[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2458-S2459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, last month, an illegal alien from 
Venezuela was arrested for allegedly murdering Laken Riley, a 22-year-
old nursing student, while she went for a run on the University of 
Georgia campus. The suspected murderer, 26-year-old Jose Ibarra, should 
have never been allowed to set foot in our country. But the Biden 
administration paroled him into America after he illegally crossed the 
southern border, along with more than 2 million other migrants who are 
now eligible for work authorizations and benefits from the Federal 
Government.
  That is the difference. When someone gets paroled, they get benefits. 
They get work permits. And while President Obama and President Trump 
each paroled only about 5,600 people a year, President Biden paroled 
800,000 in 2022 and 1.2 million in 2023.
  When you look at this, what you can say is that this administration 
failed Laken Riley. They failed her more than once.
  Also, when you look at sanctuary city policies, what you know is 
this: that New York City, with their sanctuary city policies, failed 
Laken Riley. Athens, GA, another sanctuary city, failed Laken Riley.
  Last year, in New York City, Ibarra was arrested for reckless 
endangerment of a child. But instead of working with Federal law 
enforcement to get him deported for his heinous crime, city officials 
there, in New York City, released him before Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, or ICE, could request his custody.
  A month later, police in Athens, GA--whose city government passed a 
resolution in 2019 welcoming illegal immigrants ``of all statuses''--
released Ibarra after he shoplifted hundreds of dollars in goods.
  It is no coincidence that both New York City and Athens, GA, are 
sanctuary cities. In sanctuary cities across the country, we have seen 
illegal aliens commit crimes with impunity, as local governments refuse 
to work with law enforcement to deport criminal illegal aliens.
  Just last month, the New York Post reported that the violent 
Venezuelan gang is directing its members to come to our southern 
border, apply for asylum, and, once waved into the country, establish 
robbery rings in major U.S. cities. I couldn't believe this.
  Then, as I talked to law enforcement in Tennessee, I found out that 
those gangs are there. They are moving in. And I was so surprised that 
we had gangs, in addition to MS-13, that have come in on parole status 
and also as asylum seekers.
  Gang members are recruiting migrants in New York City shelters to 
join their operations in which they steal phones from innocent 
bystanders so they can resell those phones in Colombia.
  In Chicago, another sanctuary city, authorities are tracking the 
gang's growing crime network, which includes human trafficking, drug 
smuggling, and sexual exploitation.

  No city in America should be allowed to make illegal immigration 
legal and harbor criminal illegal aliens. They ought not be able to do 
it. It makes our communities less safe.
  That is why, earlier this month, I reintroduced the Clear Law 
Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act, or CLEAR Act, which would 
ensure State and local law enforcement officials can work with Federal 
law enforcement to deport criminal illegal aliens who are in their 
communities.
  Under the provisions in this legislation, it would require States and 
localities to provide the Department of Homeland Security with 
information about every alien apprehended in their State, including the 
name, address, physical description, and the reason for their arrest. 
At the same time, the bill would ensure their compliance by denying 
Federal funds to any jurisdiction that refuses to work with Federal 
immigration law enforcement.
  It would also require the Department of Homeland Security to take 
illegal

[[Page S2459]]

aliens into custody within 48 hours after receiving a request from a 
State and local government, provide essential information about illegal 
immigrants to the Justice Department, and supply resources to help 
localities enforce immigration law, including grants and increased 
space for detention facilities.
  Do you see what is happening with all of this? When you have got 
entities that say, ``We are just not going to enforce the law; we are 
going to do something different, and we are going to ignore immigration 
law,'' what happens is every town becomes a border town, and every 
State becomes a border State.
  This is one of the reasons that crime and the border are two of the 
top issues that people talk about.
  Any person who is in this country illegally and committing a crime 
that endangers our communities should be immediately removed and barred 
from coming back.
  Unfortunately, our Nation's crime issues go beyond the criminal 
illegal aliens. Across the country, from New York and Washington to 
L.A. and Chicago, we have seen far-left DAs and soft-on-crime judges 
push radical bail policies, including easing cash bail requirements or 
prohibiting cash bail altogether. Far from improving public safety, 
these so-called bail reforms put criminals back on the streets and 
place law-abiding citizens in danger.
  After the Shelby County District Attorney's Office spearheaded bail 
reform and made it easier for criminals to avoid pretrial detention, 
homicides in Memphis last year reached a recordbreaking number--398 
homicides in Memphis, TN. Many of these were committed by criminals who 
were out on bail.
  Just last month, a violent criminal who was out on bail for attempted 
murder set off a city-wide manhunt after going on a horrific rampage 
through the city of Memphis. Across his 5-hour-long crime spree, the 
offender carjacked a woman in a church parking lot, shot two people 
after breaking into a hair salon, and killed an innocent teenager 
outside of a strip mall.
  In May, a repeat criminal posted bail after shooting and injuring an 
off-duty Memphis Police Department officer while attempting to break 
into a parked vehicle.
  One month later, a gunman--while out on bail for carjacking and 
employing a firearm with intent to commit a dangerous felony--shot and 
killed a man during an attempted carjacking.
  In November, a Memphis judge released the suspected murderer of a 15-
year-old boy who was shot and killed outside his grandmother's house on 
Thanksgiving morning.
  And just this month, a Memphis judge set just a $175,000 bond for a 
man charged with attempted first-degree murder against a police 
officer.
  These tragedies should never happen to anyone, but far-left bail 
policies continue to prioritize criminals over law enforcement, 
families, and hard-working taxpayers. I can tell you, Tennesseans are 
tired of this. They are tired of seeing criminals being prioritized 
over hard-working taxpayers and families.
  While addressing crime is the primary responsibility of local 
governments, there are important steps the Federal Government can take 
to ensure public safety. That is why I am introducing the Keep Violent 
Criminals Off Our Streets Act. It would deter States and localities 
from pushing pro-crime policies that make cities like Memphis less 
safe.
  This legislation would block any State or local government from 
receiving Federal funds if they have a policy that prohibits the use of 
cash bail for offenders. It would also block Federal funds if they 
refuse to employ pretrial detention practices for every violent 
offender, including juvenile offenders.
  With crimes spiking in Memphis and other cities across the country, 
it is essential that local governments protect their residents and put 
violent criminals behind bars where they belong.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BRAUN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cortez Masto). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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