Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Virginia, our chairman, for his leadership on this, and I rise in strong support of the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which has been worked on by a whole number of Members of the House. The adoption of dangerous sanctuary policies across the country makes it more difficult to adequately enforce our immigration laws, which, in turn, needlessly puts Americans' lives at risk. Unfortunately, sanctuary cities that fail to comply with Federal law and deliberately refuse to cooperate with Federal authorities become safe havens for undocumented criminal immigrants, because criminals know they are less likely to be detained in those cities, which are, by definition, sanctuary cities. Far too many innocent lives are put at risk when a criminal alien convicted, for example, of drunk driving or charged with another serious offense is not detained so they could be appropriately dealt with and, if warranted, deported from our country according to the law. That is why it is essential that we pass this resolution, which will strengthen our Nation's immigration laws, hold sanctuary cities accountable, and enhance public safety by requiring detention of criminal aliens. The bottom line is, if we expect our Federal immigration authorities to enforce our Nation's immigration laws and protect the American people, State and local officials need to cooperate, not defy Federal immigration laws.…”