A group of Democratic Senators, including Illinois' Dick Durbin, asked President Obama to use executive orders to delay deportations of illegal immigrants that were brought to the U.S. as children. A letter to the President from a group of 22 Senators stated, “we strongly believe that DREAM Act students should not be removed from the United States, because they have great potential to contribute to our country and our children should not be punished for their parents’ mistakes.”