WATCH: Senator Blunt Rochester Reflects on the State of our Nation in Floor Speech

"Now we must…It's our time to stand up for our brothers and sisters across this country."

Senator Blunt Rochester's full remarks can be viewed here.

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) today spoke on the Senate floor about funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the fear spreading across the nation as a result of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement. Senator Blunt Rochester has already announced her opposition to the current legislation that would fund DHS, as currently written.

Below are Senator Blunt Rochester's remarks, as delivered:

Mr. President, I rise today in disbelief of where we are as a country. I will tell you, in listening to the speeches that came before me, such powerful words, I thought to myself, what can I actually contribute to this moment? As a matter of fact, when my colleagues said they were going to schedule this floor block, I never thought about what I would say, I just said yes. And in my mind, there are few things I do want to say.

First, I want to start off by thanking my sister senators, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senator Tina Smith, as well as former colleague Representative Ilhan Omar for your strength and leadership in such a trying time. Secondly, I want to acknowledge the people of Minnesota who have been through so, so much. I recall years ago going to Minnesota myself for the memorial service for George Floyd and being with the community to have conversations about community policing. And then witnessing the tragedy of Melissa Hortman and so much that has happened in that state. And so, to the people of Minnesota, I want to say thank you for showing us strength, resilience, what is truly means to be your sister's keeper, your brother's keeper, and to show up for your neighbors. You are truly inspirational.

I guess what has been on my heart is the history of this country. We will be celebrating Black History Month. And at a time where history is trying to be replaced, erased, I think it's important to think back on the things that we have been through. And what it took to make it through those times [was] not necessarily our eloquent speeches, but it was that everyday people did something. And so right now the words that are ringing through my head are that they had their time, this is our time. We didn't ask for it, but we are prepared for it whether we know it or not. And the three words that stick in my head right now [are], "Now we must." It's our time. It's our time to stand up for our brothers and sisters across this country.

When the administration first signaled their goals to do these kinds of interventions across the country, it was to arrest violent criminals. That's what I heard. But in reality, when you see a mother of three shot, when you see an ICU nurse who works for the Veterans Administration shot and killed, when you see children and families and pastors and priests and people across the country, not just in Minnesota, concerned to even walk in their own neighborhoods, maybe because of their color or their accent, that's not the way it's supposed to be. So, that means each and every one of us has to do what we can in this moment to prevent this lawless chaos that is happening on our streets.

I will say that what we are trying to put forward as Democrats, again, [are] just common sense, practical…safety measures to keep our country safe. And so, as we think about the fact that, right now, there are armed cars roving, people in masks that we don't even know who they are - they should be identified.

People shouldn't have to worry about carrying their papers with them. When we think about the process, people shouldn't be knocking on our doors and pulling you outside of your house. You don't even get a chance to put on your clothes, and they don't have a criminal warrant. They should be following the same rules…our state and local police officers follow in our states. Because what we're hearing is their efforts right now are making it even more difficult for law enforcement to do their jobs and keep us safe.

And so there are, in this moment, things that each of us can do. And I hope that our Republican colleagues will join us. I hope they will join us in making sure that not only do we continue to have public safety that includes the public and our law enforcement, but that we reform an agency that has received over $75 billion as a slush fund. We want to make sure that money is targeted, that people are trained, and that they are doing what is right, and they are doing at least what our state and local police officers do.

And, again, I want to end by just saying that I didn't come to give a big formal speech. I came to say that each and every one of us in this moment can do our part.

Our Senators, again, thank you so much to Amy, thank you so much to Tina for your strength and for your example. Again, I encourage our Republican colleagues to join us as we reform and change that agency, meaning ICE and DHS. But more importantly, I think what is at the core of all of this is that we still have a democracy when it's all said and done.

And so, my call, again, is for each of us to just do your part, to stay strong. And I will not be voting for this package if we do not pull out DHS and have those reforms that we spoke of. And I, again, just want to say it's our turn. Now we must. I yield back.

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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.