[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 26 (Monday, February 11, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H1508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BORDER SECURITY

  (Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to address the 
dangerous proposal being put forth by Democrats in the ongoing 
negotiations to secure our border and fund the government.
  Talks on this issue are now stalled because Democrats are demanding a 
cap in the number of beds allocated to detain illegal criminals. But 
this new initiative blatantly contradicts what our leaders on the 
ground are asking us to do on this issue.
  Just this weekend, the National Sheriffs' Association and the Major 
County Sheriffs of America both stated: ``Any legislation that reduces 
ICE's detention capacity would hinder its ability to perform its 
national security and public safety missions. . . . In order to meet 
the cap being tentatively proposed by Congress, ICE would be compelled 
to release thousands of aliens from custody.''
  The sheriffs went on to say that if the Democrats' plans were 
approved, then 9,000 illegal immigrants would have to be released by 
the end of the fiscal year. That is 9,000 criminals.
  We need to focus on securing our border, funding the wall, and making 
our country safer, not protecting criminals and sending them back onto 
the streets to endanger our citizens.
  We need to listen to these recommendations.

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