Chris Coons

Congress has a lot of significant issues to work through if we are to be successful in reaching an appropriate compromise and improvements, enduring improvements, to our immigration system.

I would submit that currently the immigration detention system has broken down because the detainees do not have attorneys who can help facilitate their cases.

But as Mr. Arulanantham suggested, with modern technology--GPS, ankle bracelets--that really were not available broadly, did not exist back in 1996, there are districts that are now showing--regions that are showing 99 percent.

And if we decide, oh, we are for numerical limits, then you have to enforce those limits, and you have to find a way to do so.

Now, that seems like a long time to spend in detention before seeing a judge.

And, Ms. Stampp, if they do not have access to counsel--and in a majority of cases they do not--then where do immigrants in these circumstances turn?

So you have people who have family members, maybe people who were released on the criminal case--they had a criminal case, they were released on bond, they appeared for their plea hearing or trial, then they were convicted, they go to…

I have spent a lot of time in immigration detention centers and can tell you firsthand that they are prisons.

Too often our immigration enforcement system does not provide a fair day in court to those who aspire to be citizens.

As Senator Coons stated, DHS imprisons over 400,000 people every year.

America earned its place in the world because of the immigrants who have come before us, bringing their culture, bringing their passion, bringing their ideas to our shores.

We are marking the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright and the recognized right to counsel for American citizens in the criminal process.

In my experience, most times they are not aware of the legal options available to them.

As Senator Coons so graciously acknowledged, I myself am an immigrant...

They say they also want a system that protects the American work force and grows our economy.

Let me say that again. In terms of enforcement, we are certainly investing enough, nearly $16 billion in the last fiscal year, which is more than spent on the FBI, the ATF, the DEA, and the U.S. Marshals Service combined.

But when I tell people that our immigration system does not allow immigration judges to consider circumstances, to balance different factors, to consider risk of flight, ties to the community, and whether or not there are U.S. citizen…

Should there be a change in the status of the Voting Rights Act, Section 5 in particular, I would love to work with you.

I share the frustration and concern expressed by many other Senators about transparency on targeted killings.

I think all of us are on notice that there is probably the single greatest widespread theft in human history going on at the moment, and it really does have a negative and cumulative impact.

My question for everyone--everyone--in both parties, both Chambers who goes to this important meeting at the White House tomorrow is, How much more time do we have to fight and not to act, to attack and not compromise, to spin rather than…

I think the Deferred Action program is consistent with our values as a country and our recognition that these young people are not to blame for being in the country.

One of our highest objectives, I would think, in the enforcement actions taken by the Department is to focus on removing those who pose a threat to our community--criminals, violent criminals in particular.

It is broken. Families are torn apart. Businesses are discouraged from investing and hiring.

In my view, allowing 11, 12 million people in this country to come out of the shadows to fully engage in our economy, to fully engage in our community and our society is one of the best contributions we could make to economic growth.