During a House Oversight Committee hearing last week, Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) spoke about the Trump Administration's deportation policies.
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00:00has expired. I recognize the ranking member, Ms. Lee, for five minutes for questioning.
00:04Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think we need to be real about the goals of this administration's
00:11radical and cruel immigration plans. It was shocking to hear during the hearing last week,
00:17Republicans truly believe no one is calling for mass deportation, that only criminals are being
00:23targeted by ICE. But we know that this is simply not the case. In fact, Trump's so-called borders
00:29Tom Homan has vowed that the Trump administration will apply shock and awe tactics to its immigration
00:37enforcement and will carry out the biggest deportation operation this country has ever
00:41seen. ICE's own statistics show that the number of immigrants detained without criminal records
00:47rose by 334% from mid-January to late February. That's about a month. Within the group of
00:54immigrants cruelly sent to Guantanamo Bay, 51 had no criminal record at all. Trump and
00:59Republicans want you to think all immigrants are criminal and therefore they should all be
01:04deported. But the reality is that immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than
01:09those born in the U.S. So now we're seeing some Republican-led states make their own,
01:14or excuse me, the very existence of these folks the crime. Sheriff Gualtieri, yes or no,
01:22Florida recently passed a law that makes it a crime for adults to enter Florida
01:26after entering the country without legal status. That's true. You also have worked closely with
01:35the Trump administration to expand cooperation between your officers and ICE agents, correct?
01:40Yes. In fact, one of the other portions of these sweeping immigration changes in Florida
01:46also includes bonuses to incentivize officers to work with ICE, correct?
01:52There is a provision in the recent law to compensate them, yes.
01:55Thank you. So to recap, Florida has passed laws that target all undocumented adults,
02:01slaps them with a crime for merely entering Florida, and then offer law enforcement more
02:07money to ship them off to ICE custody. That seems like a lot of mass deportation to me.
02:13Judge Doyle, it's fair to say you have a lot of experience in immigration law,
02:16from private practice to DHS to ICE, and then as an appointed immigration judge.
02:20Does this kind of heavy-handed enforcement make our community safer, in your opinion?
02:27Absolutely not, Ranking Member Lee. As I discussed, a number of our cities are, in fact,
02:33perfect examples of what trust can build, what community policing can build,
02:39which is the safest big city in the country.
02:43Does allowing ICE to enter schools, churches, and hospitals make our community safer?
02:48Absolutely does not. As I mentioned, and to quote Mayor Wu, a scared city is not a safe city.
02:54From your experience, what approaches to community safety have worked,
02:57especially those with immigrant populations?
02:59As I mentioned, community policing is really the cornerstone of a safe city,
03:05and that requires trust between police and the people with which they work in the community.
03:11It allows people comfortable to come forward and report crimes and work with the police
03:16to eradicate crime and harm in the communities.
03:20Just last week, Republicans paraded the Boston mayor out here for her city's policies, as we've heard,
03:25but Mayor Wu made it clear that Boston has lower crime and is safer,
03:29a safer city compared to many Republican districts.
03:32Unfortunately, facts and data just are not on your side.
03:37We need proactive investment and support for our communities.
03:40Parents should not have to live in fear that taking their child to school or to the doctor
03:45will result in their arrest or deportation.
03:47It is simply un-American to turn these essential places into symbols of fears
03:52as targets of extreme immigration enforcement.
03:55While Trump and his Republican cronies are fear-mongering with their claims of crime,
03:59drugs, cartels, it's all too clear that their mass deportation agenda extends
04:03to millions of our loved ones, neighbors, and co-workers who have never committed crimes.
04:08None of these policies will strengthen or help our communities.
04:11The only people who seem to be benefiting besides the talking heads at Fox News
04:15are the billionaires running the private prisoners.
04:17For them, it's good business to detain people.
04:20In addition to the GEO Group reopening a detention facility in New Jersey,
04:23it was announced last week that CoreCivic is reopening the South Texas Family Residential
04:27Center in Dilley, Texas to hold immigrant families.
04:31Yes, that includes children.
04:33The center can hold up to 2,400 people, making it one of ICE's largest detention centers.
04:38CoreCivic alone stands to make $180 million on this deal.
04:42That's taxpayer dollars going to billion-dollar corporations to detain families and children
04:46rather than being invested into your communities.
04:50And you can bet that the priority for these private corporations will be making a profit,
04:54not treating immigrants humanely or responsibly.
04:57Maybe Doge and Elon should or could set their sights on these private prisons
05:02rather than on your Medicaid and your Social Security.
05:05Cruelty is the point.
05:06And protecting people is simply not a priority for this administration.
05:10Our communities deserve investments and support, not terror in their safe spaces.
05:15I yield back.
05:18The gentlelady yields.
05:19I recognize my colleague, Representative Gosar, for five minutes for questions.
05:24Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:25As we heard last week at the Radical Sanctuary Cities,
05:29are violating federal and