[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 26 (Thursday, February 5, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S499-S500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Department of Homeland Security

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, last night the minority leader came out

[[Page S500]]

with a list--a new list--of demands designed to protect illegal 
immigrant criminals. We just heard him speak about it on the floor just 
a few minutes ago. The minority leader has said that he has 10 demands. 
Last week, he had three. Now, he says he has 10. I read the fine print. 
It looks to me that this ballooning list is now up to 23 demands. The 
minority leader just said Republicans are calling the demands 
political. I see them as radical and extreme. This is about funding the 
Department of Homeland Security for our Nation, keeping our Nation 
safe.

  The minority leader said Republicans can't explain why their demands 
are extreme. I can tell you why they are extreme. They prioritize the 
safety of illegal immigrant criminals over the safety and security of 
the American people. I would think the majority of Americans would see 
that as extreme and dangerous.
  Now, the minority leader might think that he has leverage to defund 
law enforcement. He is wrong. Border Patrol is funded. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement is funded.
  To me, what is reckless here, from this far-left wish list, is it is 
closing the Federal Emergency Management Agency--closing them down--the 
Coast Guard working without pay, TSA agents working without pay, making 
our Nation more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Those are all things that 
are funded by the Department of Homeland Security. So that is why I 
tell you that these demands are radical.
  It is the demand to change the rules regarding immigration 
enforcement warrants. And that is a big part of what they are talking 
about. When Democrats say they want to ``improve warrant procedures and 
standards,'' it sounds nice. I am not a lawyer. You study it, you look 
into it, because you hear the Democrats use that phrase a lot. What 
Democrats won't tell you is the people that benefit from that are 
criminals.
  Here is what this Democrat demand actually does. I will tell you 
because Senator Schumer refuses to tell us what it does. It ends 
immigration enforcement--ends it. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
is forced to use what are called judicial warrants. For each and every 
immigration arrest, America will become a sanctuary country, not just a 
bunch of sanctuary cities in different States--no, an entire sanctuary 
country. That is what they are pushing for, and that is their goal, and 
it is a destructive goal for our Nation.
  Democrats want to abolish ICE. You have even the signs being carried 
in the streets. They want to abolish borders. They want to turn America 
into a sanctuary country for illegal immigrants and, specifically, for 
illegal immigrant criminals who Joe Biden let flush into this country 
all the way through 4 years--10,000 a day, illegal immigrants coming 
into the Nation. If Democrats had their way, removing illegal 
immigrants from our communities, from our streets would be nearly 
impossible.
  Today, more than 1 million illegal immigrants have received, from the 
courts, a final court order for removal. Democrats want every single 
one of them to stay in our communities, to stay on our streets and in 
our neighborhoods, all across the country forever.
  If you have a final removal order, you have already gone before an 
immigration judge. You presented your case. You received due process. 
You exhausted every possible appeal. After a fair and thorough process, 
a judge has affirmed you may not stay in this country any longer--
finished. It is time for you to go. It is the law.
  Federal immigration officials have used administrative warrants for 
decades. Federal law provides for them. The Supreme Court upheld their 
constitutionality in 1960. We are talking 65 years ago. Federal circuit 
courts have reaffirmed their use in decade after decade after decade. 
Senate Democrats want to overturn long-term constitutional precedent. 
Why? Because Democrats seek to dismantle immigration enforcement 
completely.
  The Democrat demand is not a minor adjustment. If Democrats have 
their way, it will lead to fewer arrests, fewer removals, and lead to 
more illegal immigrant criminals released onto the streets in our 
communities and our neighborhoods. That is what this is about.
  The Senate should be very clear-eyed about the Democrats' goals and 
the dangerous consequences of the demands that are being made by 
Senator Schumer and the Democrats just to fund the Department of 
Homeland Security, something that we had agreed to do in the weeks 
prior to their decision, a week ago, to just say no. They said: No, we 
are done.
  Joe Biden and the Democrats spent 4 years ignoring our Nation's 
immigration laws. They are the party of wide-open borders. They have 
been. They have proven it. They brought back catch-and-release. They 
abused parole powers, and they demonized law enforcement. They demonize 
the very men and women who devote their lives and commit their careers 
to keeping our Nation safe. As a result, 10 million illegal immigrants 
flooded into the country, and our communities became less safe because 
Democrats refused to enforce the law.
  In Georgia, Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was murdered 
by an illegal immigrant. Her killer crossed into this country illegally 
in 2022. The Biden administration released that killer into our country 
instead of removing him. Before he killed Laken Riley, he was arrested 
in New York City for child endangerment--somebody arrested in New York 
City for endangering a child. Despite his crime, what happens in New 
York City? He was released. Why? Because New York City is a sanctuary 
city. Now, the Governor there wants to make it a sanctuary State.
  Had her killer been in custody, Laken Riley would still be alive 
today. She would have finished her nursing training and be taking care 
of patients in her community.
  In North Carolina, two teenagers were killed by an illegal immigrant 
in a deadly car crash. The killer was driving drunk. His criminal 
record before the incident was lengthy--a lengthy criminal record. Yet 
before the crash, his other charges were dismissed by sanctuary cities.
  North Carolina's legislature passed multiple bills to require local 
police to get illegal immigrant criminals off the streets. So what 
happened? Well, North Carolina's pro-crime Democrat Governor, named Roy 
Cooper, vetoed them all. So criminals are back on the streets thanks to 
a North Carolina pro-crime Democrat Governor named Roy Cooper--three 
vetoes by Roy Cooper, Democrat Governor of North Carolina, allowing 
illegal immigrant criminals to roam freely. And because of Governor 
Cooper's reckless vetoes, parents had to bury their teenage children.

  Tragedies like this remind us that we all pay the price when liberal 
politicians favor illegal immigrant criminals over the safety of 
American citizens. That is exactly why Republicans passed the Laken 
Riley Act. Because of that law, the Department of Homeland Security has 
detained an additional 20,000 illegal immigrants who otherwise would 
have been released back into our communities.
  When it comes to public safety, Democrats continue to fail the 
American people. Senate Republicans will not accept changes that make 
our communities less safe. When I read Senator Schumer's list of the 23 
demands--he may call it 10; it started as 3--these are things that will 
make our communities less safe. Republicans are going to continue to 
stand on the side of safer and more secure communities.