(CNSNews.com) – In response to Republican criticism of the DREAM Act, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) invoked Moses and the Ten Commandments: "To my knowledge, the only perfect law ever written was on stone tablets and carried down a mountain by Senator Moses," he said.
Durbin made the remark on Tuesday at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security. During the hearing, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the DREAM Act, reintroduced last month, was flawed because it would give the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to waive provisions of the law on a case-by-case basis.
“Under this version of the Dream Act, a 35-year-old illegal immigrant who’s been convicted of two misdemeanors would be eligible for a green card,” Cornyn said. “And let’s remind ourselves that many misdemeanors are not minor offenses. In many states they include driving under the influence of alcohol, drug possession, burglary, theft, assault and many other serious crimes.”
That's when Durbin (D-Ill.), who reintroduced the legislation, made his comment about the Ten Commandments.
The Dream Act would allow an illegal alien to gain legal status if he came to the United States with his parents at age 15 or younger; if he has been in America for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment; and if he meets certain education or military service requirements.
Durbin invited a large group of young illegal aliens to attend the hearing. Some were dressed in graduation caps and gowns and some were recognized individually by name. Many were accompanied by their families in the congressional hearing room.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano both testified at the hearing.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) asked Napolitano whether she would consider a waiver for an undocumented veteran who lost both legs serving in the U.S. military and who had a “couple of misdemeanors.”
“Well, you present a compelling case,” Napolitano said, adding that waiver authority should be “narrowly construed.”
“But the case you describe, depending on what the misdemeanors were, if they were truly minor misdemeanors and someone had sacrificed limbs for their country and they otherwise met every other criteria – of which there’s a long laundry list of them in this bill – that would be something that would be considered for a waiver, yes,” Napolitano said.
“So maybe that waiver’s a good thing?” Franken asked.
Cornyn said in his prepared remarks that the country’s immigration record is “something we should be proud of.”
“America is a welcoming nation to immigrants who play by the rules and do it the right way,” Cornyn said. “Last year more than 600,000 people became naturalized U.S. citizens.”
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