Marc Molinaro: “The Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act is an important measure meant to impose criminal penalties and deportation…”

“The Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act is an important measure meant to impose criminal penalties and deportation against those who flee the U.S. Border Patrol officers in a vehicle. The bill also seeks to ensure that individuals who do so are not able to apply for legal immigration status going forward. My amendment ensures Congress and the public are fully aware, extending greater transparency, of the extent of these crimes that are being committed. Specifically, my amendment requires a report to Congress from the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security on the number of individuals who are charged with fleeing Border Patrol, those caught but not charged, and those who have committed the crime but are not caught. Now, of course, none of this and this amendment would be necessary at all were the President to take appropriate action to secure our border. Nonetheless, his failure to do so has led us to the necessity to continue to impose new restrictions to ensure that our border is secure. The public deserves to know the true extent of how open our borders are. Any time an individual starts to flee from law enforcement in a vehicle, they not only put the lives of other Americans at risk but they risk the lives of law enforcement and even their own lives. So, Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to adopt this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.”