apologize. The words 'I'm sorry' are not in the President's vocabulary."

"This racism should have no place in our society or in our immigration system. And it should have no place in this Committee."

"Let's be clear: fraud is a crime, and it should be prosecuted. I will remind everyone that it was the Biden Justice Department that opened the Minnesota fraud investigation and brought the first prosecution. And it is the Trump Justice Department that has diverted prosecutors and FBI agents away from fraud investigations to focus on the President's mass deportation campaign."

"Refugees are some of the most vulnerable and most vetted individuals in the United States. We can target fraud without shackling and detaining them in the dead of night. It is time we reject these racist attacks and restore order and humanity in our immigration system."

Video of Durbin's opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin's opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin's opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

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