- 6/27/2025
The House of Representatives debated HR 275, the Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025, which was introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
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00:00For what purpose does the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Green, seek recognition?
00:06Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 530, I call up H.R. 275 and ask for its immediate
00:14consideration in the House.
00:16The clerk will report the title of the bill.
00:18Union Calendar No. 130, H.R. 275, a bill to require the Secretary of Homeland Security
00:24to publish on a monthly basis the number of special interest aliens encountered attempting
00:29to unlawfully enter the United States and for other purposes.
00:34Pursuant to House Resolution 530, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by
00:39the Committee on Homeland Security, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill as amended
00:43is considered red.
00:45The bill as amended shall be debatable for one hour, equally divided and controlled by the
00:49Chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security or their respective designees.
00:55The gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Green, and the gentleman from California, Mr. Correa,
00:59each will control 30 minutes.
01:01The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Green.
01:05Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which
01:10to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 275.
01:15Without objection.
01:16Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
01:17I yield myself such time as I may consume.
01:20The gentleman is recognized.
01:21Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 275, the Special Interest Alien Reporting Act
01:27of 2025.
01:28This legislation is a critical step toward enhancing transparency and ensuring the Department of
01:33Homeland Security provides accurate and timely reporting to the American people regarding
01:39encounters with special interest aliens attempting to illegally enter the United States.
01:44As Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, I fully support this effort to strengthen oversight
01:50and accountability within DHS and safeguard our national security.
01:54Under the Biden-Harris administration's dangerous open borders policy, droves of special interest
02:02aliens, nearly two million, and many of them leveraging illicit smuggling networks and irregular
02:08migration patterns flocked to our borders and exploited catch-and-release policies to access the interior
02:16of our country.
02:17The American people deserve to know not just how many entered our country and when, but
02:22where they came from.
02:24Fundamentally, this bill simply requires DHS to publicly report on how many special interest
02:30aliens were encountered, their country of origin, and their last country of residence before
02:36trying to enter the United States illegally.
02:38The genius of this bill is that DHS can simply add it to the statistics it already reports on
02:45a monthly basis.
02:47This avoids any burdensome or duplicative reporting requirements for the Department.
02:51Also, by simply reporting the number and nationality of SIA encounters at our borders, it has no impact
02:57on the integrity of ongoing anti-terrorism investigations and efforts of federal law enforcement.
03:02Moreover, access to accurate information is critical for Congress to effectively conduct
03:08proper oversight, promote national security measures, and protect our American communities
03:13from the threats that special interest aliens pose.
03:16I simply cannot overstate the importance of passing this legislation, especially given the
03:21recent activity in the Middle East.
03:23I'm proud to be an original co-sponsor of this bill, and I'm grateful for the gentlewoman
03:27from Georgia, Ms. Green, for bringing forth this important piece of legislation and for the
03:32support of following co-sponsors, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Guest, Mr. Pflueger, Mr. Crane, and Mr.
03:37Burkine.
03:37Thank you, and I reserve the balance of my time.
03:39The gentleman in the reserves, the gentleman from California is recognized.
03:43Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume him.
03:51The gentleman is recognized.
03:53Mr. Speaker, this bill is not good for national security.
03:59That's plain and simple.
04:00This bill would require Customs and Border Protection to publish sensitive, detailed national security
04:07information on a monthly basis.
04:10And this information would give the bad guys around the world real-time updates on what
04:16DHS operations and targeting are on a real-time basis.
04:21Let's be clear.
04:25A special interest alien, an SIA, does not mean someone who's a terrorist.
04:31It just means that someone's travel patterns indicate a need for further scrutiny.
04:36It means they need more detailed questioning to determine what is going on.
04:42During markup and during rules committee, we heard from my Republican colleagues how the department
04:48already publishes information about known and suspected terrorists.
04:54That is true.
04:55But this bill demands that DHS post far more detailed information about special interest aliens than DHS
05:05publishes about known suspected terrorists.
05:10Today, DHS publishes suspected terrorist information on a monthly basis broken down by Border Patrol and ports of entry.
05:19No other data is published.
05:22Here, my colleague from Georgia wants DHS to publish more information about special interest aliens than they publish about suspected terrorists.
05:34For special interest aliens, she also wants information published in real time about where they're from and where they're encountered.
05:43If Ms. Green's bill were to mirror what we report on suspected terrorists, I would be happy to support it.
05:54But that's simply not the case here.
05:57By publishing this information in real time, the bad actors would be able to tell who's getting advanced screening from CBP.
06:05They will also be able to tell which locations have been the most successful in interdicting those migrants that need enhanced screening.
06:15Bad actors will adjust their operations in response and try to avoid extra screening, which will only hurt our national security.
06:24And please note, DHS has never publicly released these numbers on a real-time basis because these information, these numbers, are essentially sensitive data.
06:42We don't want to be made public.
06:45And as the chair just stated, DHS already has the ability to publish these numbers, if they were to choose to make these numbers public.
06:56So, Mr. Speaker, if it's safe to do, why isn't DHS already doing it?
07:04I'd say, Mr. Speaker, let the professionals, let the security professionals decide what to publish and when.
07:13That's their job, not ours.
07:17Ours is to legislate.
07:19They have the ability to make these decisions now.
07:23Let them make these decisions.
07:25I ask my colleagues to let the secretary again make the decisions, publish the information they deem safe and correct.
07:38I reserve the balance of my time.
07:39The member from Tennessee is recognized.
07:43Mr. Speaker, I yield five minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia, the author of this piece of legislation.
07:55The member from Georgia is recognized for five minutes.
07:57Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
07:58I rise today to speak in favor of my bill, the Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2025,
08:04an essential piece of border security transparency legislation.
08:08A special interest alien, or SIA, is a non-U.S. person who, based on a DHS analysis of travel patterns,
08:18may pose a national security risk to the United States or its interest.
08:23My bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to publicly release monthly reports
08:28on the number of special interest aliens encountered at our borders,
08:33their countries of origin and where they were encountered.
08:37This bill would be retroactive to January 20th, 2021,
08:42so that we can get a better sense of the catastrophic national security impacts
08:47of the Biden-Harris administration's open border policies.
08:51And I would like to say that's likely why Democrats are fighting this bill so hard.
08:56DHS publicly reports detailed information on encounters and seizures,
09:01including CBP encounters of individuals on the terrorist screening data set,
09:07better known as the terrorist watch list,
09:09which is an even more targeted and specific number than the number of SIAs.
09:15But missing from the DHS reporting is information on SIA encounters.
09:20Instead, Congress and the American people have been left only with random, incomplete announcements
09:27periodically released by DHS officials or through leaks to the media.
09:33Similar to the information released on the terrorist screening data set,
09:37my bill would require DHS to report general encounter information on special interest aliens
09:44and would not include any personal identifiable information,
09:48no matter how many times my Democrat colleagues say it,
09:52there is no personal information released.
09:56In fact, senior DHS officials, like the former Border Patrol chief,
10:01have occasionally put out some of these numbers on social media and elsewhere.
10:06Public reporting of SIAs will increase the transparency and accountability
10:10that are critical to the health of our constitutional republic.
10:14Congress has the authority and responsibility to provide transparency to the American people,
10:22which is exactly what my bill does.
10:24And I would argue the American people pay our paychecks,
10:28so they deserve to know the truth.
10:30The Biden-Harris administration's disastrous policies place the United States
10:35in an extremely vulnerable national security position.
10:38Under Biden and Harris, our sovereign borders became revolving doors for illegal aliens,
10:44including an untold number of murderers, rapists, and potential terrorists
10:49who hate our country and want to cause harm to our people.
10:54Over the past four years, CBP faced an unprecedented number of special interest aliens
10:59from the 26 countries that the Department of Homeland Security has determined
11:04the greatest national security and counterintelligence's threat.
11:09These encountered and included individuals from adversarial nations,
11:14including the People's Republic of China, Iran, Afghanistan, and Syria.
11:19The Biden-Harris administration's intentional disregard for our laws
11:23and breakdown of national security resulted in U.S. custom and border protection
11:28encountering over 1.7 million special interest aliens.
11:34Many of these individuals were swiftly processed and released into the interior
11:39under the Biden-Harris administration's catch-and-release policies.
11:43The American people deserve to know who our government is encountering at the border
11:47and where they came from while they are attempting to invade our country illegally.
11:54Given the ongoing events in the Middle East,
11:57this legislation is essential for Congress to conduct congressional oversight
12:02over special interest aliens encountered invading our borders.
12:06During the Biden-Harris administration, the Border Patrol apprehended over 1,500 Iranian nationals
12:14illegally crossing the southwest border between ports of entry.
12:18Of those, Biden and Harris admitted 729, almost half.
12:24And we don't know where they are now, and we don't know what they may do.
12:30With Iran threatening Americans with retaliatory strikes on our homeland,
12:36President Biden and Borders R Kamala Harris created an opportunity for our adversaries
12:41to gain access to our nation and wreak havoc when called upon.
12:45I'm proud that the Trump administration supports this important piece of legislation,
12:50and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to please support,
12:54to increase in transparency and accountability within our government.
12:59Thank you, and I yield back.
13:02The member from Tennessee Reserves, the member from California is recognized.
13:07Mr. Speaker, this legislation simply puts our national security at risk
13:13by forcing DHS to hand over parts of its playbook
13:16on how it stops potential actors from entering the United States.
13:21It's all going to make us less safe.
13:24This bill would require Customs and Border Protection
13:26to publish sensitive national security information on a monthly, real-time basis.
13:32We're not talking about personal identifiable information despite the author's claim.
13:40We're talking about releasing who CBP is looking for, targeting,
13:45and where those advanced interviews are actually happening in real time.
13:51This essentially gives the bad people the opportunity to coordinate, triangulate,
13:56and take advantage of the situation,
13:58essentially to know what our playbook is.
14:01We all support transparency and accountability at DHS.
14:06That's our job here in Congress,
14:08but not at the expense of tipping off terrorists or criminal organizations
14:13as to what our playbook is.
14:17And, Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume
14:23to the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Thompson,
14:26the ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security.
14:29The member from Mississippi is recognized.
14:31Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
14:33Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California, Mr. Correa,
14:37for yielding his leadership on the Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee
14:43of the Committee on Homeland Security.
14:46Mr. Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security already vets everyone it encounters
14:52entering the United States.
14:55Most of these encounters are routine,
14:56but some of these encounters require more investigation based on a dynamic assessment
15:04of the security situation.
15:07Now, DHS does not publicly release who is getting enhanced screening
15:12or where it may be happening right now simply because, first, merely being singled out for enhanced screening
15:20does not necessarily mean an individual poses a threat or has done something illegal.
15:26And, second, doing so would let bad actors know who DHS is on the lookout for that information.
15:38In other words, is law enforcement sensitive?
15:41H.R. 275, represented to Margaret Taylor Greene's Tipping Off Terrorist Act, requires DHS to make public information
15:50to publicly report who's getting extra screening and where that screening occurs in real time,
16:05which tips off terrorists and other bad actors.
16:10Under administration of both parties, DHS has never regularly published who it has considered a special interest alien.
16:20That's because who is considered special interest changes regularly based on DHS's security assessments.
16:29This bill let bad actors know in real time which nationalities are more likely to get enhanced screening
16:36and exactly where CBP has been stopping these migrants.
16:42Criminal organizations could then use this information to adjust their operations
16:48and try to avoid enhanced CBP inspections.
16:54However, Democrats are for transparency, as what Mr. Correa has already said,
17:01and there is nothing stopping DHS right now from publishing these numbers.
17:08The Trump administration also could publish this data right now if they wanted to,
17:15but continue to choose not to because the folks on the ground understand
17:21that security threats posed by such public reporting is bad.
17:27If Republicans want the administration to publish information on who's getting enhanced screening,
17:34they should work with DHS to do so in a way that does not jeopardize homeland security.
17:41Not with a messaging bill, if signed by the president, could tip off terrorists.
17:48Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote no on this dangerous bill,
17:55and I yield back the balance of my time.
17:57The member from California reserves the balance of his time.
18:04The member from Tennessee is recognized.
18:06Mr. Speaker, I yield five minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana.
18:09Mr. Higgins.
18:10The member from Louisiana is recognized for five minutes.
18:13Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
18:14Mr. Speaker, what is it that the Democrats don't want the American people to know?
18:18Well, it's a legitimate consideration that the citizenry from sea to shining sea should ask themselves right now,
18:30what exactly is the problem?
18:31They said again and again, oh, DHS could do this if they wanted to.
18:36They already report to us.
18:38We are exactly saying that the special interest alien data should be reported to Congress
18:46along with the rest of the data.
18:48So why would the Democrats, you know, make a big stand?
18:53They have the former chairman of Homeland Security, current ranking member,
18:56been on committee for a long time.
18:58They have a rare appearance on the House floor to push back against this.
19:01Think about this, America.
19:04They're pushing back on this because they don't want the citizens of America
19:10to know what special interest aliens that participated in suspicious travel patterns
19:21came into our country illegally in 2021, 22, 23, and 24.
19:29Because you know how many are coming in in 2025?
19:32Zero.
19:34That's how many.
19:35Because we have an executive branch that is enforcing American law since January the 20th of 2025.
19:43So we, the people, demand to know what is the data of special interest aliens, so-called,
19:56is a suspicious travel pattern, illegal immigrants coming into our country.
20:00We want to know where did they come from, how did they get here, where were they before.
20:05We want to know all the data that we allegedly collected.
20:09Congress has a right to know.
20:11So why would DHS need Congress to codify their authority to give us this data?
20:20Because of activist radical judges that stopped the executive branch,
20:26and every day Americans have to read about that garbage.
20:31A radical judge stopping the elected president from performing his role
20:37as commander-in-chief and president of the United States.
20:41So the executive branch needs members of Congress to perform,
20:47like my friend and colleague, Ms. Marjorie Taylor Greene,
20:52has done by presenting this law.
20:54I'm a proud, original co-sponsor.
20:56The president needs this legislation to mitigate against the radical judges
21:03that will try to stop him from releasing through Congress to the American people
21:08the data from 2021, 22, 23, and 24
21:12of what suspected illegal aliens came into our country that fit this category.
21:17Now, everybody knows across the country and in this body, most Americans know,
21:23I'm very plugged in to law enforcement.
21:26I get calls every day from these guys, boots on the ground, across the country,
21:30including deep in federal law enforcement,
21:33and they support this law.
21:35So don't tell me that federal law enforcement doesn't want to do this
21:40or it's bad for the country in some way.
21:42That's smoke, that's smoke that's being put out by Democrats
21:48to protect themselves from the impact of the reveal of the truth
21:53of just what kind of people that fit this category were allowed into our country.
21:59Waved in, waved in for four years.
22:02It's been stopped almost immediately in January of this year.
22:05So, I'm clearly in full support of the bill.
22:11I'm proud to be an original co-sponsor of the bill.
22:14And we're going to see, we're going to bring this bill to the floor.
22:18They're going to call for a recorded vote.
22:20And I'm glad they will.
22:21I hope you do call for a recorded vote.
22:24Because I want you on the record, pushing the red button.
22:28I support this bill, and I urge my colleagues to, I yield.
22:31The member yields, the member from Tennessee, the member from Tennessee Reserves,
22:36the member from California is recognized.
22:38Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
22:40I, you know, I'm listening to this debate.
22:43We're not debating, we're just talking.
22:46Again, for the third time, I'm going to say we support transparency.
22:51We support this information being made public.
22:55If the Secretary so deems it to be made public in the interest of our national security.
23:03That's all we're saying.
23:05We're members of Congress.
23:08We believe in transparency, accountability, oversight.
23:11That's why folks on this side of the aisle are writing countless letters right now
23:16to the Secretary of Homeland Security, demanding information so that we can do our job.
23:23Transparency.
23:25And I don't know, my colleagues, when the last time it was that they were at the border,
23:29I was just in San Isidro a couple of weeks ago.
23:32I can tell you, I went to the secondary inspection.
23:37Fentanyl still coming through that border.
23:40People are still breaking through that border.
23:44Fact is, that border is not secure.
23:47That's why you have 2,000 U.S. border agents, 20,000 Mexican border agents trying to work on this issue.
23:56This opposition to this legislation is based on national security.
24:05We're saying if this information that the author thinks is not sensitive, let the Secretary of Homeland Security make that decision to present it.
24:18This legislation isn't necessary.
24:20You don't want to mandate it.
24:22You want to let the experts, anti-terrorist experts, make that decision.
24:28And, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois, Ms. Ramirez, a leading member of the Committee on Homeland Security.
24:41The member from Illinois is recognized.
24:45Thank you, Ranking Member Lucorrea.
24:47Well, of course, Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition of H.R. 275.
24:52And before I get into the conversation of the bill that we're debating today,
24:56I want to respond to this whole thing about transparency that I continue to hear my colleagues talk about.
25:01Talk about smoke on this side, and they're all about transparency.
25:04Well, if you're really all about transparency, why is it that members of Congress can't show up to a detention center and do their congressional oversight and see what's going on in those detention centers?
25:15It seems like you're okay with transparency when it's convenient to you,
25:19but when it's about members of Congress, regardless of the party that they are a part of,
25:23going to one of these detention centers, a holding center,
25:27when we have heard that pregnant women are sleeping on the ground, starved,
25:31people are days wearing the same clothing because they're at a holding center where they should have been going through due process.
25:39And unfortunately, there's no transparency there because what they end up saying is send an email or, you know,
25:46transparency only works when, you know, it's convenient to the Republicans.
25:50So I just want to say it's really hypocritical to hear my colleagues here talk about transparency
25:54when they seem to be hiding the violation of human rights every single day.
25:58And I want to be honest about the bill we're debating right now.
26:02This is not a bill of national security.
26:05If it were, it wouldn't propose to make sensitive security information public.
26:10No, this bill is just Republicans' latest attempt to give the Trump administration another anti-immigrant tool
26:18so that they can continue to do the fear-mongering that they know how to do so well.
26:23It's just another list that Donald Trump and Kristi Noem and Republicans,
26:27and the sponsor here, can use to justify their unlawful, abusive actions.
26:33You want to disappear people from California?
26:36Just say that new members of the latest criminal organization were found crossing the southern border.
26:42You want Americans to surrender their rights?
26:45Well, fear-monger and tell them that a special interest alien from a criminal organization is operating a cell in their neighborhood.
26:53The Trump administration has already demonstrated to us that they are comfortable abusing every tool and system we have under the guise of national security and protection.
27:04The administration has weaponized every well-intentioned tool that this body has authorized to make immigration more humane.
27:12What makes us think that this list will be any different?
27:17I refuse to hand over greater authority and power to DHS, given all the ways that they're running rampant through our states and cities,
27:26breaking down doors, kidnapping mothers, children, and law-abiding neighbors who have contributed to our communities for years.
27:34They have proven to be completely untrustworthy, downright hostile to oversight, accountability, and compliance with the rule of law.
27:43And so they can't be entrusted with additional tools and mandates with which they can violate our rights.
27:50Let me be very clear.
27:52For Trump and Noem, today's report is tomorrow's anti-immigrant fascist tool.
27:57I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill, and with that I yield back to the ranking member.
28:02The member yields back. The member from California is recognized.
28:05Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
28:08The member reserves. The member from Tennessee is recognized.
28:12Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
28:14I'd just like to address some of the comments that I've heard from my colleagues and, you know, shine a little bit of light of truth on some of this.
28:28You know, my colleague from California mentioned that this would serve as an incentive or intelligence to the bad guys.
28:35This reports, you know, where they're from and the country they came into.
28:42There are no methodologies discussed in how we're apprehending people.
28:47We're not giving away the national security information of how our agencies operate.
28:55Reporting that an SIA is coming from a particular country or, you know, has a particular nation of origin that they started from is not an incentive to anyone.
29:12In fact, it's a disincentive to those individuals.
29:15And for those governments to know that we have an eye on it is a good thing.
29:20It's not a bad thing.
29:29As far as a playbook, there is, it was mentioned earlier, I think, Mr. Speaker, that we were giving away our playbook.
29:36Again, not a single method is reported, not a single process is reported.
29:46None of that information is out there.
29:48We're not talking about releasing how we do business.
29:52We're talking about whom we've apprehended.
29:57So it's ridiculous to suggest that this is somehow a threat to national security.
30:02I spent 24 years of my life as an infantry officer and as a physician and as a special operations physician with our nation's highest tier one level assets.
30:17And I can tell you, I sit now in foreign affairs and have for years, I've served on Hask.
30:25No one cares more about, I was prepared to give my life.
30:27My current son serves defending this country.
30:31This is not a threat to national security.
30:36And I'd suggest people take people like myself's word over it than some activists.
30:47This incredible mantra about starving people at detention facilities.
30:54Well, I've been to these detention facilities.
30:56The stacks of snacks and crackers, the meals, the health care that they get.
31:05And this after subjecting themselves willfully to, in many cases, a arduous trek wearing the same clothing, I'll add.
31:14As was pointed out earlier, what the travesty of that.
31:17Can't tell you how many days I sat in the same set of BDUs downrange for the country.
31:21But, you know, let's look at what's really happening at these ICE detention centers.
31:28It is absolutely a liberal Democrat mantra to just throw that out there as somehow a reason not to support a piece of legislation like this.
31:42It's absurd.
31:45And, you know, with American people, they're waking up to this.
31:48And that's a beautiful thing.
31:49I agree with my colleague, Mr. Higgins.
31:51I hope they do call for a vote.
31:56And it's, you know, I don't know how many times we can correct the record on this one.
32:01Kidnapping mother.
32:02Children with cancer.
32:03The mother elected, in two occasions, when they offered the opportunity, do you have a court order saying you have to go?
32:13Yeah, you've been here a while?
32:15The process is long?
32:16Takes a while to get the court to do it?
32:18When the court decides, that's due process.
32:22Due process has occurred.
32:23The court has ordered your removal.
32:26They got offered.
32:27Do you want your child to have health care here or do you want to take them?
32:30We'll take them with.
32:31It is false to suggest that ICE burst down the door in this image that's being painted by the left, grabbed a child and deported it with, you know, cancer.
32:47Again, the American people are a lot smarter.
32:51Hence the results of the last election.
32:55I just wanted to make a few comments about that, Mr. Speaker.
32:59The stuff I've heard today that just infuriates me, infuriates the American people.
33:06And with that, I reserve.
33:08The gentleman from Tennessee reserves.
33:09The gentleman from California is recognized.
33:11Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers and I'm prepared to close.
33:15Once the gentleman from Tennessee is prepared to close, I reserve.
33:18The gentleman from California reserves.
33:20The gentleman from Tennessee is recognized.
33:22Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers and I'm prepared to close after the gentleman from California closes.
33:26The gentleman from Tennessee reserves, the gentleman from California is recognized to close.
33:30Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
33:32Yield myself the balance of my time.
33:35Gentleman is recognized.
33:36Again, I want to make it clear to my colleagues and those watching this that the secretary already
33:43has the power to disclose this information.
33:47All we're saying is let the secretary, let the terrorist experts decide what should be
33:54disclosed in real time, because that's the key here.
33:57In real time, what goes on at the border?
34:02We support full transparency and accountability of the Department of Homeland Security.
34:09That's why a lot of us, including yours truly, was going to those ICE detention centers in my district
34:14for the last two weeks.
34:16Walk in, good relationship with those individuals.
34:21Then, about a week ago, I was told you can't come in anymore.
34:25You need a seven-day notice.
34:28According to the law, there is no notice that members of Congress need to give to do an inspection
34:34of an ICE holding facility.
34:38They're not doing anything wrong?
34:39Okay, so what's wrong with me coming in and looking at the ICE facility?
34:45Transparency, Mr. Speaker.
34:47All we are asking for is transparency.
34:49The chairman talked about those cases, due process.
34:58I can't speak to those specific ones, but I can speak to what's going on in my district right now.
35:03And the reason we want more transparency, because I want to make sure the president of the United
35:09States knows what's going on.
35:12He promised to go after criminals.
35:16Those visa overstays, those individuals with orders of deportation, and those individuals
35:21that came in in the last two years.
35:26That's the minority, the smallest number of the people who are actually being apprehended.
35:31And I say that to you because last week, the president came out and said, we don't want
35:37to go after farm workers.
35:38We don't want to go after dairy farm workers.
35:41We don't want to go after the hospitality.
35:43The president said that.
35:44We don't want to go after these individuals.
35:47We want to go after those three categories.
35:48Well, I tell you, back home right now, most of the people are being rounded up.
35:57Workers, factories, workers in farms, picking our crops.
36:04That's part of the American economic strength.
36:07The president needs to know that his immigration policies, as being implemented right now, are
36:14not what he is saying and not what he deems is good for this country.
36:19That's what transparency and accountability is about.
36:22Oversight.
36:23Make sure what you're saying up top is what actually is happening at the ground level.
36:29Just last week, you may have seen the story.
36:33Gardner, Home Depot, gets picked up.
36:3725 years in the United States.
36:3925 years.
36:41Not a traffic ticket.
36:43You know what the sad part is, Mr. Speaker?
36:46Three of his sons.
36:47One, two.
36:48Three of his sons are Marines in the U.S. Marine Corps.
36:53Mr. President, you need to know this.
36:56You are deporting individuals of mixed households whose children are in the U.S. military.
37:03I'm not quite sure.
37:06Actually, I'm certain that's not what the president wanted to happen.
37:12That's what our oversight is, to let him know and let the public know exactly what is going
37:18on in our districts.
37:20Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield.
37:26The gentleman from California yields back.
37:28The gentleman from Tennessee is recognized.
37:30Mr. Speaker, I yield myself to the balance of my time.
37:33The gentleman is recognized.
37:34Let me close with this.
37:36The American people deserve to know of the special interest aliens entering the United
37:42States, where they're coming from, and where CBP is encountering them.
37:46This legislation proposes transparency that is vital to the public's awareness while maintaining
37:53the confidentiality of the individuals encountered and the strategies used by CBP.
37:59And my colleague mentioned the term real-time and how this is somehow, wouldn't it have
38:05been nice to know real-time about the Iranians who are now in this country?
38:14The administration has, I think, successfully removed well over 100 in just the past seven
38:21days, one of whom turned out to be a sniper from the special guards, the U.S.
38:29Iranian special guards, the Quds Force.
38:32Just open the door and let everybody in.
38:36Wouldn't it have been great to know then?
38:40That would have been nice to have some real-time information for the American people.
38:43What's interesting is, it's almost laughable, I actually saw a Democrat pundit on television
38:49talking about how President Trump shouldn't bomb or shouldn't have bombed Iran because
38:54the terror cells that are here might get activated.
38:57Well, you let them in.
39:00It's the same folks, though, who say, Americans, you shouldn't have guns to defend yourself.
39:04But I digress.
39:07This legislation is especially prevalent following the Biden administration's failure to secure
39:12the border, to protect the American people.
39:14And I urge all my colleagues to support this effort to defend the American people and maintain
39:20transparency.
39:21I yield back the balance of my time.