{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/amid-surge-in-ice-hiring-durbin-remarks-on-low-standards-of-ice-recruits-who-have-failed-drug-tests-have-pending-criminal-charges-and-more", "Amid Surge In ICE Hiring, Durbin Remarks On Low Standards Of ICE Recruits Who Have Failed Drug Tests, Have Pending Criminal Charges, And More", "2025-12-10", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "IL", "Richard J. Durbin", "D000563", "www.durbin.senate.gov", "durbin", "https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin again denounced President Trump\u2019s so-called \u201cOperation Midway Blitz\u201d and called on his Republican colleagues to stand up against the President\u2019s cruel mass deportation scheme\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today denounced the low hiring standards of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruits amid a surge in hiring. The Trump Administration announced their goal of onboarding 10,000 new agents by the end of the year\u2014which would double the number of deportation officers, from roughly 6,000 to 16,000. Durbin also spoke out on the Administration\u2019s so-called \u201cOperation Midway Blitz,\u201d which has been used as a mechanism by the President to sow fear in Illinois communities as immigration officials have been tasked with carrying out the Trump Administration\u2019s cruel mass deportation scheme.\n\nDurbin began by denouncing the Trump Administration\u2019s false narrative that federal agents are only going after the \u201cworst of the worst\u201d during these aggressive immigration raids.\n\n\u201cOf more than 600 immigrants recently arrested, do you know how many of them had significant criminal history? Sixteen\u201416 out of more than 600. Nationwide, ICE arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal history between January 20 and October [15]. Federal immigration agents have arrested and detained: a mother on her way to visit her 15-day-old baby in the NICU; a teacher at a preschool in front of her young students; [and] day laborers, vendors, construction workers, and cooks simply trying to make a living and support their families. Immigration agents arrested and detained at least 40 U.S. citizens in Illinois alone between late August and early November. Does that sound like we\u2019re getting rid of \u2018the worst of the worst\u2019? People with no criminal history,\u201d Durbin said.\n\nDurbin continued his remarks by calling on his Republican colleagues to stand up against the Trump Administration\u2019s cruel campaign against immigrants.\n\n\u201cI have urged my Republican colleagues\u2026 to consider the possibility that these raids could come to a city they represent, and they would be faced with the same reality. Would they call out these abuses of power? Well, I regret to inform them that that time has come. After wreaking havoc in Illinois, Border Patrol official Greg Bovino and his traveling circus have hit the road and descended on more communities, including in red states. Last month, in Charlotte, North Carolina, a video posted to social media showed a U.S. citizen construction worker being swarmed by federal agents while in his vehicle,\u201d Durbin continued. \u201cThe man said the agents \u2018didn\u2019t believe I was an American citizen\u2019 and \u2018wanted to know where I was born.\u2019 He was released only after agents verified his citizenship.\u201d\n\nIn another incident in Marrero, Louisiana, a viral video showed a silver, unmarked SUV pulling up to a woman and two masked agents exiting to chase her. She repeatedly yelled that she was a U.S. citizen and to \u201cleave [her] alone\u201d before making it to her property. Other states, including Florida and Texas, have also witnessed increased federal immigration enforcement operations.\n\nDurbin then proceeded to talk about the Trump Administration\u2019s increase in hiring ICE recruits.\n\nDurbin continued, \u201cThe Trump Administration should be working to improve screening, hiring, and training of recruits before unleashing them onto the streets of America. Instead, they have lowered requirements\u2014including [by] loosening the age restrictions for prospective agents and shortening the training period from 13 weeks to a mere six weeks... Recent reporting suggests that these new, lowered hiring standards have resulted in ICE recruits who have: barely been able to read or write; failed drug tests; displayed tattoos associated with gangs and white supremacists; failed to meet basic physical fitness requirements; and even have pending criminal charges.\u201d\n\nDurbin concluded, \u201cThese are the people that President Trump is attempting to release onto our streets to restore \u2018law and order.\u2019 With these lower standards, these troubling incidents I described are definitely going to increase. Given all of this, I ask my Republican colleagues: if you think we need to keep an eye on the federal government, why don\u2019t we start here? Will any of you rebuke this lawlessness and cruelty? What will it take for you to finally do so? We ought to be united in calling out these abuses. Secretary Noem wants to play dress up in her camo wardrobe, demanding government jets to tour her battleground states\u2026 [and] arrest ordinary people who are working hard on tough jobs. I believe [this] is an attempt to change basic Constitutional principles. We have to stand up and speak out. Is this what America is really all about?\u201d\n\nVideo of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.\n\nAudio of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.\n\nFootage of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/amid-surge-in-ice-hiring-durbin-remarks-on-low-standards-of-ice-recruits-who-have-failed-drug-tests-have-pending-criminal-charges-and-more"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.018237952142954, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}