‘Now Confronting A Full-Blown Public Safety Crisis’: Jake LaTurner Decries Biden Border Policies

last year

During a House Oversight Committee hearing earlier this month, Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-KS) questioned witnesses about crime and the southern border.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00 Mr. Turner.

00:03 Thank you, Chairman.

00:04 Thank you to our witnesses for being here today as we discuss the ongoing border crisis.

00:09 The invasion at our southern border didn't happen by accident.

00:12 During the 2020 presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden promised to protect sanctuary cities

00:18 from federal law enforcement, pledged to halt deportations, and encouraged millions of asylum

00:23 seekers to surge to the southern border.

00:26 It didn't take long for the President to make good on his open border promises.

00:30 In his first 100 days of his administration, President Biden took over 94 executive actions

00:35 to reverse Trump-era immigration policies and undermine America's border security.

00:41 The Biden White House ended remain in Mexico, halted construction of the border wall, and

00:45 did away with Title 42 expulsions.

00:48 These disastrous policies have turned every state into a border state.

00:53 President Biden's sanctuary city policies and catch-and-release practices complicate

00:56 the efforts of Border Patrol, ICE, and local law enforcement to keep our streets safe and

01:01 protect our communities.

01:03 This unprecedented level of illegal immigration is redirecting essential resources away from

01:08 their critical role in crime prevention, costing taxpayers billions of dollars and leaving

01:13 our communities more vulnerable.

01:15 The unchecked flow of illegal immigrants across our southern border not only undermine our

01:19 law but also opens the door for bad actors to enter the country undetected.

01:25 Under President Biden, more than 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records or pending

01:29 criminal charges have been released into the United States.

01:33 Our communities now face an increased threat from drug smugglers, human traffickers, and

01:37 violent criminals who exploit our weakened southern border, each crime being entirely

01:43 preventable.

01:44 We are now confronting a full-blown public safety crisis, one that stretches far beyond

01:48 the border states and impacts the entire nation.

01:52 This administration's actions, or lack thereof, sends a message that our laws can be blatantly

01:57 ignored and violations will go unpunished.

02:01 For far too long, Secretary Mayorkas and the entire Biden administration have refused to

02:06 enforce our nation's immigration laws and turned their backs on the victims of this

02:10 worsening crisis.

02:12 It's unacceptable.

02:14 And this committee must hold them accountable.

02:17 Sheriff Chapman, thank you for being here today.

02:21 My district is not located on the southern border, yet I still hear from my constituents

02:26 in Kansas every single day who are impacted by this administration's open border policies.

02:32 Would you agree that the implications of the border crisis are widespread, affecting not

02:37 just the border communities but also towns and cities across the entire nation?

02:40 Absolutely.

02:41 And as I said in my opening comments, probably the biggest reflection of that is the overdose

02:46 deaths that we're seeing throughout the country here over the last several years now.

02:50 They've exceeded 100,000, and with the vast majority of those being fentanyl.

02:55 So when you're talking about an impact, that definitely is an impact, and it's killing

03:00 so many people throughout our country.

03:03 As a sheriff of a non-border state, could you discuss the specific challenges that you,

03:07 as chief law enforcement officer, remain vigilant to guard against in light of the administration's

03:11 border policies?

03:13 Well, fortunately, as an elected official, I have the ability, as I mentioned earlier,

03:17 to contact ICE when we have people that need to go to ICE that are being detained.

03:24 But we are concerned about an increase, and certainly with MS-13 and 18th Street gang

03:30 members coming in as a result of this.

03:32 We did have a problem several years ago with gang members.

03:37 We are concerned that that's going to reignite itself here as this problem continues.

03:42 I'd like to shift, stick with you, but shift our discussion to the topic of sanctuary jurisdictions,

03:48 which limit the ability of ICE to fully enforce immigration laws, as you know well.

03:51 In your opinion, how do sanctuary jurisdictions affect public safety?

03:55 I think sanctuary jurisdictions are extremely detrimental to public safety, because it allows

04:02 people that shouldn't be here in locations where they shouldn't be, and allows them to

04:06 basically commit crime.

04:08 Fortunately, we're not one of those, but I do believe some of our surrounding locations

04:14 are, and I just think it poses an enormous danger to the citizens of those areas.

04:21 Describe how important you think it is for local jurisdictions to work with federal government

04:24 to enforce U.S. immigration law.

04:27 Extremely important.

04:28 I'm retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration as a special agent.

04:31 I have very good relationships with all of our federal counterparts here, and I think

04:36 for the most part, everybody wants to do the right thing.

04:39 Unfortunately, political agendas get in the way of that often, but as far as we go, it's

04:46 very important for us to constantly work, notify other people and other agencies of

04:51 what's going on so that we can address these issues promptly and keep our citizens safe.

04:56 Thank you very much.

‘Now Confronting A Full-Blown Public Safety Crisis’: Jake LaTurner Decries Biden Border Policies

Category

Transcript

Recommended