Supporting Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. NORMAN. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Budd, and I appreciate this bill.

I rise in strong support of the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act. It is high time the United States Congress address the dangers of sanctuary city policies.

I think it comes at a very important time, as we are suffering or could suffer from a pandemic that we are facing. To have open borders and let anybody in doesn't make sense now, nor does it make sense in the future. I commend my colleagues, Representatives Ted Budd and Bradley Byrne, for their leadership in holding sanctuary cities accountable to the law.

Make no mistake, sanctuary cities kill by offering safe havens to some of the most violent and reckless criminals residing in this country. Sanctuary cities put American lives at risk every single day.

Only a few months ago, an illegal alien, Nemias Perez-Severiano killed a 67-year-old Vietnam war veteran, U.S. Marine, Samuel W. Jackson, inside a sanctuary county in Pennsylvania.

Jackson risked his life to defend a country that now refuses to protect his life. Counties like Montgomery in Pennsylvania are an insult to patriots like Jackson.

My district has no sanctuary cities, but that does not guarantee our safety. In Lancaster, South Carolina, just a few miles from where I live, Charlie Byrdic, an innocent and law-abiding citizen, was killed by an illegal immigrant who had hidden from authorities for years. Without the cooperation of sanctuary cities with law enforcement agencies, more families will lose their loved ones because criminals are allowed to roam our Nation without consequences. That is why we need this legislation.

This bill will offer a measure of justice to the victims of those violent crimes by allowing victims and their families to sue the cities that house these assailants.

Enough is enough. No American should lose his or her life, liberty, or property, because the government refuses to act against known criminals, immigrants or not.

The choice is ours; do we want to be the kind of country that protects the victims of crime or the perpetrators of crime? I know where I stand. It is time to fight against this thing that is plaguing our country of opening up our borders to anyone.

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