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Floor Speech

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Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, President Biden has opened our homeland to the world's criminals. Under his leadership, over 9 million illegal immigrants have crossed our southern border--9 million people. That is more people than the population of 75 percent of our States.

Month after month and year after year, the Biden administration is shattering all the wrong records. For example, CBP has reported 1.6 million known ``got-aways'' in the last 3 years, a stark increase from the 1.4 million known ``got-aways'' we saw in a 10-year span from 2010 to 2020. And that is just the known ``got-aways.'' Who really knows how many people have gotten past CBP undetected?

And these aren't just plain old numbers, folks. OK? They are people that, too often, include violent criminals who harm Americans. Hardly a day goes by without hearing of another American who has fallen victim to crimes perpetuated by the illegal immigrants the Biden administration has let flood into our country.

We all read the stories of the illegals arrested on serious criminal charges and post bail, never to be heard from again.

Everyone knows the story of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student, beaten to death by an illegal immigrant who was in police custody in New York City before being let go.

But the crisis only continues. Just last Friday, news broke that Raul Santana, a Mexican national who is in the United States illegally, had his bail dropped from $1 million to $100,000. What did he do? Well, he struck and killed Washington State Trooper Christopher Gadd while driving drunk and high at 112 miles per hour.

For more than 8 years, I have warned against the dangers of letting illegal immigrants--who have already broken our laws--roam the country and continue their lawlessness.

I have repeatedly called on this body to step up and protect innocent Americans from criminals who are in our country illegally and pass my bill, Sarah's Law.

Eight years ago, Iowans Michelle and Scott Root woke up to every parent's worst nightmare. Their daughter Sarah was killed by a drunk driver.

Sarah, a 21-year-old from Council Bluffs, had just graduated from Bellevue University in Nebraska with a 4.0 GPA. She had a bachelor's degree in criminal investigations.

She was headed home after celebrating her important life milestone with her friends and her family. She had her entire life ahead of her. But like Trooper Gadd, she was struck and killed by an illegal immigrant drunk driving.

Before the Root family could even lay Sarah to rest, her murderer posted a $5,000 bond, was released, disappeared, and has never been seen again.

These tragedies don't have to continue happening. Today, we can act to ensure no family will be subject to the pain and anguish Sarah's parents have experienced every day for the past 8 years.

My bill, which is named for Sarah, would close the appalling loophole that let Sarah's killer go free. It would merely require ICE to detain otherwise deportable illegal immigrants charged with killing or seriously injuring another person. It also requires ICE to inform victims and family members of necessary information pertaining to the investigation.

Had Sarah's Law been on the books when Sarah and Laken and Trooper Gadd were murdered, law enforcement would have to detain their killers instead of opening the door for them to simply flee. The Roots, the Rileys, and the Gadds would have been kept up-to-date on Federal immigration authorities' efforts to remove their loved one's murderers from the country.

Simply put, folks, this should be easy. This should be easy. Sarah, Laken, and Trooper Gadd's deaths are tragic and, unfortunately, doomed to be repeated, thanks to the administration's broken and ill-informed policies and my Democrat colleagues' refusal to take up this very simple legislation.

Those who come here illegally and harm our citizens should, without question, be a priority for removal. It is just common sense, folks. Otherwise deportable illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes in the United States should face justice.

We can no longer prioritize illegal immigrants over public safety. We must pass Sarah's Law to send this message loud and clear for Sarah's family and for countless American families that Sarah's Law would protect.

160 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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Ms. ERNST. Madam President, I will just respond briefly to a number of points made by my colleague in opposition to this bill.

And, one, I just want to say that this UC--this bill--I am not trying to detract or distract from the vote that will happen this afternoon. This is an effort I have engaged on for 8 years. I have brought this bill to the floor many times in an effort to see it passed for Sarah, for her family and for others who are in this similar situation.

So I would hope that we would be able to pass it today. I know that I will again, in the future, be bringing this bill to the floor.

As my colleague pointed out, we do--we do--appreciate the fact that there is crime all across the United States. And for those who are impacted by that crime, we do wish that they had not had to go through that crime. But the fact of the matter is, there is a difference between American citizens who are committing crimes and illegal immigrants who are committing crimes against American citizens.

The difference is that many times those illegal immigrants whom, in my bill, I am asking ICE to detain so that they can go to their hearings--I am asking ICE to detain them--not voluntarily detain, maybe have someone release them early, but they will be detained to face justice. Many times those illegal immigrants are operating under assumed names, under assumed Social Security numbers. We don't know their true identities. Many times they don't have roots in communities.

So what has happened--and we know this to be true because it happened in the case of Sarah Root and her killer--is that Edwin Mejia--that is at least one of the names that this gentleman used while he was in the United States--when he was released on bond, he was able to slip into the shadows, and the authorities were not able to trace him. They were not able to find him.

Why? Because he was an illegal immigrant, operating under many assumed names, operating out of many different communities, with who knows which family or what contacts.

When American citizens are committing crimes, oftentimes we can trace them. We know who they are. We know who their family members are. We know where they have worked. It is very different with those who enter the country illegally. We can't trace them. We can't find them. The families like Sarah Root's family--Michelle Root and Scott Root will never see justice for their daughter because the man who killed her was released and slipped right back into the shadows where he came from. This family in Council Bluffs, IA, will never see justice for their daughter. Many of these other families will never see justice for their loved ones because our law does not require ICE to detain and hold those murderers--those killers--until they have been seen by a court of law.

That is what my bill does. It requires the detention. It does not allow ICE to voluntarily keep them. It requires them to keep them-- justice for our families.

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