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Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) lashed out at Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) on the Senate floor Wednesday, a day after the GOP lawmaker had asked federal authorities to arrest some participants in a staff briefing on immigration. Tancredo, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination on a platform of a tough immigration policy, suspected that some people present at the briefing were in the country illegally. Durbin is sponsoring the DREAM Act, legislation that would allow “certain long-term undocumented immigrant children to go to college or join the military if they meet stringent requirements.” The staff meeting featured individuals who would benefit from the bill, Durbin’s office had said. On Wednesday, the senator indicated that the legal status of the participants had been resolved, and accused Tancredo of not taking the time to find out about that. Tancredo issued a response, saying that he did not “expect Dick Durbin to be able to tell the difference between legal residents and illegal aliens.” According to Durbin, Tancredo’s decision to call immigration authorities “is an indication of how badly this debate is going in America.” “To turn on these children and treat them as criminals is an indication of the level of emotion and, in some cases, bigotry and hatred, that is involved in this debate.” Durbin added, in a speech ahead of a procedural motion on the DREAM Act, that “America is better than what we hear from the likes of [Tancredo].” The Colorado Republican retorted that “Dick can split all the hairs he wants, but we all know the DREAM Act is designed to do one thing: benefit illegal aliens.” |
