I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. first of all I would like to thank the chairman. the gentleman from Texas . and his staff at the Subcommittee on Immigration Claims for all their assistance in drafting this amendment. I would also like to thank the gentleman from California [Mr. DooLrITLE] for his continued support in efforts to empower local law enforcement in the fight against illegal immigration. I would also like to thank my staff. and especially Kate Coler. for working so hard on this amendment. I Just want to reemphasize this is a voluntary program where the INS. on a voluntary basis. with local law enforcement. or the State. join in an agreement. and whatever controls or restrictions put in that agreement. it is up to that agreement. All we are saying is that the local law enforcement agencies should have an opportunity to work with INS. to be their eyes and ears out in the local communities. These people are on the frontline. These people are the ones who know if someone has violated a deportation order and is in their community under a criminal act by violating that order. and they should. in fact. have the power to detail. arrest. and transport that individual to INS so that they can be deported. Quite honestly. we have to empower our local law enforcement. We cannot maintain this big control from a Washington base here. and this is what we should be looking forward to. have more people at the local level empowered to protect their communities.
Keywords matched
deportation illegal immigration deported Immigration