Enhancing Federal, State, and Local Coordination in the Fight Against Criminal Illegal Aliens
House Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement
2025-03-11
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Source: Congress.gov
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Transcript
I recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening statement. As a military and civilian law enforcement officer since 1989, it's my great pleasure to chair this new subcommittee that will examine the issues related to homeland security, criminal justice, federal law, regulatory enforcement, border security, and immigration enforcement. Before I continue, I'd like to recognize my colleague from across the aisle, Ranking Member Summer Lee from the great state of Pennsylvania. I very much appreciate her willingness to participate in this new committee, and I look forward to working with her for the betterment of all America. I'd also like to welcome our subcommittee members. I look forward to working with each and every one of you. The work of this subcommittee is essential. In recent years, we've seen the weaponization of our justice system, lawlessness in our cities, and an open border that has allowed illegal drugs and dangerous gangs into our country with deadly results. Throughout this Congress, we'll tackle these issues and ensure that President Trump has all the tools and resources he needs to address rampant crime. This subcommittee will also work to ensure our men and women in law enforcement are properly supported and the American people have a justice system that works for them, not against them. Today, we will examine the dangers posed by criminal and illegal aliens, especially those who belong to cartels, and how coordination between federal immigration authorities and local law enforcement can bring criminal illegal aliens to justice and make our community safer. During the last four years, members of transnational criminal organizations were able to illegally enter and remain in our country and terrorize our cities and towns largely without consequences.
These gangs and cartels are responsible for bringing a significant amount of illegal fentanyl into our country. resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans. These criminal organizations plagued our communities with crime, violence, and fear. Our state and local law enforcement officers were often left to deal with the previous administration's failed border policies without much assistance from federal counterparts. As we heard last week, some of those border policies are still being supported by sanctuary city mayors. The previous administration effectively dismantled the 287G program, leaving state and local law enforcement agencies, who were once active participants, without any training or support from ICE. But President Trump will not stand for that. President Trump is using 287G program effectively, which Sheriff Galtieri and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office participated in, to increase coordination between local law enforcement and ICE. President Trump has actually expanded the 287 program. And since then, all 67 sheriff run jails and 10 county run jails in the state of Florida have entered into an agreement with ICE to participate in the program. This is just one example of the swift action President Trump has taken since returning to office to secure our borders. to go after the cartels and gangs, and most importantly, to protect Americans by ensuring our nation's law enforcement agencies can work together to apprehend and remove criminal illegal aliens. For the last four years, frontline law enforcement professionals at the local, state, and federal level who have sworn to protect our communities and maintain our sovereignty at the southern border
have been forced to endure unprecedented weakness from their own executive branch. Policies so misguided, law enforcement witnessed with horror as long-standing traditions of constant battle against cartel trafficking of human beings and deadly drugs was replaced by complicit allowance of trafficking, even corroborated trafficking of human beings.
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