Hal Rogers: “For those who want to be sure that we send away from our borders illegal aliens who are criminals, they surely would…”

“For those who want to be sure that we send away from our borders illegal aliens who are criminals, they surely would understand that the 287(g) program gives us a hugely better opportunity to do that. We've got a few thousand ICE agents, Border Patrol agents, doing a wonderful job, and they are dedicated public servants; but there are so few of them, relatively speaking, to deal with the millions of illegals crossing our borders, many of whom are here in a criminal nature. A few thousand Federal agents. By working with local law enforcement, we can multiply that by hundreds of thousands of enforcers of America's laws, and we can get rid of the criminal aliens in this country. That's what 287(g) empowers localities to do. Now, it is entirely up to the local communities. If they don't want to participate in the 287(g) program and receive funds from the Federal Government to train their local officials on how to enforce the Federal law, it's their choice. They don't have to do it. We don't make them do it. It's purely a local option. Many communities have. However, if they want to and if they decide to seek Federal assistance, it is there for them through this program to help train their local officials. We need to better empower States and localities, and through this program, that's exactly what we do. Everyone admits we are failing to protect our borders. There is a consensus around that.…”