Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) compared U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II while speaking Monday at the U.S. Capitol during a Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism hearing on immigration enforcement.
During remarks delivered from the Senate floor, Durbin said, “There was only one parallel in history that I can think of that has occurred in my lifetime, and that of course, would be the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War Two.”
Durbin’s comparison comes amid a long record of engagement on immigration issues. Over the years, he has defended expansive immigration measures, opposed restrictions on illegal aliens, and frequently linked America’s identity to immigration.
In March 2024, Durbin blocked a Republican-backed bill that would have required ICE to automatically detain illegal aliens charged with violent crimes, arguing the proposal would deprive immigrants of due process. The measure, introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), sought to detain suspects pending trial to prevent their release under lenient local policies.
Earlier this year, Durbin also marked the 12-year anniversary of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by calling its beneficiaries “the future of our country.” He has repeatedly pushed for passage of his DREAM Act, which would provide permanent legal status and a path to citizenship for millions of illegal aliens.
Durbin’s emphasis on protecting foreign nationals has drawn attention throughout his career. In 2018, he told NPR that the United States must remain a “nation of immigrants,” describing diversity as America’s strength and rejecting efforts to scale back legal immigration. That stance reflected his decades-long leadership on the issue, dating back to his original introduction of the DREAM Act alongside former Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
Durbin’s immigration activism has at times sparked controversy. In 2013, he spoke at Chicago’s May Day march, which featured open socialists and anarchists, where he urged the crowd to fight for “immigration reform.” When questioned about his participation, Durbin explained his attendance on free-speech grounds, saying he believed in the Constitution’s protection of expression for all groups.
Durbin has also worked with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on H-1B visa reforms. In September 2025, the pair sent a letter to major technology CEOs questioning why companies were laying off American workers while continuing to hire foreign employees under visa programs. The letter cited concerns about wage disparities and the impact on American workers.
Durbin has also joined Republican colleagues to propose reforms to the lesser-known L-1 visa program, which allows multinational corporations to transfer foreign employees to the United States. The bipartisan proposal would impose new wage standards and time limits on both L-1 and H-1B visa holders to prevent abuse of the programs by firms replacing American professionals with cheaper foreign labor.
His broader legislative record underscores his consistent role as one of the Senate’s most active voices on immigration. From advocating amnesty negotiations with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) following migrant deaths at the southern border in 2022 to denouncing the term “chain migration” as offensive despite having used it himself in a White House meeting days earlier, Durbin has maintained his long-standing argument that immigration defines America’s national character.
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