[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 22, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3842-S3843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 2494

  Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, in order to be a strong nation, we have to 
have strong borders, and right now we don't have that. We haven't had 
that for 3\1/2\ years. In fact, we are in the middle of the worst 
border crisis in American history.
  This is a crisis of President Biden's own making. Starting on his 
first day in office, he has intentionally and repeatedly undermined 
security at the southern border. During his first 100 days in office, 
President Biden took 94 Executive actions to open the border, and, 3\1/
2\ years later, nearly 10 million illegal aliens have entered our 
country.
  Now, those 10 million include an unknown number of dangerous 
individuals, hundreds on the Terrorism Watch List, countless 
transnational cartel members, drug smugglers, and human traffickers. It 
is a laundry list of evil. And perhaps the worst consequences that we 
have seen over the past 3\1/2\ years are the tragedies: the innocent 
men and women taken from their families by an illegal alien who should 
have never been here in the first place.
  So imagine being a mother or a father. You send your daughter off to 
college. You are beaming with pride, but you are also a little 
heartsick that they are going to be out there on their own. Then, a few 
months later, you get the worst call in your life. And that is the 
reality for the family of Laken Riley.
  Or another situation: Let's imagine that your uncle is a sheriff's 
deputy. You couldn't be prouder of him. You know he gets up and he goes 
to work every day to defend and protect his community. One day, you see 
his name on the news as a victim of a pack of illegal alien gang 
members who brutally murdered him while he was on duty. That is the 
reality for the family of Wake County, NC, Deputy Sheriff Ned Byrd.
  Now, I recognize that the debate around illegal immigration is full 
of passion and sometimes antagonism, but I believe we can all agree 
that if an illegal alien commits the crime of assaulting a police 
officer, he or she must be subject to immediate deportation.
  And that is why I stand here today to propose that the Senate pass 
the POLICE Act. It is a straightforward bill. The POLICE Act simply 
states that an illegal alien can be deported for assaulting a police 
officer, firefighter, or other first responder. The bill has already 
passed the House, and it can be sent to the President's desk by passing 
it right now. Any Senator who claims to support the police should have 
no problem supporting this bill. So let's help remove dangerous 
individuals before another tragedy strikes.
  Mr. President, notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent 
that the Senate resume legislative session and that the Committee on 
the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2494 and 
the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, this is an 
interesting bill to be offered for unanimous consent because it 
actually does nothing. It does nothing.
  Why? Because individuals are already subject to deportation for 
assault--whether they assault a police officer, whether they assault a 
milkman, whether they assault your family member. People who are 
convicted of serious assaults of law enforcement are already deported. 
They already can face both State and Federal criminal allegations.
  Under current law, if an individual is convicted of any crime of 
violence and sentenced to a year or more in prison--that is an 
aggravated felony--that person is deportable. Even more so, any crime 
of ``moral turpitude,'' where the crime is punishable by imprisonment 
of 1 or more years, is subject to deportation.
  Additionally, any noncitizens that are convicted of any aggravated 
felony, including misdemeanor offenses--including misdemeanor 
offenses--are subject to deportation.
  This bill doesn't do anything. If you are here waiting for an asylum 
claim or on a green card and you assault a police officer, you are 
subject to deportation under existing law.
  So why are we considering taking this up under UC? Well, I think 
Senator Budd referenced it in his underlying remarks. It is part of an 
effort to try to make Americans believe that there is a specific 
dangerous threat posed to you by immigrants; that you should be afraid 
of immigrants; that there is a crime wave sweeping this country caused 
by people who are coming to this country to seek a better life.
  Listen, I spent 5 months negotiating a bipartisan border deal because 
I believe that we need to come together in a bipartisan way to bring 
greater order to the southwest border. So I won't take a backseat to 
anybody when it comes to making the tough decisions necessary to bring 
some border security to this country.
  But the Senator offering this motion voted against that bipartisan 
bill. So did almost every other of his Republican colleagues. We had an 
opportunity to do something about bipartisan border security, and 
Republicans rejected it.
  Why? Because President Trump said: No. Let's keep the border chaotic. 
Let's keep this an open political issue. Do nothing until the election.
  We had a chance to come together, in a thoughtful way, on a 
bipartisan border bill, and we did not.
  The facts are this. Whether you choose to want to believe the facts 
or not, that is not my decision; it is your decision.
  But immigrants commit crimes in this country at a rate lower than 
natural-born citizens. You may not believe that if you watch FOX News 
every night, but I hate to tell you, it is the truth. So if you want a 
safe town or a safe neighborhood, you are better off--you are 
statistically safer--if you have immigrants because they commit crimes 
of violence at a rate lower than people who are born in the United 
States.
  I don't know why we are being asked to vote on this bill because it 
doesn't do anything other than feed this idea, this false narrative, 
that this country has something to fear from families that are coming 
to the United States fleeing either economic desperation or violence or 
terror or torture for a better life.
  For that reason, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, it is such an honor to serve the people in 
North Carolina, all 100 counties, all from different backgrounds. I 
don't profess to know what it is like in Connecticut, but I thank my 
colleague for his remarks.
  But it is disheartening to hear that a simple piece of legislation, 
the Police Act, which states that an alien--illegal alien--could be 
deported for assaulting a police officer, firefighter, or first 
responder is nothing. I don't profess to understand that. Perhaps it is 
different in Connecticut than North Carolina. I don't know.
  I don't want to put words in the mouth of the family of Laken Riley 
or the family of Deputy Sheriff Byrd, but I don't believe it is 
nothing.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.

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