Speech #CREC-2017-06-29-pt1-PgH5333_t27

Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I rise today in support of Kate's Law and No Sanctuary for Criminals Act. These important bills represent an important step towards keeping Americans safe. Yesterday, I participated in a roundtable discussion at the White House with the President and family members of individuals who were murdered by criminal illegal immigrants. The stories I heard were heartbreaking. Sadly, they are not uncommon. See, when I was mayor of Hazleton, I sat with the victims' families and listened to their stories. These stories have changed my life. Everyone talks about the illegal immigrant, but very seldom do we ever talk about the victims. I sat with the family of Derek Kichline, a 29-year-old Hazleton city man and father of three young children who was murdered by the head of the Latin Kings while working on his pickup truck in his driveway. Derek's killer was arrested and let go in New York City, a sanctuary city. I also talked with the father of Carly Snyder, a beautiful 21-year- old girl who was studying to be a veterinarian. Her father told me that Carly was brutally stabbed 37 times and murdered by her next door neighbor. She had knife wounds on the palms of her hand and knife wounds in her back as she died on the kitchen floor. An illegal immigration and Federal fugitive with a long history of gang violence and drug use killed Carly. Carly's killer was apprehended trying to cross the southern border but was released on $5,000 bond and disappeared into the United States until one day he showed up at Carly Snyder's doorstep. I have never forgotten these stories.