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Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, recently, the American people have witnessed something that is truly disturbing to them. While President Trump is making America safe by getting criminal illegal aliens off the streets, what they have seen is some on the left are trying to stop the removal of criminal illegal aliens.

This is an issue where about 90 percent of the American people agree they do not want gangs--Tren de Aragua, MS-13--violent gangs--criminals that have committed rape, murder, child sexual abuse, drug traffickers, sex traffickers. They don't want them in their communities.

But when you look at L.A., what you are seeing is that ICE apprehended illegal aliens with these appalling criminal histories. And these are not just charges that have been filed, they are actual convictions that these people have had. I will say this, L.A. and all these other communities where you have removed these criminal illegal aliens, the streets are going to be safer, communities are going to be safer. Yet you have some pro-illegal leftists in California who have lined up to actually condemn the arrests.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has called them reckless and cruel, and the L.A. mayor, Mayor Bass, claimed that arresting criminals actually sows terror--her words. Representative Maxine Waters said President Trump is targeting--her words--the ``most vulnerable people.''

These statements are truly at odds with reality, and they make absolutely no sense. How does it sow terror when you are actually apprehending the criminals and taking them off the streets? But when you look at reality and then look at these statements, you see that-- whether it is Governor Newsom or Mayor Bass--they did nothing as these violent rioters took over L.A. County streets to protest lawful arrests.

Following the operations, thousands of far-left activists set vehicles on fire; they looted businesses, many owned by those that had immigrated to our country; they shot fireworks at police officers; they blocked off freeways; they burned American flags; and they unleashed chaos across the city. According to Democrats, these riots were, in their word, ``peaceful.''

Anyone else could see that the violence that was transpiring was out of control. Even L.A.'s police chief said that his troops were overwhelmed. That is why President Trump deployed 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to L.A. to help restore law and order.

Instead of saying thank you to the President for this much needed support as the officers were ``overwhelmed,'' Democrats started attacking him. In fact, Governor Newsom is suing the Trump administration to remove National Guardsmen from L.A. Once again, the Democrats are siding with criminals over law-abiding citizens.

The images you see of barricaded streets, burning vehicles, looted store fronts, that is what the leftists want. We saw this in 2020, and we saw then that you had elected officials standing on the side of criminals. They are on the side of violent rioters, lawlessness, and chaos.

The American people are tired of crime. They have had enough. As I said earlier, they do not want violent gangs--MS-13 or Tren de Aragua-- in their neighborhoods. They want them apprehended, and they want them deported. It is a big reason voters returned President Trump to the Oval Office, and he is going to do everything he can to bring this violence in these cities to an end.

In the Senate, Republicans are working hard to make certain that not only the President but also the administration have the tools that they need to get the job done. My CLEAR Act would ensure that State and local law enforcement officials have the explicit authority to assist the Federal Government in our immigration enforcement efforts by codifying the 287(g) Program that is so critical. This would enable law enforcement entities just to move forward with that. They wouldn't have to apply for the program.

This month, I also introduced legislation that is backed by the White House that would establish a Deportation Shot Clock. This would require the Federal Government to deport an illegal alien within 15 days of removal proceedings being commenced. This would empower the Trump administration to expedite deportations and ensure that we are getting criminals off our streets faster than ever before.

While Democrats and the leftists out in L.A. are siding with criminals, President Trump and the Republicans here are doing everything we can to help make America safe again.

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