At Thursday's House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) questioned sanctuary state governors.
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00:00This is Mr. Palmer from Alabama.
00:02Thank you, Mr. Chair.
00:03First of all, I want to point out that under Article VI of the Constitution,
00:07the Supremacy Clause, that by declaring your states sanctuary states,
00:12you declared your intent to violate federal law.
00:16With that, are you aware that illegal aliens with known ties to terrorist organizations
00:20are now residing in the United States?
00:22That's a yes or no.
00:23Quickly, yes or no.
00:25Governor Walz.
00:27I don't have firsthand knowledge, but I would assume yes.
00:29You should have.
00:30Governor Pritzker.
00:31I know that's been alleged.
00:33I don't have firsthand knowledge myself.
00:34You should have.
00:35Governor Hochul.
00:36My Joint Terrorism Task Force has surveillance.
00:39Ma'am, that's a yes or no.
00:40Either you know or you don't.
00:41We are aware.
00:43That's amazing.
00:45Considering that the Customs Board of Patrol reported just in fiscal year 23,
00:50736 encounters with illegal aliens with ties to terrorist organizations.
00:54And there's over 2, it's 2.2 million estimated gotaways.
01:01We have no idea how many known terrorists are in our country.
01:08Do you support the arrest and deportation of illegal aliens with ties to terrorist organizations?
01:13Say yes or no.
01:14Governor Walz.
01:15If due process is given, certainly.
01:17Governor Pritzker.
01:19Exactly.
01:19We need to process before we arrest people.
01:23Yes or no.
01:24Anyone involved in a crime.
01:25Ma'am, yes or no.
01:26We cooperate with any crime.
01:27Ma'am, yes or no.
01:28We cooperate with any crimes.
01:29You cannot give a straight answer, and the answer is you're giving safe harbor to people
01:34with ties to terrorist organizations.
01:36Are you aware of that?
01:38Let me tell you.
01:42You're shielding members of known terrorist organizations such as MS-13, Trinidad Aragua,
01:48Brown Pride Azteca, Barrios Azteca, Serenos, which is otherwise known as SIR-13, and the 18th Street Gang.
01:56Those are designated terrorist organizations.
02:00Many of the – these are the people responsible for bringing fentanyl in that's killed, along
02:06with other drugs, killed over 100,000 people per year.
02:09We're no longer in a war on drugs.
02:11We're involved in a war with drugs.
02:14These are casualties.
02:15These – are you aware that the Department of Homeland Security identified over 400 illegal
02:25aliens who were smuggled into the United States with the help of an affiliate of ISIS?
02:32Are you aware of that, Governor Walts?
02:36Congressman, I don't have direct knowledge of that.
02:38Well, I'll help you.
02:39Mr. Chairman, I'd like to enter to the record article from NBC News.
02:47DHS identifies over 400 migrants brought in the United States by an ISIS-affiliated human
02:53smuggling network.
02:54Is that a problem?
02:56Without objection to order.
02:58Does that raise any concern for you?
03:01None of us want terrorists in this country.
03:04Then why are you shielding people here from being picked up by our ICE agents, referring
03:11to this as a Gestapo organization?
03:14You know, I never want to get up on another morning like I did on September 11, 2001.
03:24There are people in this country who are here with the full intent to do us harm.
03:30They came across our borders illegally.
03:35358 of them crossed the northern border into New York.
03:40Not all of them into New York, but some of them came through New York.
03:44There's arms smuggling across the Canadian border into New York.
03:50And you're shielding these people.
03:52Are you aware that if just one half of one percent of the estimated 15 million, 14.7 million
04:01to be exact, that came into our country illegally during the Biden administration, if just one
04:07half of one percent are tied to criminal organizations or terrorist organizations, that
04:13that constitutes more than the combined active duty forces of the Army and Marines?
04:19Does that not strike you as something that should be of great concern to us?
04:24Since you raised New York, I'd like to answer.
04:26Are you aware?
04:27We cooperate fully with all investigations, particularly terrorists.
04:32Well, how do you know if they're terrorists?
04:33And you cannot say 9-11 and not invoke incredible emotion for us.
04:35How do you know, Governor Hochul, that they're terrorists if you don't allow people to be picked
04:39up who came here illegally to at least give an account for their presence?
04:44How do you know if they're not part of that 400 that we know came in through an ISIS-affiliated
04:50human smuggling operation?
04:52You don't know.
04:54You're not even looking into that.
04:56You're pointing to an abject failure of the federal government to do its job to secure our borders.
05:01What I'm pointing out here is that your sanctuary policies now constitute a threat to our national
05:05security.
05:06We cooperate in all criminal investigations.
05:07You are engaged in operations against federal government attempts to enforce federal law
05:14that I think now constitutes a threat to our national security, and you're in violation
05:19of federal law.
05:20That's 100% false.
05:22And charges should be, for obstruction, should be brought against each one of you for doing
05:27this.
05:27I'll leave that up to the Department of Justice.
05:29Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
05:30Chair now recognizes Ms. Crockett from Texas.
05:33Mr. Chairman.
05:33And Mr. Chair.
05:34Point of order.
05:34Point of order.
05:35That was intimidation of the witness.
05:37Do you have a point of inquiry?
05:39Yes, I have a point of inquiry.
05:41That's your point.
05:42Raising the prospect of charges against witnesses is a form of intimidation, is it not?
05:49I was trying to do it.
05:52Thank you, and I withdraw the question.
05:53I appreciate that.
05:54Chair recognizes Ms. Crockett.