Statement by Senator John McCain on the DREAM Act

Statement

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) made the following statement regarding today's vote on the DREAM Act:

"Over the last two years, I spent a lot of time meeting with my constituents. Everywhere I went, Arizonans made clear to me that the time is long overdue for the Federal government to fulfill its responsibility to secure our southern border and ensure the safety and well-being of the families who live in the region.

"With respect to the DREAM Act, I have great sympathy for the students who would benefit from passage of this legislation. I have met personally with many of them and their stories are heart-wrenching. Through no fault of their own they are now caught in a legal limbo that prevents them from obtaining employment in the United States. Nor are they equipped to return to the country of their birth. They were raised in the United States, and their countries of origin are often places that are foreign and completely unknown to them.

"However, I cannot put the priorities of these students, as difficult and unfair in many respects as their situation is, ahead of my constituents and the American people who demand that the Federal government fulfill its Constitutional duty to secure our borders before we undertake other reforms. Once we fulfill this commitment, we can then address all of the issues plaguing our broken immigration system. There simply isn't sufficient political support to do anything before we secure our borders and there won't be until we do."

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