01/20/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/20/2025 20:29
ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Senator Murray Lays Out How Laken Riley Act Would Throw Our Immigration System Into Chaos, Cost Billions, and Divert Resources From True Threats
***VIDEO of Senator Murray's floor speech HERE***
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on final Senate passage of the Laken Riley Act. Last week, Senator Murray laid out a forceful case against the legislation on the Senate Floor, arguing that it would undermine civil liberties, divert resources from detaining true threats to public safety, and throw our immigration system into chaos-not to mention require tens of billions in additional federal funding, and a doubling in ICE staff to enforce.
"Republicans refused to allow any real debate or an open amendment process and pushed through a harmful bill that may throw our immigration system into chaos, punish legal immigrants while diverting resources from true threats, and undermine due process and civil liberties in America-all while costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
"No one disputes the fact that we have serious challenges at our border and a real need for reforms to fix our broken immigration system. But being tough on immigration does not require us to forsake our bedrock principles-like due process, or our moral obligation to keep children safe-and it does not require us to ignore our common sense and waste crucial resources. I stand ready to work with any of my colleagues, on either side of the aisle, who are willing to tackle immigration in an effective and humane way that protects our nation and upholds our values."
As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee in the 118th Congress, Senator Murray negotiated and passed a Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill that provided new resources to stop the flow of fentanyl, strengthen efforts abroad to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations, and achieve a more humane, orderly, and secure environment along the southwest border. She is currently negotiating funding bills for Fiscal Year 2025.
Senator Murray has championed comprehensive and humane immigration reform throughout her Senate career, repeatedly pushing for legislative solutions that would offer a fair pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America, including Dreamers, farmworkers, and those with Temporary Protected Status. She has long worked on legislative efforts to bring dignity and humanity to our immigration system-from protecting the health and safety of immigrant workers, to recognizing and bolstering America's historical commitment to refugees and asylum seekers and more.
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