Supporting Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I would ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks, to include extraneous materials on the topic of this Special Order.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I am joined by my colleagues today to discuss how sanctuary city policies threaten the safety of American citizens.
Before I dive in, I want to commend the Trump administration for its crack-down on sanctuary cities, and I applaud the recent Second Circuit Court of Appeals' decision allowing the Department of Justice to withhold funding from sanctuary cities.
Now, back in June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a list of criminal illegal aliens that were allowed back into their sanctuary communities by local officials. One such criminal is Rosalio Ramos-Ramos, he is a Honduran citizen who was deported four times before authorities arrested him in Washington State in October of 2017.
Once notified of Rosalio's arrest, ICE issued a written detainer request, asking the local authorities to imprison him for an additional 48 hours so that they could decide whether or not to begin deportation proceedings.
Instead, local authorities ignored the detainer request and released Rosalio back into the community. In January of 2018, he murdered his cousin, and then he hid the body in a dumpster.
In another instance, in 2015, Garcia Zarate, an illegal immigrant from Mexico shot and killed 32-year-old Kate Steinle, a very well-known case, and a tragedy, while she was walking with her father and her friend on Pier 14 in San Francisco.
Prior to the shooting, Garcia Zarate had been deported five times, and was supposed to be deported for a sixth time. He had been transferred to San Francisco's jail to serve a sentence for selling marijuana, but local authorities released him a few days later, despite a detainer request from Federal law enforcement.
Situations like these are more common than they should be in our country, and many local officials protect illegal immigrants and ignore Federal immigration laws up to the point of leaving dangerous individuals in their communities.
As you can see from these horrific examples, refusing to honor detainer requests and frustrating local law enforcement has dire consequences. Not only does it make our Nation less safe, it leaves no room for the victims of these offenders to obtain justice.
That is why I introduced the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act, along with my colleague, Representative Bradley Byrne, here in the House, and my fellow North Carolinian, Thom Tillis, over in the Senate.
This legislation would allow anyone who is a victim of murder, rape, or any felony, to file a lawsuit and bring civil action against the State or the sanctuary city if that city failed to honor a lawful immigration detainer request from the Department of Homeland Security. Any individual who is injured or harmed by an illegal immigrant, who benefited from a sanctuary city's policy, will be able to sue the sanctuary city or State.
My bill also requires sanctuary cities to waive a criminal's immunity as a condition of receiving certain Federal grants. If the jurisdiction doesn't agree to waive immunity, it will not be eligible for grants for public works, grant planning, and administrative expenses, and grants for training, research, and technical assistance.
I am extremely proud that President Trump endorsed our bill during his 2020 State of the Union address. It is time for Congress to force sanctuary cities to comply with Federal law enforcement, and to stop them from letting dangerous criminals remain on our streets. It is finally time to give victims of sanctuary city policies a legal pathway to justice.
During my trip to the southern border last year, I witnessed the humanitarian and security crisis up close and personal. I saw the sorry state of some areas of our border. I saw places that were only defended by thin, barbed-wire fences. These weak defenses allow practically anyone to break into our country, and that includes dangerous members of drug cartels who fuel our country's devastating opioid crisis.
I will continue to support policies that crack down on sanctuary cities across the United States.
Madam Speaker, with that, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman), my dear friend, someone who has been a staunch advocate for securing our border.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Norman.
Madam Speaker, at this point, I would yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Byrne), a friend and colleague who led the effort with me to introduce the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act.
Like all of us here tonight, he is tired of hearing stories about illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities committing horrific crimes against American citizens. I want to thank him for spearheading the effort against this dangerous sanctuary city policy.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Byrne for his friendship and leadership on this.
Madam Speaker, at this point, I would like to yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop).
I want to thank him for his leadership on the Immigration Detainer Enforcement Act. This bill makes it easier for local law enforcement to comply with lawful detainer requests from the Department of Homeland Security.
I also want to thank him for his steadfast leadership on the Committee for Homeland Security.
Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend and fellow North Carolinian, Mr. Budd.
From San Francisco to my district in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, cities across the country are declaring themselves sanctuary cities. The term sounds peaceful, but the results are exactly the opposite.
For example, North Carolina sheriffs in a few urban counties released over 500 illegal aliens last year, who were convicted or accused of serious crimes, including domestic violence, indecency with a child, even rape, and murder.
Rather than hand over these vicious criminals to the Federal authorities, sanctuary cities and counties release them into your community to prey on you and your family.
What is the purpose of this policy? Clearly, it is not public safety. Nor is it for the protection of immigrant communities; indeed, they are the most victimized by these predators. Rather, it is meant to serve a national liberal agenda that prizes open borders over community safety.
Across the Nation, we were horrified to learn last year about a 92- year-old woman brutally raped and murdered at the hands of an individual who should have never been released--whom ICE asked to hold.
So, the increasing breakdown in the relationship between Federal and local authorities isn't just theoretically dangerous.
Further, sanctuary policies put dedicated law enforcement officers at risk. When criminals are released, despite an ICE detainer, ICE has a statutory responsibility to collect them. Rather than have a secure transfer, ICE must go into the community to track down the individual for an uncontrolled arrest.
Ironically, if the situation turns violent, the very local police who arrested the alien the first time will be there to back up ICE.
To hold these jurisdictions to account, I was proud to sign on to the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act, which would allow victims of crimes committed by individuals released under sanctuary city policies, or their survivors, to sue sanctuary jurisdictions.
For example, in the New York City case, the woman's family would be able to sue the local government for allowing the release of her killer, who should have been safely in ICE custody.
Often, cities and towns claim immunity from being sued like this, denying victims' rights. This bill would allow communities to maintain that practice, but not at the expense of American taxpayers.
I have heard across the aisle that sanctuary cities only release individuals who pose no community harm. If you believe that, you should have no issue with this bill because those who are released won't endanger the community, and no one would ever be enabled to sue.
I, however, believe we must take this threat seriously and impose concrete costs to communities who refuse to follow the law.
I am proud to support this bill introduced by my friend, Congressman Budd, and urge my colleagues to do the same.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin). I thank Mr. Babin for his leadership as co-chair of the House Border Security Caucus and for fighting to make America safe.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen). I appreciate his steadfast leadership on highlighting the danger that sanctuary cities pose to cities across America.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams), a great capitalist and a great baseball coach.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Watkins). I appreciate his support on this bill.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube). I thank the gentleman for his history of being a strong proponent of Federal immigration enforcement at the State level and for his time in the Florida Legislature, and I appreciate his support here, as well.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), a great friend of mine and a hardworking Member.
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. LaMalfa, and I appreciate his thoughts.
Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield to someone who is focused on securing our border, making sure as well that West Virginia remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family, almost heaven, if you will.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller).
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Mr. BUDD. Madam Speaker, I thank Mrs. Miller for being here tonight. I appreciate her support on this.
Madam Speaker, I thank all of my colleagues who have made it tonight to speak on the dangers that sanctuary cities pose to the communities around us.
It strikes me as common sense to pursue legislation that allows families and victims legal recourse against the municipalities and policies that have caused them so much damage.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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