WASHINGTON—Following his trip to the Southwest border as part of a bipartisan delegation, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chair of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, on Wednesday held a media availability to discuss his takeaways and the importance of finding a bipartisan solution to reform our immigration laws.

On why he joined Senators Cornyn and Sinema on this trip: “So we went to the border as a bipartisan delegation, hopeful that what we learned could help paint a path forward for immigration reform. Now, Congress has been unable to pass immigration reform since the 1980s. And we got asked during our trip, why on earth this time would be different. One of the answers that we provided is that the group that went to the border is a group that has been able to break through on issues that had similar decades of inaction.”

Murphy highlighted reforms he’s focused on pursuing in the Senate: “So that's the set of reforms that we're talking about – continuing our system of asylum, but having that process occur before people come to the border and having that process be quicker, and then opening up the pathway for other kinds of legal immigration, whether it be the guest worker program, agricultural workers, or the family reunification program. We just should allow more people to come to this country legally.”

On a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, Murphy added: “That has to be on the table…I certainly want a pathway for Dreamers. Frankly, I want a pathway to citizenship for all law-abiding, undocumented workers in this country given certain requirements that they meet.”

“My hope is that this group that went to the border will be able to sit down and try to hammer out a compromise. I understand the House is right now in control of pretty right wing Republicans, they might or might not be interested in that compromise, but the bond that many of us already have through tough negotiations on issues like guns, and the bond that we formed through this common experience of the last few days, I think will allow us to at least start discussions on a bipartisan bill, and I'm glad to be part of it,” Murphy concluded.

During his trip, Murphy visited El Paso, Texas and Yuma, Arizona where he met with Border Patrol, community leaders, and non-profits to learn about the security, humanitarian, and economic challenges facing border communities as well as asylum seekers.

Below is a full transcript of his opening remarks:

“I just got back late last night from a two day trip to the southwest border – one day in El Paso and the surrounding area, yesterday in Yuma and the surrounding area. I was there as part of a pretty unprecedented bipartisan Senate delegation. Unfortunately, very often you have groups of Republicans or groups of Democrats going to the border, given the fact that this issue is often simply viewed as a political cudgel. We decided to do something different – four Democrats, four Republicans – in an effort to try to find common ground to solve a crisis that is vexing Americans.

“I want to talk to you a little bit about what we saw. I want to talk to you a little bit about the path forward. Connecticut is not a border state, but there is no doubt that a lack of order at the border affects us in Connecticut. You saw 2.5 million migrants cross that border, be apprehended at the border last year. That's a record setting number. Many of those migrants end up in Connecticut. Now, that's good for Connecticut. But when you have that large a number of migrants coming in an unplanned way, it also stresses out social services at the border but also throughout the country.

“What we heard is that the two top destinations for migrants who are arriving in El Paso or Yuma are Chicago and New York. There’s no doubt that many of those who are bound for New York are coming to Connecticut. That's good for Connecticut, but we need to be able to better manage the inflow of migrants in a way that allows us to plan in Connecticut.

“So we went to the border as a bipartisan delegation, hopeful that what we learned could help paint a path forward for immigration reform. Now, Congress has been unable to pass immigration reform since the 1980s. And we got asked during our trip, why on earth this time would be different. One of the answers that we provided is that the group that went to the border is a group that has been able to break through on issues that had similar decades of inaction.

“Part of the group that went to the border included Senator Sinema from Arizona, Senator Cornyn of Texas, Senator Tillis of North Carolina. Those are the three senators that I wrote the bipartisan gun bill [with], and that's not a coincidence. The group that went to the border has found a way to compromise on difficult issues like guns and get bills passed in the House and the Senate. I believe that we can do the same thing on the issue of immigration.

“Now, what have we learned? The first thing we learned is that those that are working at the border, whether that be Border Patrol or not-for-profit groups, are doing heroic work. What we learned is virtually everybody that's crossing the border is doing so to simply seek a better life in the United States. Yes, there are drug traffickers. Yes, there are a handful of dangerous people. But almost everyone that is coming to the United States is coming here because they want to work. They're coming here because they're fleeing violence or persecution.

“Second thing we learned is that the profile of the individuals and families that are crossing the border is fundamentally different today than it was five or 10 years ago. A decade ago, it was mainly Mexican immigrants, immigrants from poor countries in Central America. That's not what's happening today. In the Yuma sector, there are more Russians crossing the border than there are Mexicans. The variety of countries represented at the border is just stunning. Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, but also China, India, Russia, people are coming to the United States from all over the world right now. And again, the majority of those, 99% of them, are just coming here for a better life. But it's becoming hard to manage this number of people from this diverse set of places, and so we have got to set up a better, more orderly system.

“I think President Biden in the new plan that he put forward last week is painting a picture for what that new system should look like. People should be able to apply for asylum in the United States. I'm a big believer in America's asylum program or refugee program, but it's got to be through a planned orderly process. That's why it makes sense first to have more people apply for asylum before they arrive at the United States border.

“Second, we need to process those claims much more quickly. Right now, when you show up to the United States and claim asylum, you can stay in the United States for three, four, sometimes five years before your claim is processed. Many of those migrants don't actually qualify for asylum status, but they stay in the United States for five years before they are ordered removed. Now, that’s not really fair to those that are waiting for visas to enter this country and have to wait for five to 10 years to go through that process. So we need to process these asylum claims much more quickly in days, not years.

“So that's the set of reforms that we're talking about – continuing our system of asylum, but having that process occur before people come to the border and having that process be quicker, and then opening up the pathway for other kinds of legal immigration, whether it be the guest worker program, agricultural workers, or the family reunification program. We just should allow more people to come to this country legally.

“My hope is that this group that went to the border will be able to sit down and try to hammer out a compromise. I understand the House is right now in control of pretty right wing Republicans, they might or might not be interested in that compromise, but the bond that many of us already have through tough negotiations on issues like guns, and the bond that we formed through this common experience of the last few days, I think will allow us to at least start discussions on a bipartisan bill, and I'm glad to be part of it.”

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