Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise today with basically a commonsense amendment on H.R. 2578. I appreciate the hard work that Chairman Culberson, Ranking Member Fattah, and other members of the Appropriations Committee have put into this bill. This bill contains many important provisions to protect law-abiding Americans and public safety while spending responsibly; however, I want to make it absolutely clear that no funds appropriated under this bill are used to assist States and localities whose laws and policies are in direct contradiction to Federal immigration law and enforcement efforts. My amendment does just that. It ensures that we do not reward State and local governments with Federal funds when they ignore the rule of law. State and local jurisdictions are implementing policies that directly contradict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's statutorily mandated mission to identify and remove illegal aliens who are currently incarcerated. At this point, we even have seen some local sheriffs who choose to follow Federal law and honor ICE detainers slapped with lawsuits for cooperating, for following the law. I know we are late. I know there is some discussion about this, but really this is simple. Hard-working taxpayers should not have to sit idly by and watch their tax dollars go to localities that choose to encourage illegal immigration through their nonenforcement policies.…”