At a House Judiciary Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC) grilled Major Neill Franklin, a retired former official of the Baltimore and Maryland State Police Departments, about sanctuary city policies.
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00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:03Major Franklin, just so I'm clear, I haven't been in for the entirety of the question and answers,
00:09but I want to ask you, do you believe that illegal immigration is a problem for the country?
00:15Oh, it definitely is a problem, yeah.
00:17Do you believe that the 10 to 15 million or even 20 million people of the last four years is a problem for the country?
00:25Yeah, I do.
00:26There's no doubt that we have a border problem and we need policies because you've heard what we're dealing with at the local level once they get to our cities and towns.
00:36That's real.
00:37Yes.
00:38And then we have to make decisions on how we best manage it for us in our communities and what we see is public safety.
00:46So this really pains me to not be able to see both sides come together and work within the brackets of the Constitution to come up with sound border policies and processes so people can become legal.
01:03I mean, it is a huge issue, but what we're dealing with at the local level and Sheriff Wagner and the other sheriffs here, it's a problem.
01:11And you said it, Sheriff.
01:13The politics.
01:15It's difficult.
01:17Well, let me just stop you there.
01:20Our side of the aisle is not for legal immigration.
01:22Our side of the aisle is for welcoming millions of people here and then trying to offer them legal status without any process or recognition of the existing legal immigrants we have.
01:32And the problem that I have is with sanctuary cities like yours in Baltimore, where I personally had experience with detainers not being honored or respected.
01:43So in your experience, what is a federal detainer and do you support exercising those?
01:50Detainers become a problem for us.
01:54As you understand it, what is a federal detainer?
01:57A detainer is pretty much a notice to local law enforcement.
02:02That they want a particular person and, you know, give us notice when they're going to be released.
02:08Who's already in custody.
02:10Who's already in custody.
02:11So that means, by extension, they have already committed a crime or been arrested for a crime, correct?
02:16Absolutely.
02:17And those detainers, when they're not honored, those people are released without federal law enforcement effectuating an arrest, correct?
02:24I've never experienced that, no.
02:27Well, that's what the detainers, that's what the sanctuary policies are built around.
02:31You're not honoring a federal detainer.
02:33Because under my command, the notice went out in a timely fashion and the federal authorities, be it ICE or another federal agency, were then waiting for that person to be released.
02:46But by law, we could not hold them with a detainer.
02:50A warrant, yes.
02:51A detainer, no.
02:53So, just to cut the chase, you don't honor the detainer.
02:56You have someone in your custody who's illegal.
02:58You're notified by federal law enforcement that they are here illegally.
03:02The detainer says, please hold.
03:04Sanctuary policy does not honor the detainer, correct?
03:08Correct, if it's a warrant, we don't.
03:12Exactly, exactly.
03:14So, you have people who have been arrested at the local level.
03:17There's a federal instruction to hold them, an illegal immigrant criminal.
03:21And you prioritize releasing them rather than working with federal law enforcement.
03:26And it's your opinion that that serves your local community, correct?
03:30They paid their debt.
03:32Releasing someone who is here illegally who has already been arrested.
03:37I'm asking the question, sir.
03:39It's your testimony that releasing an arrested illegal immigrant criminal
03:44effectuates a safety or a safe policy for your community.
03:50When they're released by the order of the court on a specific date and time,
03:54that's what we're required to do.
03:56This is what I call an invasive answer.
03:58That's what we're required to do.
03:59Someone has been arrested in your town who's here illegally,
04:02and you want them to be released rather than to work with federal law enforcement.
04:08And it's your testimony that that makes your community safer.
04:14We work according to the law.
04:16Do you think that being here illegally is consistent with the law?
04:23With the federal law or safe?
04:26Federal law.
04:27Well, no.
04:29When they commit a crime, they get arrested by your law enforcement agency.
04:33It's a civil process you're talking about.
04:35It is not a civil process.
04:37They are not brought into your jail by a civil action.
04:42Will the gentleman yield for it?
04:42Local police do not have the authority to enforce that federal law.
04:47They have the authority to hold someone when a federal detainer is issued.
04:50And that you're skirting the issue.
04:52They were in your custody for some other action, correct?
04:55Which they've served their time for, yes.
04:58For some other action.
04:59And when you issue a hold, it is a sanctuary policy to let them go, correct?
05:05Sanctuary policy.
05:06I'm talking about what I know to be a legal policy.
05:10My time's expired.
05:11I think that the point...
05:12Mr. Chairman, I have a unanimous consent request.
05:14I'm sure you do.
05:16Should I go ahead?
05:17Yes.
05:18Okay, great.
05:18I'd like to enter into the record an article...
05:22I'm sorry.
05:22No.