Durbin: The Border Is ‘Overwhelmed’ But We Can’t Keep President from Allowing People in Unilaterally

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Senate Majority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) acknowledged that “we have to have a new process at the border, which brings order to the situation, which has been overwhelmed by the numbers of refugees from all over the world.” But denounced eliminating the president’s parole authority to unilaterally allow people to enter the country.

Durbin stated, “My mother was an immigrant to this country. And I haven’t forgotten that immigrants have made America. Sadly, some of the Republicans that are wanting to sit at the table only view immigration in negative terms. I agree that we have to have a new process at the border, which brings order to the situation, which has been overwhelmed by the numbers of refugees from all over the world. That has to be done. But it has to be done thoughtfully. The idea of eliminating what’s known as parole, the president’s authority to allow people to come to this country is absolutely unacceptable to me. The emergency situations like Ukraine make parole absolutely essential in times with those dire situations. And I would just say, my biggest concern is, there are people sitting at that table negotiating who are opposed to any new immigration in America.”

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