On the recordJanuary 16, 2025
Mr. President, reserving the right to object, we have heard a lot of things that are untruthful about this bill today. First off, no one's due process is taken with regard to their immigration proceeding that may be moving and the ability to see the criminal proceeding through to the end. At the end of the day, we have to make a decision, and that is the decision that is in front of my colleagues right now. Are we going to protect open border policies or are we going to protect kids? I mean, we are seeing, even in this conversation about carveouts and whatnot--you have got teen migrant gangs running rampant in New York City, allegedly running theft rings, with children as young as 11. Think about what you do when you think about each one of these things we have discussed today. If you were to carve out a certain kid or a certain age, you don't make that kid safer; you make them a greater target for the drug cartels, for the people looking to move crime. We have to make sure that we are taking a commonsense approach to this. And at the end of the day, if you don't commit a crime, you are going to be good. So I am here today to say it is time to pass the Laken Riley Act. It is past time to do that--having a commonsense, targeted approach that, no, does not fix everything. I hear my colleague's frustration with regard to regular order of last year. I would like to echo that. You think about what we are dealing with right now.…





