John Cornyn Reveals Staggering Number Of 'Criminal Aliens In The U.S. Today' Who Have Been Told To Leave

Forbes Breaking News

At Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) spoke about the issue of criminal illegal immigrants in the U.S.

Transcript

00:00The Senate Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration will come to order.

00:28The purpose of today's hearing is to examine the devastation that criminal aliens have caused

00:34in communities across the United States.

00:37In particular, we aim to show the American people how the realities on the ground are

00:42very different from the narrative peddled by the mainstream media.

00:48Rather than truthfully and honestly reporting the facts, media outlets have spread misinformation

00:55allowing harmful false rhetoric to dominate the airways.

01:01The result of these falsehoods is that radical far left activists have taken to the street

01:06and targeted and demonized the very people who are charged with enforcing the law.

01:13Laws that Congress has passed and that would be ICE immigration enforcement officers.

01:20The first false narrative I want to address is a claim that illegal aliens are not criminals

01:24but law-abiding individuals.

01:27Neither the Democrats nor the media are willing to tell the public the truth.

01:34At the moment an alien illegally enters the United States, they have committed a crime, a crime

01:41under the U.S. law to enter the U.S. legally.

01:46America is a country of laws and we expect anyone who wishes to come to our country to obey those

01:51laws.

01:53Another false narrative peddled by the far left is that illegal aliens are not receiving due

01:58process when they are arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

02:04This naturally begs the question, what sort of process are these individuals actually due?

02:11The idea that someone could break our laws, enter our country illegally, and then be entitled

02:17to all the rights and privileges of an American citizen is a little far-fetched, to be sure.

02:24While the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution applies to all individuals within

02:29the United States, illegal aliens are not entitled to the same level of due process as American

02:35citizens.

02:37The fact of the matter is that by the time any alien has received an order of removal,

02:42they have had all the due process they are owed under the law.

02:49Most aliens with final orders of removal have been in the immigration system for almost a

02:54decade.

02:56Many have had the opportunity to have their day in court, the very essence of due process,

03:01but they neglected to show up.

03:05Another false narrative is that ICE is not targeting the worst of the worst criminals.

03:11But the fact of the matter is that as we speak there are 291,141 criminal aliens in the United

03:20States today who have final orders of removal.

03:26Just this morning in the Senate Judiciary Committee, a comment was made that ICE is targeting gardeners.

03:34Well, 291,141 criminal aliens who are under final orders of removal are still in the United States.

03:47For this fiscal year alone, 213,279 criminal aliens with final orders of removal already

03:55have convictions, while 78,546 have pending criminal charges.

04:03Even more disturbing is the fact that 282,194 of these criminal aliens are still roaming free

04:11and not in ICE custody yet.

04:13There are many criminal aliens in the United States continuing to commit heinous crimes,

04:20even to this day.

04:22Some of these criminals are part of transnational criminal networks and organized gangs.

04:28All you need to do is look at the posters in this room to see some of the worst criminals

04:33ICE has apprehended recently.

04:35Murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and sex traffickers.

04:42One of our witnesses here today, Sheriff Roy Boyd, can attest to the types of crimes he sees

04:49even in Goliad, the Texas county with a population of less than 8,000.

04:54The Friday before the July the 4th weekend, Sheriff Boyd's officers arrested a 29-year-old

05:00Iranian national who entered the United States illegally, not once, but twice.

05:07The first time this criminal committed a violent, aggravated felony in Indiana.

05:12And while he was charged for the crime, he received a suspended sentence in exchange for

05:17his removal from the United States.

05:21But his crime spree did not end there.

05:24Despite being deported, he returned to the United States again, illegally.

05:30And what did he do when he came back?

05:32He murdered a man in Galveston, Texas, a murder that was caught on video.

05:38Thankfully, he was arrested less than 12 hours later with the murder weapon still in his possession.

05:45This crime should never have happened.

05:49I want to remind my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that there was a time in

05:53the not-so-distant past when they agreed that criminal aliens should be deported.

05:58But it seems like amnesia has set in, especially because we now happen to have a president in

06:04office who has restored the rule of law and now requires enforcement of existing laws.

06:12Recall the deporter-in-chief?

06:15That would be President Obama.

06:17And who was in charge of immigration enforcement during President Obama's term in office?

06:23None other than Tom Homan, President Trump's current border czar.

06:28In fact, Tom Homan received a Presidential Rank Award during the Obama Administration for

06:34his service as the head of ISIS Enforcement and Removal Operations.

06:40The laws haven't changed since President Obama was in office.

06:44Only the party of the president in office has changed.

06:50And today we have a pro-enforcement president who was elected in a decisive victory, winning

06:55the Electoral College, the popular vote, and every single swing state.

07:01He was elected in part, in large part, I'd submit, because of his pro-immigration enforcement

07:07provisions.

07:09Something 54 percent of Americans support, including Hispanic Americans in my state, many of whose

07:15families have come here lawfully and followed all the rules.

07:21American voters know full well that deterrence is an important part of immigration enforcement

07:26and preventing the flow of criminal aliens into the United States.

07:31Which means swift apprehension, detention, and deportation.

07:35And that works.

07:38The Congress just recently passed what's been called the One Big Beautiful Bill that includes

07:42billions of additional dollars for ICE detention facilities and for more personnel to make

07:48sure that our laws on the books that Congress passed and were signed into law are actually

07:53enforced.

07:55The state of Florida has stepped up to the plate recently, helping the administration to open

08:00a detention facility that's come to be known as Alligator Alcatraz.

08:06I'm hopeful that other states will step up to help in similar ways.

08:10If we could find a way to make something like this work in Texas, I would strongly support

08:15it.

08:16And I'd encourage our governor, as well as Secretary Noem, to explore the possibility

08:21of locating future detention facilities in Texas.

08:26The far-left activists and the mainstream media who support their efforts continue to fan

08:31the flame with their rhetoric and misinformation.

08:35This is done with one goal in mind.

08:37To do anything and everything to undermine President Trump's domestic agenda.

08:42Just as he did during his first term.

08:46And finally, I'd like to end my remarks with a reminder.

08:49We're here today to remind the public of the real tragedy of President Biden's open border

08:55policies.

08:56The hundreds of victims of criminal illegal aliens.

08:59Crimes that could have been avoided if the laws on the books had simply been enforced.

09:06That's why we have two wonderful angel moms here today.

09:10First, Maria Vega.

09:13The mother of slain border agent Javier Vega Jr. who was killed August the 3rd, 2014.

09:21Javier's Angelversary, as Ms. Vega calls the date of his death, is less than two weeks

09:26away.

09:28Javier died nearly 11 years ago, but the fact remains he was murdered by illegal aliens who

09:34never should have been in the United States in the first place.

09:38I was proud to honor Javier and work with the National Border Patrol Council in the Rio Grande

09:43Valley Border Patrol sector to have a Border Patrol checkpoint named in his honor.

09:50I also want to welcome Tammy Nobles, the mother of Kayla Hamilton.

09:55This is a particularly difficult week for her because Kayla's birthday is July the 24th,

10:01this Thursday.

10:02And the anniversary of her death is July 27th, this upcoming Sunday.

10:08And I'm grateful that she's willing to join us here today and tell her story.

10:12Ms. Nobles said the most joyful day for her was when her daughter was born.

10:18And the saddest day for her is her daughter's heaven date, July the 27th.

10:26Kayla was viciously murdered by an MS-13 gang member who originally entered the United States

10:32as an unaccompanied minor and was released into the custody of an unvetted sponsor.

10:38We're honored to have both Maria and Tammy with us today to share their stories and tell about

10:46the loss of their loved ones and how it continues to impact their lives today.

10:50I also want to welcome Victor Avila.

10:54Victor knows all too well the price that our law enforcement officers pay just to do their jobs.

10:59Victor and his partner were shot by gang members.

11:03Victor was seriously wounded and his partner lost his life on that day.

11:11I intend to introduce a bill in the Senate to honor Ms. Nobles' daughter, Kayla Hamilton.

11:16The bill will require that HHS conduct mandatory checks on all unaccompanied minors and bar criminal

11:23alien sponsors from being allowed to assume custody of such children.

11:28A similar bill was introduced by Representative Russell Frye in the House.

11:33You may ask, why is it necessary to pass a law to get Health and Human Services to do mandatory

11:40checks on unaccompanied minors and to bar criminal alien sponsors?

11:46Well that's because laws barring that do not currently exist and we need to make sure that

11:52this can never happen again.

11:55And now I yield to Ranking Member Padilla to give his opening statement.

12:01Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

12:01Good afternoon, everybody.

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