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Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, last night the minority leader came out with a list--a new list--of demands designed to protect illegal immigrant criminals. We just heard him speak about it on the floor just a few minutes ago. The minority leader has said that he has 10 demands. Last week, he had three. Now, he says he has 10. I read the fine print. It looks to me that this ballooning list is now up to 23 demands. The minority leader just said Republicans are calling the demands political. I see them as radical and extreme. This is about funding the Department of Homeland Security for our Nation, keeping our Nation safe.

The minority leader said Republicans can't explain why their demands are extreme. I can tell you why they are extreme. They prioritize the safety of illegal immigrant criminals over the safety and security of the American people. I would think the majority of Americans would see that as extreme and dangerous.

Now, the minority leader might think that he has leverage to defund law enforcement. He is wrong. Border Patrol is funded. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is funded.

To me, what is reckless here, from this far-left wish list, is it is closing the Federal Emergency Management Agency--closing them down--the Coast Guard working without pay, TSA agents working without pay, making our Nation more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Those are all things that are funded by the Department of Homeland Security. So that is why I tell you that these demands are radical.

It is the demand to change the rules regarding immigration enforcement warrants. And that is a big part of what they are talking about. When Democrats say they want to ``improve warrant procedures and standards,'' it sounds nice. I am not a lawyer. You study it, you look into it, because you hear the Democrats use that phrase a lot. What Democrats won't tell you is the people that benefit from that are criminals.

Here is what this Democrat demand actually does. I will tell you because Senator Schumer refuses to tell us what it does. It ends immigration enforcement--ends it. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is forced to use what are called judicial warrants. For each and every immigration arrest, America will become a sanctuary country, not just a bunch of sanctuary cities in different States--no, an entire sanctuary country. That is what they are pushing for, and that is their goal, and it is a destructive goal for our Nation.

Democrats want to abolish ICE. You have even the signs being carried in the streets. They want to abolish borders. They want to turn America into a sanctuary country for illegal immigrants and, specifically, for illegal immigrant criminals who Joe Biden let flush into this country all the way through 4 years--10,000 a day, illegal immigrants coming into the Nation. If Democrats had their way, removing illegal immigrants from our communities, from our streets would be nearly impossible.

Today, more than 1 million illegal immigrants have received, from the courts, a final court order for removal. Democrats want every single one of them to stay in our communities, to stay on our streets and in our neighborhoods, all across the country forever.

If you have a final removal order, you have already gone before an immigration judge. You presented your case. You received due process. You exhausted every possible appeal. After a fair and thorough process, a judge has affirmed you may not stay in this country any longer-- finished. It is time for you to go. It is the law.

Federal immigration officials have used administrative warrants for decades. Federal law provides for them. The Supreme Court upheld their constitutionality in 1960. We are talking 65 years ago. Federal circuit courts have reaffirmed their use in decade after decade after decade. Senate Democrats want to overturn long-term constitutional precedent. Why? Because Democrats seek to dismantle immigration enforcement completely.

The Democrat demand is not a minor adjustment. If Democrats have their way, it will lead to fewer arrests, fewer removals, and lead to more illegal immigrant criminals released onto the streets in our communities and our neighborhoods. That is what this is about.

The Senate should be very clear-eyed about the Democrats' goals and the dangerous consequences of the demands that are being made by Senator Schumer and the Democrats just to fund the Department of Homeland Security, something that we had agreed to do in the weeks prior to their decision, a week ago, to just say no. They said: No, we are done.

Joe Biden and the Democrats spent 4 years ignoring our Nation's immigration laws. They are the party of wide-open borders. They have been. They have proven it. They brought back catch-and-release. They abused parole powers, and they demonized law enforcement. They demonize the very men and women who devote their lives and commit their careers to keeping our Nation safe. As a result, 10 million illegal immigrants flooded into the country, and our communities became less safe because Democrats refused to enforce the law.

In Georgia, Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was murdered by an illegal immigrant. Her killer crossed into this country illegally in 2022. The Biden administration released that killer into our country instead of removing him. Before he killed Laken Riley, he was arrested in New York City for child endangerment--somebody arrested in New York City for endangering a child. Despite his crime, what happens in New York City? He was released. Why? Because New York City is a sanctuary city. Now, the Governor there wants to make it a sanctuary State.

Had her killer been in custody, Laken Riley would still be alive today. She would have finished her nursing training and be taking care of patients in her community.

In North Carolina, two teenagers were killed by an illegal immigrant in a deadly car crash. The killer was driving drunk. His criminal record before the incident was lengthy--a lengthy criminal record. Yet before the crash, his other charges were dismissed by sanctuary cities.

North Carolina's legislature passed multiple bills to require local police to get illegal immigrant criminals off the streets. So what happened? Well, North Carolina's pro-crime Democrat Governor, named Roy Cooper, vetoed them all. So criminals are back on the streets thanks to a North Carolina pro-crime Democrat Governor named Roy Cooper--three vetoes by Roy Cooper, Democrat Governor of North Carolina, allowing illegal immigrant criminals to roam freely. And because of Governor Cooper's reckless vetoes, parents had to bury their teenage children.

Tragedies like this remind us that we all pay the price when liberal politicians favor illegal immigrant criminals over the safety of American citizens. That is exactly why Republicans passed the Laken Riley Act. Because of that law, the Department of Homeland Security has detained an additional 20,000 illegal immigrants who otherwise would have been released back into our communities.

When it comes to public safety, Democrats continue to fail the American people. Senate Republicans will not accept changes that make our communities less safe. When I read Senator Schumer's list of the 23 demands--he may call it 10; it started as 3--these are things that will make our communities less safe. Republicans are going to continue to stand on the side of safer and more secure communities.

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