In celebrating 12 years since former President Barack Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said DACA illegal aliens are “the future of our country.”

In 2021, Obama created the DACA program via executive order after Durbin and former Sen. Orrin Hatch’s (R-UT) “DREAM Act” amnesty legislation failed to pass Congress. The program has shielded more than 800,000 illegal aliens from deportation from the United States.

Commemorating 12 years of the program, Durbin spoke on the Senate floor on Wednesday, calling DACA illegal aliens not only “the future” of the United States, but also “absolutely essential” to the nation’s economy, suggesting that their arrival, albeit illegal, is part of the fabric of America.

“First and foremost, we are a nation of immigrants,” Durbin asserted. “… ]T]hey’re the future of our country. They can bring to us things that we need desperately. They’ve earned the right to live in this country without fear.”

Despite President Joe Biden’s growing the American labor market almost exclusively with foreign workers, Durbin said more foreign workers are needed to fill American jobs.

“We are in desperate need of immigrants coming to this country for so many reasons,” Durbin said. “… business owners in my state tell me they need more skilled workers … they’re desperate for them.”

Durbin urged lawmakers to pass his DREAM Act amnesty legislation that would offer green cards and, eventually, naturalized American citizenship to most of the 11 to 22 million illegal aliens living throughout the United States.

“It’s time for Congress to get to work on a bipartisan basis and pass the DREAM Act,” Durbin said. “It’s the right thing and it’s long overdue.”

Last month, the Biden administration issued a final rule to open Obamacare rolls to illegal aliens enrolled in the DACA program — costing American taxpayers some $300 million every year.

WATCH: Joe Biden Announces Plan to Expand Obamacare, Medicaid for DACA Illegal Aliens

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.