[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 112 (Thursday, June 29, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H5306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IS RESPONSIBILITY OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

  (Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 
3003. This bill before the Chamber today, the No Sanctuary for 
Criminals Act, is another attack on the immigration communities and 
communities of color in my home State of Texas and communities 
throughout the country.
  This misguided legislation would strip critical Federal funding for 
our local police agencies, such as COPS grants, that do not comply with 
Federal immigration detainers. Doing so would only undermine the public 
safety in our communities in Houston and Harris County.
  Our local law enforcement officers for Houston Police Department and 
Harris County sheriffs are responsible for protecting the people of our 
great city and county and upholding our local laws.
  They are not, nor should they be, de facto Federal immigration 
agents. The U.S. Constitution is clear that immigration enforcement is 
the responsibility of the Federal Government and not the States or 
local governments. To require local police officers to enforce Federal 
immigration law would not only violate our 200-year tradition of 
federalism but will tear apart the local trust our police and sheriffs 
have built with the immigrant community and communities of color over 
the years.
  I ask my colleagues to let our local law enforcement protect our 
families and our homes and not be immigration agents.

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