Speech #1130127799

In fact. the senior Senator from Texas. my friend Senator CORNYN. has praised her as being "tough. smart and fiercely independent." Now she is being denied confirmation for that same toughness. intelligence. and independence. Why? Becausesurprise of all surprisesshe happens to agree with the policies of the President who nominated her. just as Attorney General Herbert Brownell agreed with President Eisenhower in 1956 when he paroled foreignborn orphans into the United States for adoption. just as Attorney General Edward Levi agreed with President Gerald Ford in 1976 when he granted extended voluntary departure to Lebanese citizens. just as Ed Meese agreed with Ronald Reagan in July of 1987 when he shielded Nicaraguan refugees from deportation. and later when he shielded Polish nationals from deportation. and in October 1987 when President Reagan protected from deportation the minor children of parents legalized in the 1986 immigration law. just as Attorney General Richard Thornburgh agreed with George Herbert Walker Bush in November of 1989 when he protected Chinese nationals from deportation after Tiananmen Square. and in February of 1990 when President Bush extended President Reagans family fairness policy to spouses and unmarried children. all undocumented at the time. and just as John Ashcroft agreed with President George W. Bush when he expedited nationalization for greencard holders who enlisted in the military in 2002. So this isnt a fundamental Republican policy issue backed by history or by the facts. it is a modernday extreme conservative issue driven by politics. despite the facts contrary to their own history. The fact is they do not agree with the President on just about anythingcertainly not on immigration. as proven by the statements we have heard on this floor. I want to be very clear. We cannot judge the qualifications of Sarah Saldana to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement based solely on the fact she agrees with the policy decisions of the President who nominated her. That is an absurd and completely illogical standard. We judge nominees based on their qualifications. their integrity. their record. and their willingness to serve the Nation.