Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 5, I call up the bill (H.R. 35) to impose criminal and immigration penalties for intentionally fleeing a pursuing Federal officer while operating a motor vehicle, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
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Mr. McCLINTOCK. 35.
Mr. Speaker, one of the great tragedies that came of the Democrats' 4 years of open-border policies was the number of fatalities of American citizens and law enforcement officers that were caused by high-speed chases of human and drug smugglers and illegal aliens who poured across our southern border.
The Democrats' open-border policies incentivized and encouraged these tragedies by creating the conditions that made these deadly high-speed chases commonplace.
Just last year, Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass told us that in the Del Rio sector alone, the cartels were making $32 million every week from human smuggling. That is just one sector of the southwest border.
These policies created an enormous incentive that emboldened criminals and cartels and human smugglers and illegal aliens alike. High-speed chases with smugglers occurred almost daily in these border communities, placing both law enforcement officials and innocent Americans in grave danger.
For example, last year, criminals led the Texas Department of Public Safety officers on a high-speed chase outside of Del Rio as they attempted to smuggle half a dozen illegal aliens into the interior of our country. At least one of the smugglers himself was a foreign national from Nicaragua. Amazingly, the Biden-Harris administration rewarded this criminal alien with a work authorization.
These criminals also smuggle deadly drugs, like fentanyl, which has poisoned thousands of Americans.
Roughly 1 month ago, in California, a high-speed chase ensued after two men had their car referred for secondary inspection at a port of entry. Border Patrol officers ultimately stopped the men and recovered nearly 5 pounds of fentanyl. That is enough to kill more than 100,000 Americans.
At the beginning of the last Congress, Cochise County, Arizona, Sheriff Mark Dannels, a 38-year veteran of law enforcement, testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Sheriff Dannels told us about a woman named ``Wanda'' from his county who was killed while driving to her own 65th birthday party by an individual who was evading law enforcement while smuggling illegal aliens. She had hoped to enjoy some time at the party with her son, who was receiving treatment for stage IV cancer. According to Sheriff Dannels, the criminal who caused the crash was smuggling illegal aliens when he fled from law enforcement officers, blew through a red light, and crashed into Wanda's car, cutting it in half and instantly killing her.
These dangerous car crashes kill our law enforcement heroes, as well. On December 7, 2022, Border Patrol Officer Raul Humberto Gonzalez got up, got dressed, and he left for work. His family would never see him again. He was killed later that day in Mission, Texas, doing his job trying to protect our country. A group of illegal aliens led him on a high-speed chase that ended in a fatal wreck that took his life.
Authorities do not have the tools to fully prosecute and punish these criminals. Currently the failure to yield to a Border Patrol agent or any other law enforcement officer assisting Border Patrol is not explicitly criminalized under Federal law.
At the same time, there are no specific immigration consequences for foreign nationals, including illegal aliens, who intentionally evade the Border Patrol. In other words, criminals and foreign nationals have little incentive not to evade them.
On November 5, the American people sent a strong message to the world: There is only one pathway into the United States, and that is to obey our laws.
This bill sends a message that we will no longer tolerate those who evade our law enforcement officers who are upholding those laws.
H.R. 35 is named in honor and in memory of Agent Gonzalez. It ensures that those who endanger border communities and law enforcement officers by failing to yield to Border Patrol agents will face meaningful consequences, ensuring these illegal aliens can be prosecuted and will be ineligible for immigration relief under our laws.
This legislation also provides escalating criminal penalties if the evasion results in serious bodily injury or death to another person.
Last session, this bill passed on a bipartisan basis, although 154 of our Democratic colleagues opposed this commonsense measure. Taking their cue, Senate Democrats refused to take it up last year. That is inexplicable to me. I don't understand that.
I hope that today, after Democrats have had time to reflect on the matter, especially in light of the decisive verdict of the American people last November, that more of our Democratic colleagues will have seen the light and will join us in protecting the American people from these dangerous criminals and cartels and human smugglers.
Mr. Speaker, my friend argues that this bill is unnecessary because aliens who are convicted of fleeing an immigration checkpoint are already removable. That part is correct, but there are no corresponding grounds for inadmissibility.
This bill fixes that omission. It also expands the law to someone who is deliberately fleeing the Border Patrol not only from a checkpoint but from anywhere within 100 miles of the border.
This begs the larger question: If, as the Democrats say, this bill simply restates the existing law, then why are they opposing it?
They say you should prove that the alien knows that they are evading the Border Patrol when they initiate a high-speed chase through a crowded neighborhood. He forgets that there are many, many acts that are themselves deadly and dangerous that we sanction. Drunk driving is such an offense. It doesn't matter if you intended to kill somebody when you got behind that wheel drunk. The behavior itself is deadly and dangerous and punishable under law.
Leading a high-speed chase through a crowded highway is also such an inherently dangerous act, which my friends on the other side of the aisle, for some inexplicable reason, want to excuse.
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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Democrats even listen to themselves. The gentlewoman just told us that this bill is simply duplicative of existing law and, therefore, a farce. A moment later, the gentlewoman told us that it is a dangerous expansion of existing law. I ask them to pick at least one side or the other and stick to it.
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Mr. McCLINTOCK. De La Cruz).
Ms. De La CRUZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 35, the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act, which I am proud to have co-led with Congressman Ciscomani.
Agent Raul Gonzalez was stationed in my community of McAllen, Texas, and was dedicated to protecting the Rio Grande Valley and, quite frankly, all of the Nation. In 2022, he tragically lost his life while pursuing a car full of illegal immigrants.
By passing this legislation, we can take critical steps to protect the safety of law enforcement officers and prevent this tragedy from ever happening again.
This bill will make failing to yield to Border Patrol agents or law enforcement a Federal crime. Further, if anyone is killed during the apprehension, it could result in life in prison.
Criminals will think twice before engaging in dangerous and reckless behavior like a high-speed chase from Border Patrol agents.
Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities. I am committed to protecting those who protect us, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill in honor of the life and service of a Texas hero, Agent Raul Gonzalez.
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Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I assure the gentlewoman that the innocent victims of these high-speed chases come from all races and all backgrounds.
Mr. Speaker, I first am tempted to address my friend's obsession with Elon Musk. The situation is pretty simple: A new boss takes over and he brings in an auditor. The auditor calls in the Democrats and says, I would like to see your expense account receipts, and the Democrats go absolutely berserk.
Now, what does that tell you about what has been going on with our money all this time?
My experience has been that the most closely guarded secrets of government are not those that are marked ``top secret,'' they are the secrets that are embarrassing.
Elon Musk is embarrassing the Democrats, which is why they have unleashed this torrent of invective, vitriol, and character assassination upon him, and why they have spent so much time today obsessing on Elon Musk rather than the bill before us to protect the victims of illegal immigration that they themselves unleashed upon our country.
Mr. Speaker, Scott Jennings of CNN recently wondered aloud: What possesses the Democrats to constantly take the 20 percent side of every major issue, whether it is waste in government, men competing in girls' sports, crime and homelessness, or, in this case, border security? They seem instinctively to reject a commonsense position expressed by 80 percent or more of the electorate and double down on the 20 percent or less position taken only by the lunatic fringe of the radical left, and they are doing that again today.
High-speed chases due to human and drug smuggling at the border have claimed the lives of far too many Americans, including a Border Patrol agent who was simply trying to protect his local community. This bill, named in his memory, makes it a Federal crime to evade the Border Patrol or local law enforcement acting in support of the Border Patrol within 100 miles of the international border.
If you are a foreign national, it makes a conviction or admission of such a crime grounds for inadmissibility and removability. If you endanger our local law enforcement officers or innocent bystanders by initiating a high-speed chase, we will throw you in prison for a long time. Then, we will send you packing when you get out.
I suspect this bill has the support of well over 80 percent of the American people, yet once again, the Democrats oppose it. I suspect most will vote against it, as they did last year.
The American people have seen this unfold in this Chamber time and time again. They clearly understand what is at stake, and they well understand the implications to the sovereignty of our country and to the safety of our communities. Last November, they gave us the votes to pass this legislation, and they gave us a President who will sign it. Let's get on with it.
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