{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-calls-on-senate-colleagues-to-support-bridge-act-to-protect-dreamers", "Durbin Calls On Senate Colleagues To Support Bridge Act To Protect Dreamers", "2016-12-09", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Richard Durbin", "D000563", "www.durbin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.09.16\n\t\t\t Durbin Calls On Senate Colleagues To Support Bridge Act To Protect Dreamers \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor about new bipartisan legislation to ensure that the young undocumented immigrants known as DREAMers remain shielded from deportation under a Trump Administration. Like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act would provide temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.  \u00a0  \u201cIf DACA is eliminated, what happens to [DREAMers]? That\u2019s been a concern and a fear, not just on this side of aisle, but on the other side as well. I\u2019m happy to report that Senator Lindsey Graham has stepped forward. We\u2019re working together on a measure we call the BRIDGE Act, which we are going to introduce today,\u201d said Senator Durbin. \u201cThis is an effort by Senator Graham and myself to have a bipartisan answer to the question about what happens to these 800,000 and others like them while we debate the future of immigration.\u201d  \u00a0  Video of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor are available here.  \u00a0  Audio of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.  \u00a0  Footage of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available for TV Stations using FTP in high definition and standard definition.  \u00a0  The BRIDGE Act would provide \u201cprovisional protected presence\u201d and employment authorization to DACA-eligible individuals. A current DACA recipient would receive provisional protected status until the expiration date of his or her DACA status and could apply for provisional protected presence prior to this expiration. An individual who is not a DACA recipient but who is eligible for DACA could also apply for provisional protected presence. Applicants would be required to pay a reasonable fee, be subject to criminal background checks, and meet a number of eligibility criteria indicating that they came to the United States as minors, grew up in this country, have pursued an education, have not committed any serious crimes, and do not pose a threat to our country.   \u00a0  Senator Durbin has been a leading voice in the fight to protect young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. In April 2010, he was the first member of Congress to call for the establishment of DACA. Durbin has shared the stories of more than 75 DREAMers on the Senate floor since he introduced the original DREAM Act fifteen years ago. He was also a member of the \u201cGang of 8\u201d Republicans and Democrats who authored comprehensive immigration legislation that passed the Senate in 2013.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n    \n   \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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/durbin-calls-on-senate-colleagues-to-support-bridge-act-to-protect-dreamers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5857457183301449, "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"}