[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 26 (Monday, February 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1151-S1152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GOVERNMENT FUNDING

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, as recently as a few days ago, our 
government funding discussions seemed to be in a pretty good place. 
Bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on finishing out the year's 
appropriations process seemed to be right on track. We appeared headed 
toward a compromise result that would have provided much needed 
investments in border security and completed our remaining 
appropriations bill to fully fund the government.
  Last week, the Democratic leader seemed confident that ``we worked 
out a plan to refund the government, deal with border security in a way 
that would be acceptable to all sides. That's working pretty well.'' 
Just this past Friday, the ranking member of the Appropriations 
Committee, Senator Leahy, suggested that ``we're 95 to 98 percent 
done.''
  But then over the weekend, we heard that the talks had suddenly hit a 
snag. The bipartisan momentum had stalled. What went wrong? Here is 
what happened. The House Democrats decided to add a poison pill demand 
into the conversations at the eleventh hour. It is a new demand. It is 
really extreme--a hard, statutory cap on the number of illegal 
immigrants who could be detained by the Federal Government. This would 
result in the release of thousands of criminal aliens and our inability 
to detain thousands more criminal aliens whom our Federal and State law 
enforcement authorities will apprehend.
  This is a poison pill that no administration--not this one, not the 
previous one--would or should ever accept. Imagine the absurdity of 
this. House Democrats want to set a limit on how many criminal aliens 
our government can detain. This is a limit that is not based on any 
aspect of reality, such as how many criminal aliens there actually are 
or what crimes they have committed; it is just an arbitrary number a 
couple of lawmakers have pulled out of thin air. The consequence of 
such an arbitrary limit is obvious: Thousands of criminal aliens would 
simply be released into the interior of our country, both immediately 
and then on a rolling basis into the future.
  The National Sheriffs' Association explained this in a letter to 
Chairman Shelby and Senator Leahy. Here is what the sheriffs had to 
say:

       Capping the number of detention beds . . . not only 
     jeopardizes the integrity of the immigration system, but 
     would cripple ICE's ability to detain criminal aliens and 
     other aliens who pose a risk to public safety or are a flight 
     risk. . . . In order to meet the cap tentatively proposed by 
     Congress, ICE would be compelled to release thousands of 
     aliens from custody.

  That is what the National Sheriffs' Association had to say about it--
released, just like that, right out into the United States of America. 
It is hard to believe this is where some Democrats are--a get-out-of-
jail-free card for criminals because the radical left doesn't like U.S. 
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Let me say that again. It is a 
get-out-of-jail-free card for criminals because the radical left 
doesn't like U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
  It is hard to believe the ``Abolish ICE'' fringe among House 
Democrats actually thinks enforcing our laws is wrong. It is hard to 
believe a group of House Democrats see kneecapping American law 
enforcement as a higher priority than keeping the government open. But 
it would be even harder to believe that leading Democrats would be open 
to this craziness and would let this last-minute poison pill scuttle 
the entire appropriations process.
  Just last year, when the Democratic leader was highlighting 
productive, bipartisan work on this appropriations process, he said: 
``Both sides have worked to avoid poison pill riders. That has meant 
steady progress.'' Ranking Member Leahy celebrated that through last 
year's committee process, ``We avoided new poison pill riders.'' So I 
hope my Democratic colleagues are able to talk some sense into their 
side.
  Some House Democrats are risking a second partial government shutdown 
by calling for this absurd, last-minute poison pill. No administration 
of any party would sign a bill that forced them to release criminal 
aliens into

[[Page S1152]]

the interior of the United States. No administration would accept this 
poison pill forcing the release of criminals now and on a rolling basis 
going forward.
  I understand that the four leaders on Appropriations in both Chambers 
will be meeting in just a few minutes. I would implore my friends 
across the aisle: Untangle yourselves from the most extreme far-left 
voices out on the fringe. Do not let this radical fringe and its absurd 
demand prevent you from taking yes for an answer. Don't let them 
torpedo all of this bipartisan work.
  This provision would, rightly, be a total nonstarter with the White 
House--with any White House, not just this one. It would erase our 
progress and kick us back to square one. It is a total poison pill, 
pure and simple.
  The American people are not clamoring for more aliens with criminal 
backgrounds to be roaming at large in their communities. I never heard 
anybody ask for that. And they certainly are not so eager for that 
outcome that they want another partial shutdown in order to achieve it.
  My Democratic colleagues in this Chamber need to see this stunt for 
what it is, bring their side back to the table, and finish our work for 
the American people.

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