Chuy Garcia: GOP Focus On Sanctuary Cities Is To Distract From 'Dumpster Fire Of The Trump Admin.'

2 days ago

At Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) defended sanctuary policies.

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00:00The criminal records. Without objection. Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Chairman McClintock.

00:07Another day and another hearing to distract the country from the dumpster fire of the Trump

00:14administration. Instead of talking about how Trump and Musk are destroying our economy,

00:20busting unions, gutting Social Security and Medicaid, stealing people's private information

00:28and trampling on civil liberties, Republicans are here to, surprise, surprise, scapegoat

00:36immigrants once again. The Republican playbook on immigration is dishonest and cruel. Republicans

00:44have lifted up some tragedies that involved immigrants committing a few crimes. This is

00:51the exception, not the rule. I live in an immigrant neighborhood in Chicago. I know what it's

00:58like. But the antidote to dishonesty is truth. And that's what I'm going to talk about.

01:07The truth here is that there's significant evidence that welcoming jurisdictions have lower crime rates,

01:13lower poverty rates, lower reliance on public assistance, and lower unemployment rates.

01:21This is from a stakeholder, someone who lives day in, day out. Do I want to live in a dangerous neighborhood?

01:27I have a wife. I have children. I have grandchildren. But welcoming jurisdictions have had to do this

01:37for good reason. And the truth is that the courts around the country have repeatedly upheld welcoming policies

01:46like the ones in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois. They've also held that forcing states and localities

01:53to participate in immigration enforcement violates the Constitution. The truth is that welcoming policies

02:01is increased trust between community and law enforcement. That's why forcing states and localities to be

02:09an instrument of ICE is opposed, not only by local law enforcement leaders, including Chicago,

02:16but also by many crime victims groups like the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence.

02:25But despite all of this, Republicans are championing a bill that would gut, cut billions

02:31of federal funding for essential programs like public safety, education, and transportation if states

02:37and localities do not sign up to enforce Stephen Miller and Tom Holman's reckless, racist,

02:44and illegal immigration agenda. Major Franklin, thank you for being here. Let me ask you,

02:50would cutting funding for these essential programs help or harm public safety, in your opinion?

02:57Cutting the funding for those programs would definitely harm. It's no doubt about it. And the

03:03services are extensive. And that's one of the things that the Law Enforcement Action Partnership

03:08helps communities do, cities and towns, is to manage their limited resources and find other ways of

03:16dealing with community issues and problems other than law enforcement. Thank you. And in your experience,

03:21how do welcoming policies affect domestic violence survivors and other crime victims?

03:29So outside of my law enforcement experience, when I was with the Baltimore Police Department,

03:34I was also the president of an organization called Turnaround Incorporated. That was an advocacy

03:39organization for victims of domestic violence and child sexual assault and so on. And working with that

03:48organization for four years opened my eyes quite a bit as to the importance of having welcoming policies for

03:54the immigrant community as it relates to domestic violence and ensuring that they get the services they need,

04:01especially since it is very difficult for them to come forward when they are victims or their family members are

04:07victims. So you've got to have that trust built between those communities and the police.

04:12Thank you, sir. It's quite clear to me that Republicans are not interested in public safety or crime victims.

04:19Tragically, if Republicans cared about public safety, they talk about the obedience to the NRA and red states having the

04:26highest rates of gun deaths and homicides. If Republicans cared about public safety, they support investments in

04:33evidence-based public health approaches that are proven to reduce violence. If Republicans cared for public safety,

04:40they wouldn't be criminalizing immigrants, kidnapping people, or disappearing them to El Salvador.

04:46And if Republicans cared about public safety, they would never have supported Donald Trump, a man whose greed and cruel

04:53actions makes us all less safe. I'm proud to have helped shape Chicago's first welcoming

05:01measure in 1985 in the face of lies and cruelty. Mr. Chairman, before I yield back, I do request unanimous consent.

05:10Without objection, the chair would remind members that the kind of personal attacks directed at the

05:16president are not permitted on the House floor and they will not be permitted in this committee. Mr. Moore.

05:23Can I submit, Mr. Chairman?

05:25Thank you. I would like to submit for the record a study. Immigrants do not commit more crimes in the

05:34U.S. despite fear-mongering. Another article, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.

05:41born Americans, studies find. And a third article, study finds that no crime increase in cities that

05:49adopted sanctuary policies despite Trump claims. Thank you. I'd be very interested in reading those.

05:57Mr. Moore. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration,

06:01border crisis, illegal aliens flooded sanctuary cities, overwhelmed their infrastructure,

06:06and maxed out their budgets. According to the New York City Mayor, Mayor Eric

06:10Gaines, the state to be a new employee. I was the one in the United States Office of His

06:15State's Office of the University of Mexico, the New York City of Virginia.

06:17For more information, visit us at the University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts,

06:19www. inconforts negatively.

06:20terms of the U.S.

06:20the U.S.

06:21the U.S.

06:22the U.S.

Chuy Garcia: GOP Focus On Sanctuary Cities Is To Distract From 'Dumpster Fire Of The Trump Admin.'

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