Speech #1140106564

There was no connection or altercation. He just walked up and shot her. This man. who was in the country illegally. had already been convicted of seven felonies and had been deported five times. The San Francisco Police Department was forced to release him and did not give him to the Federal authorities because San Francisco is a sanctuary city. They believe that even if you have been convicted of violent felonies beforeif you are in the United States illegallyyou should not be turned over to Federal authorities. This body had a debate on that. This bodys debate was this: Do we agree that there should be places in the United States where violent. multicount felons should be kept and protected in communities here even though they are here illegally? Republicans overwhelmingly voted that sanctuary cities should lose some of our Federal support. There should be an incentive to say that if someone in your community is a violent felonthese are rapists. individuals who have been convicted of domestic violence. individuals who have been convicted of DUI. Not every person in the country who is here illegally is a violent felon. but for those who are. cant we find the common ground to say that those individuals should be convicted and deported? This body apparently doesnt believe that. What should have been the most baseline argument about our domestic and national security cant get through this body because we cant agree on the simplest things. It is not all immigration policy. This is just: Should you deport people convicted of a violent felony? Should there be communities in the country where violent felons are protected and kept in the United States even if they are here illegally? If we cant agree on that simple policy. how in the world are we going to agree on any immigration policy? It has been a week about national security but also the threat of ISIS and the movement of terrorism around the world. We have gridlock heredealing with basic immigration policy and national security. basic drug policy. and dealing with an opioid conference. It has also been a week dealing with national security in a very unusual way. It can be spun politically. but it is really a national security issue.