Xavier Becerra: “Mr. Chairman, the Department of Defense does not support this, the Department of Justice does not support the Traficant…”

“Mr. Chairman, the Department of Defense does not support this, the Department of Justice does not support the Traficant amendment, the people who live along the border in Texas and parts of California do not support this amendment. And if you do not believe that, talk to the folks in Redford, Texas. When the military was deployed in Texas last year for that brief time they were out there, while we all talk here, talk about reducing drugs and the number of people who die in this country as a result of drug overdoses, the deaths that were occurring were not because of drug use so much as Ezequiel Hernandez, a U.S. citizen, dying at the hands of our own military. The first time since 1970 that someone who was an American citizen on American soil has perished at the hands of his own compatriot. That is what happens when you put a force that is trained to kill on a border to do work that is not necessarily to kill, but to interdict. If I were a Border Patrol agent watching this debate, I would say, 'Thanks a lot. I go out every day and I try to stop drugs from coming into this country, and you are telling me I do not do a good job.'”