[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3945-S3946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 2494

  Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, under President Biden, nearly 10 million 
illegal immigrants have entered our country. Now, among those 10 
million are an unknown number of dangerous individuals.
  We know that hundreds of individuals appear on the Terrorism 
Watchlist. We know that a significant number of transnational cartel 
members are in this population. Other categories include drug 
smugglers, human traffickers, and many more.
  It is a laundry list of bad actors who have no business stepping foot 
in our country. And, sadly, it is not a surprise, when we allow over 
half a million illegal immigrants with criminal records into the 
homeland, that they commit crimes against American citizens.
  Even members of law enforcement--the very people entrusted with 
keeping us safe--are now on the frontlines of the border crisis. And, 
no, I am not talking about police in border States like Texas or 
Arizona; I am talking about North Carolina--my State. I am talking 
about New York City.
  Two years ago, in my home State of North Carolina, Wake County Deputy 
Sheriff Ned Byrd was killed in the line of duty by an illegal alien 
gang member who crossed the border under President Biden. And just this 
week, in Queens, NY, NYPD officers were shot while trying to apprehend 
a suspect in a string of robberies. One was shot in the stomach, and 
the other was shot in the leg.
  Now, thankfully, they are going to survive. Our prayers are with them 
and their families, and we are grateful for their service to our 
country. But the suspect was identified as a 19-year-old from Venezuela 
who crossed the border illegally through Eagle Pass, TX, in July of 
last year. Worse yet, he was caught, and then he was released with a 
court date that he, predictably, ignored.
  So enough is enough. I am back here on the Senate floor to, once 
again, try and pass a bill called the POLICE Act. It is a 
straightforward bill. The POLICE Act simply states that an alien can be 
deported for assaulting a police officer, a firefighter, or another 
first responder. This bill has already passed the House, and it can be 
sent to the President's desk by passing it right here today. Pretty 
simple.
  But now the last time I tried to pass this bill, the Senator from 
Connecticut blocked it, and he called it nothing. That is 100 percent 
wrong. Specifically, the POLICE Act amends the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to explicitly state that an illegal immigrant may be 
deported for assaulting a police officer.
  Now, it is important to point out that the current law does not cover 
all assaults against law enforcement. That means that some immigrants 
can remain in the country even after committing assaults against cops.
  And we know that under the Biden administration, that is a very real 
possibility, unfortunately. But the truth is that we cannot trust this 
administration to do the right thing or enforce the law and to keep our 
communities safe. That is why we need to pass the POLICE Act today.
  Any Senator who claims to ``back the blue'' should have no problem at 
all supporting this bill. So I sincerely hope that in the face of yet 
another attack on police officers, that we can pass this bill today.
  Mr. President, as in legislative session, notwithstanding rule XXII, 
I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be 
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2494 and the Senate 
proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be 
considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, the Border 
Patrol union--our law enforcement officers who patrol the southern and 
northern border who serve this country and protect this country--
endorsed the bipartisan border security bill that my friend from North 
Carolina opposed, as did almost all of his colleagues.
  The Border Patrol union--the organization that represents law 
enforcement officers--supported that bill for a number of reasons. It 
would have surged resources to the southern border to make sure that we 
properly administered our border and made sure that the only people who 
are coming to this country have legitimate asylum claims. It would 
invest in technology to make those Border Patrol officers' jobs easier. 
It would have granted new hiring authorities to make sure that we can 
get people down to the border faster rather than just redeploying 
agents from the northern border to the southern border.
  But it is likely that they supported that bill for an additional 
reason. Under current law, if you are coming to this country to apply 
for asylum, if you have a criminal history in the United States during 
a prior visit or in your home country, that question is not relevant 
under existing law until you go before an asylum judge, before you go 
before an immigration judge to make your asylum claim.

  Senator Lankford, myself, and Senator Sinema thought that didn't make 
sense. We thought that that question of your prior criminal history 
should be relevant the minute that you show up at the border; that you 
don't get into the United States to make your claim of asylum if you 
have a criminal history.
  That was part of the bipartisan border bill. That would have 
protected the country. That would have protected our law enforcement 
officers. But my Republican colleagues turned down the opportunity to 
pass bipartisan legislation that would prevent individuals

[[Page S3946]]

with criminal records from coming into the country and applying for 
asylum because under current law--law that the President is bound to 
administer and enforce--those questions are not brought into the 
process until that asylum claim is being heard by a judge.
  And so it is just another example of the ways in which the bipartisan 
border bill--the bill that Republicans asked for, demanded Democrats 
negotiate--would have made this country safer, would have created a 
more efficient and more secure border. And I am still furious--and 
heartbroken--that Republicans decided to keep the border a mess because 
it helps their Presidential candidate politically instead of trying to 
solve the problem.
  As for this specific measure, as I said last time I came to the floor 
to object, it is already, under current law, a deportable offense if 
you commit a crime of violence. It is already, under current law, a 
deportable offense if you commit and are convicted of any crime 
involving moral turpitude. And, further, noncitizens who are convicted 
of any aggravated felony, including misdemeanor offenses, are 
deportable as well.
  So this bill is seeking to solve a problem that doesn't exist because 
current law says, if you commit an assault on a law enforcement 
officer, you are going to be deported.
  So why are we debating this bill if current law already says you can 
be deported for assaulting a police officer?
  I don't know the answer, but what I know is that there is a broader 
effort underfoot by former President Trump and my Republican colleagues 
to try to make Americans believe that there is a specific unique threat 
posed to you by immigrants; that you should fear people that are coming 
to this country to seek a better life or to flee terror or torture. It 
is a familiar trope because it was used against my forefathers when 
they came here from Ireland. It was used against those who came to the 
United States from prior generations: You should fear the Irish. You 
should fear the Italians. You should fear the Chinese. Today, it is 
that you should fear those coming from Central or South America.
  But it is just not the truth. I know it is hard to hear for some 
folks who believe everything they watch on FOX News, but individuals 
who are first-generation immigrants to this country are less likely to 
be convicted of violent crimes than individuals who are born in this 
country.
  In 2020, the Trump DOJ sought to prove that false. They actually 
commissioned research to examine the rate of crime between noncitizens 
and citizens because they couldn't believe the data because FOX News 
said that we should fear immigrants.
  Here is one of the papers that was commissioned by the Trump DOJ:

       [W]e find that undocumented immigrants had substantially 
     lower crime rates than native-born citizens . . . across a 
     range of felony offenses. Relative to undocumented 
     immigrants, US-born citizens are over 2 times more likely to 
     be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely to be 
     arrested for drug crimes, and over 4 times more likely to be 
     arrested for property crimes.

  These are quotes directly from a Trump-funded Department of Justice 
report.
  I don't disagree with my colleague from North Carolina. Of course, if 
someone commits an assault against a law enforcement officer, they 
should be deported from this country. If somebody commits an assault 
against a community member, regardless of their occupation, they should 
be deported from this country. That is what the existing law says: If 
you are convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor assault--any crime of 
moral turpitude--you are deported.
  And so, to me, this is duplicative at best and, at worst, an effort 
to just try to reinforce this very dangerous mythology that this 
country has something to fear from immigrants who are coming to this 
country to flee economic desperation and violence and terror and 
torture.
  For that reason, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, I appreciate my colleague's comments, and I 
believe them to be sincere. But let's not get lost in the swirl of 
eloquence here.
  I believe my colleague once said that illegal immigrants are 
``undocumented Americans''--a direct quote--and that they are ``the 
people we care about most''--another direct quote--but I would submit 
that if you illegally enter the United States and then beat up a police 
officer, you are most certainly not an American. And the only thing we 
should care about is that you are deported.
  Now, he said these laws can lead to deportation, but it is not 
necessary that they do particularly under this administration.
  I refer to my prior remarks: There have been a half million illegal 
immigrants--a half million--with criminal records that have come into 
the homeland, again, illegally. And it is no surprise that they can 
commit crimes against Americans.
  So this bill, which he seems to support--I am a little confused at 
the language. It seems like he might support this unanimous consent 
effort here because it is important because the current law does not 
cover all assaults against law enforcement. Deporting an illegal alien 
who assaults a law enforcement officer requires a complex legal 
analysis to prove that the illegal alien committed an aggravated felony 
or crime involving moral turpitude.
  It is not guaranteed that this process will even lead to deportation. 
So the POLICE Act creates a simple, straightforward, commonsense rule 
that says illegal aliens who assault cops are deportable--period, end 
of story.
  We saw it in North Carolina. We have recently seen it in New York 
City. And it can happen in a community near you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Markey). The Senator from Vermont.