[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S4918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 572--SUPPORTING THE OFFICERS AND PERSONNEL WHO CARRY 
  OUT THE IMPORTANT MISSION OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOM ENFORCEMENT

  Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Grassley, Mr. 
Cornyn, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Cassidy, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Inhofe, 
Mr. Blunt, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Heller, Mr. Boozman, Mr. 
Barrasso, Mrs. Ernst, Mr. Daines, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Crapo, and Mr. Lee) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 572

       Whereas the national security interests of the United 
     States are dependent on the brave men and women who enforce 
     the immigration laws of the United States;
       Whereas abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
     (referred to in this preamble as ``ICE'') would eliminate the 
     agency responsible for removing individuals who enter or 
     remain in the United States illegally, resulting in open 
     borders;
       Whereas the call to abolish ICE is an insult to the heroic 
     law enforcement officers of ICE who make sacrifices every day 
     to secure the borders and laws of the United States and to 
     protect the safety and security of United States citizens;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would allow dangerous criminal 
     aliens, including violent and ruthless members of the MS-13 
     gang, to remain in communities in the United States;
       Whereas, during fiscal year 2017, ICE Enforcement and 
     Removal Operations (referred to in this preamble as ``ERO'') 
     arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions 
     or charges;
       Whereas criminal aliens arrested by ICE ERO in fiscal year 
     2017 were responsible for more than--
       (1) 76,000 dangerous drug offenses;
       (2) 48,000 assault offenses;
       (3) 11,000 weapon offenses;
       (4) 5,000 sexual assault offenses;
       (5) 2,000 kidnapping offenses; and
       (6) 1,800 homicide offenses;
       Whereas ICE Homeland Security Investigations made 4,818 
     gang-related arrests in fiscal year 2017 and prevents cross-
     border financial crimes, money laundering, bulk cash 
     smuggling, commercial fraud, intellectual property theft, 
     cybercrimes, and other criminal activities;
       Whereas ICE plays a key role in the worldwide fight against 
     human trafficking and child sexual exploitation through the 
     Blue Campaign, the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit, 
     the Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (``HERO'') Child-
     Rescue Corps Program, and Homeland Security Investigations;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would mean that countless illegal 
     aliens who could pose a threat to public safety would be 
     allowed to roam free instead of being removed from United 
     States soil;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would result in more dangerous 
     illegal drugs flowing into communities in the United States, 
     causing more United States citizens to needlessly suffer;
       Whereas ICE plays a critical role in combatting the drug 
     crisis facing the United States;
       Whereas ICE seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in 
     fiscal year 2017, including thousands of pounds of the deadly 
     drugs fueling the opioid crisis;
       Whereas ICE seized approximately 2,370 pounds of fentanyl 
     and 6,967 pounds of heroin in fiscal year 2017;
       Whereas ICE logged nearly 630,000 investigative hours 
     directed toward fentanyl in fiscal year 2017;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would allow those drugs to remain in 
     communities in the United States, causing more devastation;
       Whereas abolishing ICE would eliminate the agency that 
     deports aliens that pose a terrorist threat to the United 
     States;
       Whereas ICE was created in 2003 to better protect national 
     security and public safety after the terrorists responsible 
     for the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 
     11, 2001, exploited immigration rules to gain entry into the 
     United States;
       Whereas the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon 
     the United States found that many of the hijackers involved 
     in the attacks on September 11, 2001, committed visa 
     violations;
       Whereas ICE identifies dangerous individuals before they 
     enter the United States and locates them as they violate 
     United States immigration laws; and
       Whereas abolishing ICE would enable the hundreds of 
     thousands of foreign nationals who illegally overstay visas 
     each year to remain in the United States indefinitely: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses continued support for all officers and 
     employees of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
     (referred to in this resolution as ``ICE'') who carry out the 
     important mission of ICE;
       (2) denounces calls for the complete abolishment of ICE; 
     and
       (3) supports the efforts of officers and employees of the 
     United States Armed Forces and Federal and State law 
     enforcement agencies who bring law and order to the borders 
     of the United States.

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