'Would You Describe Baltimore As A Safe City?': Brandon Gill Grills Ex-Baltimore Police Official

4/11/2025

At Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) questioned Major Neill Franklin (Ret.) about sanctuary cities.

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00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding this hearing. I think Ms. Carter Williams,

00:06Walters, excuse me, said it best that we had a secure border under President Trump

00:11in his first term, that Joe Biden opened the floodgates and now President Trump is cleaning

00:17up Joe Biden's mess. So that was very well said. I'd like to begin with Major Franklin. Thank you

00:25for being here. Do you know what percentage of illegal aliens reside in sanctuary cities

00:30roughly? No, I don't. It's about 56% rough numbers. And is it your testimony, and I've got your written

00:38testimony here, that local law enforcement should not dedicate time and resources towards

00:45information sharing and detainer requirements? It's about, generally speaking, yes, it's about

00:54the context. It's about the context. I'll take that. Specific circumstances, yeah. So there's

00:59some criminal illegal aliens they should release. I think it's more about having good policies on

01:05how and when the communication will occur. Okay, we'll come back to that. Let me ask you,

01:09do sanctuary city policies and mass illegal immigration help American citizens enter the

01:15labor force? Yes or no? I don't know. That's not my area of expertise. Okay, you don't know.

01:22Do sanctuary cities and mass illegal immigration help lower housing costs? Yes or no? You don't

01:28know? Yep. Do they help reduce the strain on public services or public benefits? You don't know?

01:36Okay. Do you think that illegal aliens, you're saying that they should have safe harbor essentially

01:41in our cities, should they have free access to medical care? They should have access to medical

01:49care. Should they have taxpayer-subsidized access to medical care?

01:55Depends upon the circumstances, I guess. I don't know. What about taxpayer-subsidized education?

02:01It's not my area of expertise. Okay, public housing? It's not my area. You don't know? You're inviting

02:07them to come into our cities, but you don't have a position on what should happen to them then,

02:12other than that illegal aliens shouldn't be detained? I'm not inviting anyone.

02:15Well, you essentially are, actually. Would you describe Baltimore as a safe city?

02:26What's your definition of safe? I'm asking you, is Baltimore a safe city? Is it the kind of city that

02:32you would want to raise a family and maybe go jogging in without having to be worried about

02:37being murdered or raped? I grew up in Baltimore. My family is in Baltimore. My mother still is in the

02:43same house in West Baltimore. Is it a safe city? For 60 plus years, so the answer is definitely yes.

02:49You think Baltimore is a safe city? Of course it is. Okay, do you know what the homicide rate is in

02:53Baltimore? Exactly no. It's about 35 per 100,000. Do you know what the homicide rate is in the rest of

03:03the United States? No, I don't. I can tell you that the homicide rate in Baltimore is about five times

03:09the national average. Do you know how Baltimore's robbery rate compares to the rest of the United

03:15States? At the moment, no, I don't. You don't? It's about 8.4 times the national average. Do you know how

03:23Baltimore's assault rate compares to the national average? No, I don't. It's about 3.4 times higher.

03:29Does that sound like a safe city to you? Safe to me and my family members. Is that safe to you? 30,

03:35excuse me, five times higher than the national average for homicides? That's a safe city?

03:40Perception. It's what? Excuse me? It said it's what the, for instance, it's perception. It's what

03:48you feel as a resident in Baltimore City. If you're murdered, I don't think it matters what you feel,

03:53do you? Is it your testimony that the safety depends on how people feel? To me, Baltimore City

04:01is a safe city. To you, it's a safe city. I don't think it's safe to the people who are being murdered

04:05every single weekend there. Can I, let me ask you, picking up on Mr. Knott's questioning, do you think

04:12that it's appropriate for local law enforcement to not honor immigration detainers and to release

04:17criminal illegal aliens into our cities? We go by what the courts dictate. Well, I'm asking you if

04:24you think that that's an appropriate response. You arrest an illegal alien for a crime. That person

04:31has an immigration detainer. You think that it's appropriate to release them, yes or no?

04:35When the courts say release them, yes. Do you think that that keeps Baltimore safe?

04:40If it's done appropriately, yes. No, I, so, so you do? Yes. You think that that's a,

04:46that's a good way to keep? When it's done appropriately, according to the law, we cannot

04:50sidestep the law because we carry badges. We have to go by the law. My time is expired. Thank you,

04:56Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I have a unanimous consent.

'Would You Describe Baltimore As A Safe City?': Brandon Gill Grills Ex-Baltimore Police Official

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