During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) spoke about the Trump administration's border policies.
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00:00Gentleman yields back. Okay, and I recognize the gentleman from the great state of Texas, Mr. Gill.
00:08Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this hearing today on what I believe to be one of the most,
00:16probably the most important issue that our country faces right now, which is illegal immigration.
00:23Mr. Hauser, I've got a few questions for you. You were chief of staff for ICE, is that correct?
00:28Yes, sir.
00:28What years were you there?
00:302021 to 2023.
00:31So that was during the Biden administration, is that right?
00:34Yes, sir.
00:35Got it. So presumably you're well-versed in border security and immigration enforcement, is that right?
00:40Yes, sir. I would say that I'm very worried. I also worked at CBP under the Obama administration, yes, sir.
00:45Got it. So you've got a lot of experience there.
00:47Let me ask you a few questions. In an interview with the Daily Blast on February 28, 2024, you mentioned,
00:54quote, you can't deter and punish your way to lowering encounters at the border, end quote.
00:59Do you think you were right or wrong about that?
01:02A hundred percent, sir.
01:03What we've seen-
01:04A hundred percent what?
01:06Right or wrong?
01:06A hundred percent I was correct.
01:07You were correct about that?
01:08Yes, sir.
01:09Okay.
01:09The idea that you just dismantle an immigration system is not- there was a mandate to the Trump administration-
01:14The illegal alien border encounters are down 95 percent right now. I think you were wrong
01:18about that. You also said, quote, the idea that you can turn off the border is just not
01:23factual. Do you think that was right or wrong?
01:26Sir, the threats that we're still seeing across the border-
01:28Do you think you were right or wrong about that statement?
01:30What's that, sir?
01:30My question is, were you right or wrong about that statement?
01:33When you turn off the immigration system, sir, yes, you will not see encounters.
01:37Well, southwestern border encounters are at a 15-year low under President Trump.
01:44Another thing that you mentioned, quote, just shutting off the border to asylum seekers is not
01:48going to do that, meaning close the border. What I think is going to do that is make it more erratic
01:53and sporadic for the sort of large surges of migrants you would see coming across the border.
01:58Do you think that was right or wrong?
02:00100 percent correct. It was correct, sir. We're going to see that over the next couple years.
02:04Border apprehensions are down now because President Trump has secured our border.
02:10He's stopped the flow of illegal aliens coming across our border and coming to our border.
02:16Do you think that we have a better or worse border situation now than we did under Joe Biden?
02:24Sir, I believe the border is secure.
02:25You believe the border is secure. That's right. But you were wrong about a lot of other things,
02:29about what would secure the border. Is that right?
02:31No, sir. It's only been 100 days.
02:32You were wrong about what it would take to stop the flow of illegal aliens coming into the United States.
02:37You were wrong that secure enforcement that we're seeing under President Trump would stop the flow
02:43of illegal aliens. You ought to keep that in mind as you're going to the media and mouthing off about
02:47the president. Can I answer that question?
02:48Let me ask you another question. This is from a New York Times op-ed that you wrote just a month ago.
02:55Yes, sir.
02:55You mentioned, quote, federal law enforcement under President Trump is engaged in dangerous political
03:00theater. What about President Trump's law enforcement do you think is dangerous political theater?
03:05Do you think that seizing 235,000 pounds of fentanyl on the border is dangerous political theater?
03:11It's a problem. Do you think seizing fentanyl at our border is dangerous political theater?
03:15Do you know who Gilberto Avila Jara is? So that's exactly where ICE should have their resources focused.
03:21That's exactly where this administration is. And we did. And he was arrested last month
03:25and charged with over 20 sex crimes against minors. Yes, sir. These were the kind of people
03:29that Joe Biden and under your leadership were coming into our country.
03:33For the next three months doesn't make us more safe. Taking HSI agents away from drug interdiction.
03:38Taking murderers and rapists off our streets makes the American people more safe.
03:43It's your testimony that taking murderers and rapists off our streets does not make us more
03:47safe? Is that what you're telling me? What I'm saying, sir, is what we have heard from this
03:49administration is over the next few months, there's going to be thousands of law enforcement
03:52focused on non-criminal migrants. We'll see. You were wrong about a lot of things. I don't put a
03:57whole lot of stock into that, candidly. And I don't think the American people do either.
04:00Do you support amnesty? No, sir. Do you support amnesty for illegal aliens? No, sir. In this New
04:09York Times article, you wrote, quote, that means that the best solution for public safety is not
04:13mass deportations. It's giving undocumented. I'm speaking right now. This is my time, not yours.
04:19I'm speaking. It's giving undocumented immigrants who have been in the United States for a long time
04:24the opportunity to come forward, pay a fine and gain legal status. That sounds a lot like amnesty to me,
04:29doesn't it, to you? It's a process, sir, under the law that could exercise and allow them for
04:34migrants to come out of the shadows and then focus. That's what amnesty is. This is a deliberate
04:40semantic obfuscation, and you know it, and I know it, and the American people know it as well.
04:45Do you think that illegal aliens should be given welfare once they get amnesty?
04:49Sir, that's not my department. You've got a lot of opinions on a whole lot of different things.
04:54You don't have an opinion on that? There is where I've worked for 20 years, sir. Yes, sir.
04:56And finally, let me ask you, do you think that Biden was successful at stopping illegal immigration?
05:03There was failures at the beginning of the Biden administration to deal with the flow of migrants
05:09post-COVID, and then there was failures of implementation of policies across all of the
05:14immigration system. That's the same problems we're seeing now. The idea that you can enforce
05:19your way out of immigration and the challenges that we see across the Western hemisphere,
05:23it's not going to work. We had an open border under Biden. The border's secure now. I think
05:28that's a successful Trump policy and a failure of the Biden administration. I yield my time back.