Political Quotes

“Mr. President, reserving my right to object, this family has suffered a terrible loss and has my sincerest condolences. Too many families in my home State of New Mexico have lost loved ones to DUIs, and I have made reducing DUIs one of my top priorities. As State attorney general, I worked to increase penalties and get them off the roads. In the Senate, I am working on a bipartisan basis to use technology to get us to the place at which we can eliminate drunk driving and save thousands of lives per year. The Presiding Officer also knows that we are working very well, in a bipartisan way, to tackle this issue. I have concerns that this bill uses a tragedy to paint immigrants as more dangerous than other people, which is false by all available data. The immigration detention system is also in need of comprehensive reform, and this bill does nothing to improve our immigration system. Instead, the bill imposes judicially unreviewable detention on immigrants simply charged with certain crimes, not convicted. This is not consistent with due process. Importantly, this bill has not been subject to committee review. My understanding is that senior members of the Committee on the Judiciary have strong concerns about this bill. I also believe that we should not be legislating on immigration matters unless and until this body takes action to permanently protect Dreamers and provide them with a path toward citizenship. I object. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER.…”