During the past four years of vast illegal immigration and open border policies that ignored and violated the laws of our country, more than 200,000 Americans have died from fentanyl poisoning. Numerous other precious lives have been stolen by savage criminal illegal alien violence. 

I’m grateful to President Donald Trump for signing into law the Laken Riley Act, which will mandate the incarceration of illegal immigrants who commit further crimes as they prey on citizens and businesses across the nation. 

Had the Laken Riley Act been enacted and enforced in September 2023, Laken Riley’s murderer would have been detained and handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Of course, this is assuming sanctuary cities, like New York, complied with federal law and chose to be partners in removing the plague of criminal illegal aliens threatening our safety.

Sadly, rather than showing concern for victims of violent crime and support for upholding the most important responsibility of every government entity – the protection of its citizens – we are barraged with one radical politician after another, stepping over each other to “bravely” proclaim how their locale will resist enforcing the law while standing in solidarity with criminal aliens. 

TRUMP TACKLES AMERICA’S HIERARCHY OF TROUBLES

It’s not only far Left politicians in Boston, Chicago and California who are shielding criminal aliens. Unfortunately, we are seeing law enforcement officers and police chiefs openly state they will not work with ICE to turn over criminal aliens arrested in their jurisdictions. This is not just a dereliction of duty, this aberration of what a law enforcement officer should be doing is contributing to one of the most grave national security threats facing our country.

More Americans have been killed by illegal immigrant criminals, drug traffickers, human traffickers, cartels and violent alien gangs than any global terrorist organization. If local and state politicians or law enforcement agencies refuse to recognize this grim reality, then it is time to treat them as hostile toward the safety of our nation and our people.

Border czar Tom Homan has repeatedly stated that radical sanctuary ideology not only makes communities more dangerous, but makes the jobs of ICE and other participating agencies more dangerous as well. It is reprehensible that these “law enforcement officers” would endanger the brave men and women who are courageously putting their lives on the line to remove public safety threats.

WHY DO DEMOCRATS DEFEND VIOLENT, CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AGAINST TRUMP RAIDS?

We must directly confront this behavior, not only because it is making our country less safe, but because the American people have demanded that all levels of government work to secure the safety of our families and neighborhoods.

I know, firsthand, how successful, and beneficial, a relationship between local law enforcement and ICE can be for removing threats from a city. As a former councilwoman and mayor of a top 100 city, I helped start the City of Irving’s Criminal Alien Program, then known as CAP 24/7. 

During the course of that program and through our relationship with ICE, our local law enforcement was able to assist, during the normal course of their operations, in the apprehension and deportation of thousands of criminal illegal immigrants. Irving became the fifth-safest city in the United States, more businesses and families moved to Irving, and we enjoyed a virtuous cycle of growth and prosperity.

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Unlike what we hear from the protestations of Leftist politicians, the communities and neighborhoods that benefited the most from the removal of these criminal elements were immigrant and low-income populations. In fact, many of the calls for police assistance came from these very households and neighborhoods because they were sick of the violence and terrorism. Only through police intervention and federal deportation could they get relief from the same criminals who preyed on them, over and over again.

Now that we have a Trump administration that is mercifully enforcing our existing immigration laws and aggressively working to remove threats from our country, we need action in Congress to confront the national security threats posed by sanctuary policies. That is why I introduced the No Congressional Funds for Sanctuary Cities Act, H.R. 205, which will prohibit community project funding from being allocated to sanctuary cities that hinder immigration enforcement efforts. 

We’re leveraging the power of the purse to give these sanctuary jurisdictions a choice: follow the law or relinquish your chance to receive congressional funds. These cities need to understand they cannot simply proclaim they will be a deterrent in enforcing duly enacted public safety laws. With my legislation, there will be consequences for their actions protecting criminal aliens, instead of the citizens they are sworn to keep safe.

The American people spoke with a loud and overwhelming voice this past November, demanding action to stop the threat from criminal illegal aliens. They demand our laws be followed, our borders be secured, and criminal aliens be removed from their communities. 

This is a national security issue of grave importance, which is why we must pass additional funding and support for ICE and Border Patrol operations, as well as deliver policies, like H.R. 205, which are a sharp rebuke to those who stand in the way of protecting the lives and livelihoods of all Americans.

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