Udall, Heinrich Reject Ransoming Lives Of Dreamers For President Trump’s $25 Billion Border Wall

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich issued the following joint statement after voting against two immigration proposals, which would have wasted $25 billion to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. The senators supported a third bipartisan measure, introduced by Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), to provide protection for the 700,000 Dreamers in the United States, including 7,000 in New Mexico. 

“We stand together with New Mexico families who oppose President Trump’s offensive effort to impose his political agenda on New Mexicans of all political backgrounds, who overwhelmingly oppose a wall in our backyard. 

“New Mexicans support smart border security measures, but President Trump’s border wall is a symbol of everything that’s wrong with this administration. He is unabashedly ransoming the lives of Dreamers as bargaining chips to achieve one of his most bigoted and divisive ideas. A $25 billion boondoggle is not only an outlandish waste of taxpayers’ money, but is also not a smart investment in border security or what families and communities in New Mexico want or need. 

“We will do everything in our power to protect Dreamers and actually invest in our communities and make our country stronger.”