At a House Judiciary Committee hearing before the Congressional recess, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) questioned Danielle Carter-Walters, Vice President of "Chicago Flips Red."
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00:00For your testimony, we'll now proceed with questions under the five-minute rule and we'll
00:04begin with Mr. Biggs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the witnesses for being here today.
00:08I've read all of your statements that you've submitted and have been listening intently to
00:11your testimony. Mr. Hallman, I just want to confirm Cook County Jail in Illinois
00:16from October 1st, 2022 to February 6th, 2025, released more than 1,000 criminal aliens into
00:25their community. Correct. Is that accurate? Yep. And just want to confirm this, Mr. Franklin. I don't
00:32want to take this out of context. You said compelling local police to enforce federal
00:37immigration law would only further damage community trust. Is that an accurate reflection? I'm reading
00:45from your statement. Is that accurate? Yes, depending upon the jurisdiction and what those
00:51unique circumstances might be for that particular city or town. And Ms. Carter-Walters, in Chicago,
00:57where they've released over a three-year period more than 1,000 criminals back into your community,
01:04does that make you feel safer as a citizen? No. Did it make your community feel safer? No. And did it
01:11provide actual safety when you saw MS-13 train to Aragua roaming the streets there? No. So you've
01:20demanded a full forensic audit of every dollar tied to migrant shelters, right? Yes. And a freeze on the
01:26$92 million budget until full reviews are completed? Yes, sir. And you want the accountability and
01:34community input? Yes, sir. And a federal investigation into potential corruption? And potentially, if there
01:42is corruption, you want prosecution. Is that right? Yes. And most importantly, you want an end to
01:47sanctuary policies that you feel disadvantages you guys as citizens of Chicago vis-a-vis illegal aliens
01:57who are being released into your community? We want to end sanctuary cities. And go to you now,
02:03Sheriff. Thank you, Sheriff Wagner. So you outline and give some examples of some horrific instances in
02:16your own county, particularly shocking case 2021 in Othello. Can you briefly, I mean briefly, recount that
02:24for us? Yeah. In 2021, we had an incident of an illegal alien that took the life of a mother and a
02:30daughter, the daughter being a special needs female that had the capacity of a five-year-old. And they did
02:39in a very horrific way by dismembering the bodies and leaving them in a trunk of a vehicle. How did
02:45that impact your community? That was a huge impact in our community. How so? Well, any horrific crime,
02:53no matter who's involved, is going to impact the community. And I think that the situation that we
02:59were faced with is the limited resources that everyone keeps talking about here. I'm a department
03:04of 18 people, and that includes myself and my undersheriff, that we're working. I'm not a
03:10politician. By, I guess, my job I am. But we actually get out and do the work. And this situation...
03:17You imply that we don't get out and do the work, which is fair. That's all. That's fair, Sheriff.
03:22I'm not saying that. It's fair. I'm not saying that. But the reality is that, I mean,
03:27it affects the community because we are a small community, a small farming community of all
03:32nationalities. And we are very close to each other, and we care about each other very much.
03:37In your recommendations, you talk about allowing you to enforce the law, and that might mean that
03:47you actually cooperate with federal officials. So if I understand your keep Washington working
03:54law, that's the statute there, are you allowed to hold someone with an ICE detainer?
04:01We are not. Are you allowed to transfer someone if ICE requests that you transfer them to their
04:07custody? According to the KWW, no. So the state law actually directly, not indirectly, not impliedly,
04:17it actually directly defies federal law, federal statute. That's what I understand, yes.
04:24Yeah, because federal statute says if you get a detainer, you're supposed to hold.
04:28Yeah. You're supposed to hold. That's what federal law says. And you can't do that there.
04:32Correct. How does that impact the safety of your community?
04:35Well, ours is impacted in a great way because, one, my jail has been closed for three years,
04:40and I find that ironic in this situation as well. But it impacts us in a great way because,
04:47like I believe it was Mr. Jordan was explaining, putting people out onto the street and having them
04:54get caught again becomes a bigger problem. We're not arresting on immigration status. We're putting
05:00people in jail for crimes they committed in our community. And then ICE, because of public records
05:04that are available and things like that, they have the ability to find out who's in our custody and where
05:09they are and when they're released and all those kind of things. And they are basically released to
05:15their custody in the opposite way, similar to Denver in most cases.
05:20Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My time has expired.
05:22Ms. Jayapal.
05:25Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:36Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:39Thank you, Mr. Chairman.