Chris Coons: “I was honored when my good friend Senator John McCain reached out to me 2 weeks ago to suggest that we introduce…”

“I was honored when my good friend Senator John McCain reached out to me 2 weeks ago to suggest that we introduce bipartisan legislation here in the Senate that would attempt to solve two of our most pressing immigration issues and keep our country and Congress moving forward. The bill we have introduced--and which the Senate will soon proceed to vote on--doesn't solve every immigration issue we face, and it doesn't try to. What our bill does is focus on the issues on which we can agree. It is an attempt to break through the messy political debates and substantive disagreements here and find compromise. Our bill would do two simple things: Move to secure our border, and finally give Dreamers the path to citizenship they deserve. First, to address border security, our bipartisan bill would ensure that we gain operational control of the border by 2020 with new investments, new technology, new resources for Federal, State, and local law enforcement. It would also reduce current immigration court backlogs by funding new judges and attorneys, while addressing one of the root causes of immigration from Central America. Second, our bill would give legal certainty to 1.8 million Dreamers who are American in every way but the paperwork--young Americans who have known no other country but this one.…”