[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 21 (Thursday, February 4, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H329-H330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS IN SANCTUARY CITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Budd) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, I am here to talk for just a moment about law 
and order. I am here to talk about how we as a body can prevent more 
needless tragedies in our country. I am here to

[[Page H330]]

talk about true justice. Specifically, justice for victims of dangerous 
sanctuary city policies.
  We have all heard the stories. Kate Steinle brutally murdered in San 
Francisco by an illegal immigrant who was repeatedly released.
  In Washington State, an illegal named Rosalio Ramos-Romas was 
deported four times before authorities arrested him in October of 2017. 
Once notified of his arrest, ICE issued a detainer request asking local 
authorities to imprison him for an additional 48 hours. But, instead, 
local authorities ignored the detainer request and allowed Rosalio back 
into the community, where he eventually murdered his cousin and hid the 
body in a dumpster.
  In my State of North Carolina, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's 
Office refused to notify ICE and comply with lawful detainer requests 
when it released dangerous illegal immigrants from the county jail. One 
was charged with multiple domestic violence offenses for strangling a 
woman and threatening to kill her.

  These are not isolated incidents of violence, but, rather, the norm 
in sanctuary cities across America. The truth is that sanctuary city 
policies are unnecessary and they only threaten the safety of our 
families and our neighbors. This lawlessness leads to tragedies that 
are simply not acceptable and should not be allowed by our leaders.
  That is why I introduced the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities 
Act with Senator Thom Tillis. Our bill would allow anyone harmed by an 
illegal immigrant in a sanctuary city to sue the sanctuary city or 
State for the damages that it caused. It also withholds certain grant 
funding from jurisdictions that refuse to comply with Federal law. This 
move will put lawless cities on notice and will, hopefully, persuade 
them to reverse course, enforce our laws, and keep our streets safe.
  At a time when the current administration refuses to crack down on 
sanctuary cities, Congress has the responsibility to act. It is long 
past time that cities who refuse to enforce our immigration face legal 
consequences. This has to stop.


               Uneven Allocation of the COVID-19 Vaccine

  Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, last month, over 10,000 patients in and around 
my district had their COVID-19 vaccination appointments forcibly 
canceled, throwing seniors and frontline workers into uncertainty. This 
mistake was the result of an uneven allocation process and bureaucratic 
confusion. It is unacceptable and something has to be done.
  I sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services 
demanding immediate answers for my constituents. I understand that an 
expedited national vaccine rollout is complex. It is a tough 
undertaking. But the faster vaccine doses are allocated to States like 
mine in North Carolina, the sooner we will be able to defeat this virus 
once and for all.
  The people of my community deserve clarity and honesty when it comes 
to vaccines from the Federal Government, and I am going to continue to 
get answers for them.


                       Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

  Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade was 
decided 48 years ago last month. Since abortion was made legal, more 
than 60 million unborn children have had their lives prematurely ended. 
This is a matter of conscience for me, and I believe that life begins 
at conception.
  In recent years, advances in science and medicine have given us an 
increasingly vivid picture of what life in the womb is like. A child 
has a heartbeat at just 6 weeks. A child feels pain at 20 weeks.
  Science makes clear that life exists in the womb and, therefore, an 
unborn child is entitled to the most fundamental of human rights, and 
that, Mr. Speaker, is the right to live.
  This issue transcends what it means to be an American and goes to the 
core of what makes us human. I hope that one day soon, the Supreme 
Court corrects their constitutional error so that the American people 
can reassert their voice in determining the moral question of our time.

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