Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) gave remarks at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week to sharply criticize both the Trump administration’s immigration policies and his Republican colleagues for what he described as a politically motivated attack on Somali refugees.
The hearing on “Somali fraud in Minnesota” was the second hearing in two weeks held by Senate Republicans to “demonize an entire community based on a few individuals’ misconduct,” according to Durbin—who serves as ranking member on the committee.
Durbin began by pointing to what he called a disturbing trend in federal immigration enforcement. He mentioned the recent murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, who were needlessly shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. These murders were part of what he described as a broader pattern of violent enforcement actions in cities around the country, including Minneapolis and Chicago.
Durbin also cited what he called an “unprecedented number of deaths” in federal immigration detention under the Trump administration, noting that one recent death had been ruled a homicide while other cases remained under investigation.
“These are the devastating impacts of this administration’s reckless, aggressive mass deportation campaign,” Durbin stated, arguing that the committee should be focused on oversight of federal agencies and bipartisan solutions to fix the immigration system.
Instead, he called out his Republican colleagues for “working overtime” to support the administration’s policies targeting legal refugees.
The Trump Administration’s Refugee Policies Suggest A Racial Double Standard
Durbin criticized the administration’s decision to shut down refugee admissions at the start of the term—while allowing exceptions for white Afrikaners from South Africa. He contrasted that move with the refugee vetting process under the Biden administration, which he described as “the gold standard,” involving multiple layers of security screening.
By comparison, he said, Afrikaner applicants were allowed to apply for refugee status through a simple online form and be approved in less than a month. He pointed to one recent case in which an Afrikaner refugee had posted anti-Semitic content online before being admitted to the United States.
At the same time, Durbin said, immigration agents had arrested more than 100 lawfully admitted refugees in Minnesota—many with no criminal record—and flown them to detention centers in Texas for interviews. Some, he said, were released overnight thousands of miles from home without paperwork or identification.
“These individuals had immigrated the right way,” Durbin stated, noting that many had spent years in refugee camps and undergone extensive background checks before being admitted to the United States. “It is wrong to treat these refugees like they’re fraudsters.”
Durbin suggested the administration’s actions were driven by prejudice rather than policy concerns. He called out President Donald Trump on his racist and bigoted rhetoric, using words like “garbage” to describe Somali immigrants and belittling their home countries.
“It is time we reject these racist attacks and restore order and humanity in our immigration system,” Durbin concluded.
