At today's House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) grilled Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Governor Walts, you said that as long as you are governor,
00:06immigrants will be welcome in Minnesota. Do you find a difference between an immigrant and an
00:10illegal immigrant? A difference? Their status? Is there a difference? Legal status or otherwise?
00:22Well, the legal status is different, but in Minnesota we have a long tradition of welcoming.
00:26Okay. ICE in St. Paul arrested a criminal illegal alien who had been convicted for possession of
00:33child pornography on a work computer. Do you still stand by your statement that ICE agents are the
00:40modern-day Gestapo? ICE agents need to do a job, but they need to do it within the realm of due process
00:48and the law. Wearing masks, no notice of who they are, no notice of the vans, and picking people up
00:54off the streets without that due process. I stand that that is wrong in a road towards
00:58authoritarianism. I certainly stand by that.
01:01You know, I have one rule, and I have a couple rules in my office, but one of them is never compare
01:06anything dealing with the Holocaust except for the Holocaust. I think that it desensitizes people
01:12about what really went on in Nazi Germany by making any comparisons there. Does Minnesota receive
01:20federal tax dollars for any programs that assist illegal immigrants?
01:27Minnesota's federal tax dollars are appropriated by you in Congress, and then we use state dollars
01:34under our laws.
01:37During the Biden administration, nearly $1.5 billion was sent to sanctuary states to pay for their
01:42illegal immigration policies, housing, and health care. Governor Hochul, are crimes committed
01:49by illegal aliens preventable, in your opinion?
01:55Our law enforcement is highly trained in how to identify prospective perpetrators, but certainly
02:00we try to prevent crimes, and we also work to resolve them and make sure that if there's
02:05a crime committed that people find their time in court and are incarcerated. That's how it's
02:10always worked.
02:11By definition, our illegal aliens are unlawfully present in the United States. They should not be
02:17here in the first place to commit crimes. Don't you agree with that?
02:21It depends on the circumstances of coming over. I mean, there's civil violations. There's also
02:26criminals, so it's the federal government's determination on the status of an individual.
02:29If they're prosecuted...
02:30But I mean, if they're not here, the crime's not going to be committed.
02:34I think if there was not...
02:35If they're not going to be here, ma'am, the crime is not going to be committed.
02:38If there was no one in our country who crimes would be committed, I suppose you could say the
02:41same thing.
02:43A young man in my district whose family is very close to me lost their son to an illegal alien,
02:48and I can guarantee you if that illegal alien, if we'd followed the laws of the land,
02:54and there'd been some enforcement, that that young man would be here today. Well, let me ask
02:59you this. Why did your state
03:00issue that you are... say that you are welcome with open arms in reference to illegal aliens?
03:09That was a direct quote attributed to you, ma'am.
03:12It's a long... it's a 400-year history we have in the state of New York of wealth-giving all.
03:17I don't know why we would change that now.
03:19Okay. Governor Pritzker, you mentioned in your opening statement that criminals have no place
03:24in our country, but Cook County released numerous criminal migrants last year, including one
03:29that was charged with raping a minor. Why would you release a criminal rapist back into your
03:34community?
03:38Thank you, Congressman. First of all, we don't need to release somebody if ICE or another law
03:46enforcement authority shows up with a judicial warrant, and that's just the fact. And if somebody
03:52gets released, it's usually because they've had due process and determined not to be eligible
03:57to be held. That's...
03:58Okay. But do you know what happened after that individual was released?
04:03I don't, but again, a judicial warrant, if appropriate...
04:06I'll tell you, 17 days later, he was charged with a homicide. And in Cook County, he also released
04:12a migrant charged with domestic violence in August of 2024. Do you know what this individual
04:17was charged with one month later?
04:23No, sir. I'm not sure what...
04:24Aggravated criminal sexual assault and abuse of minor.
04:27And as governor, you have done... Have you done anything to ensure local and county governments
04:32aren't releasing illegal immigrants charged with sexual or violent crimes?
04:36As a matter of fact, we... First of all, we chase down criminals every single day. We put
04:40them in jail. We try them, put them through due process. They get convicted. They get put
04:46into our correction system. We do that every single day. You're implying that we're not...
04:52We are. In fact, our law enforcement are some of the best in the country. They do their job.
04:58Well, if these laws were enforced, then I would assume these people wouldn't be back out
05:01on the streets so freely. How many programs does Illinois have that explicitly supports illegal immigrants?
05:11Sir, we've created programs to deal with not illegal... I mean, we have one program that's
05:16related to undocumented people who are the most vulnerable.
05:20I'm out of time, but the answer is at least four.
05:23For Health Benefits for Immigrants, HBIS, Health Benefits for Immigrants, Adults, HBI, Retention
05:31of Illinois Students, and Equity, RISE is the acronym for that act, and the Illinois Dream Fund.
05:37And I'm sorry I'm out of time, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
05:40Mr. Chairman, I'd like to finish the title of the article that I was trying to read into unanimous consent.
05:46Mr. Chairman. Okay.
05:53Wait.
05:54Are you it?
05:58Is that correct?
05:59Remember?
06:00Is that correct.
06:02I'm sure you have it in your mind.
06:04I have no time.
06:05I was speaking to you even a minute.
06:07Remember?
06:08I don't even opinions about it.
06:09Madam, isn't it wrong at all.
06:10No, we don't act that way.
06:11I feel valuable at all.
06:12If nothing is a mistake, can get a affair.
06:13And now, let's find a weakness at all,
06:13we should get annoyed at all that line
06:14and let's look at the original line.