“Democrats seem fixated on protecting illegal immigrant criminals at polling places. Yet Democrats energetically oppose commonsense policies that protect the integrity of the ballot. Democrats oppose requiring a photo I.D. to vote… Yet they support banning immigration enforcement at polling places.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor about Democrats’ demand to ban immigration enforcement from “sensitive locations.” Historically, Democrats have considered schools, churches, and hospitals to be “sensitive locations.” Now, Democrats want to add polling places to that list.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:
“I just heard the Minority Leader speak about his ballooning list of demands – demands designed to protect illegal immigrant criminals. Democrats have come up with a Christmas list of demands – demands to appeal to their Radical Base. The growing list of Democrat demands makes it almost impossible to remove dangerous illegal immigrants from our communities. Democrats are resisting
even the most reasonable attempts to enforce our immigration laws. Democrats do not want to enforce our immigration laws. The more you learn about the Democrat demands, the less you like them – especially if you are concerned about the safety and security of your community and our country.
“The Democrats want to make it harder to arrest and detain illegal immigrant criminals. Last week, I spoke about Democrats’ dangerous demand for requiring judicial warrants. This demand may sound like a technical change. It is not. It would grind immigration enforcement to a halt. It would lock in place the chaos of Joe Biden’s wide-open borders forever. Democrats’ preference is to release illegal immigrants onto our streets. They prefer that to holding them until immigration officials come to pick them up.
“Another Democrat demand is to ban immigration enforcement at so-called ‘sensitive locations.’ The so-called sensitive locations defined by Democrats
includes ‘polling places.’ This is an entirely new provision. Polling places have never been included before. Democrats are including them now because they want to turn America into a sanctuary country and polling places into sanctuary locations.
“Let me ask Senate Democrats a simple question. Why do you want to protect illegal immigrant criminals at polling places? They should not be at U.S. polling places. Why would they be there if they are not trying to vote? Illegal immigrants are not permitted to vote in federal elections.
“Democrats seem fixated on protecting illegal immigrant criminals at polling places. Yet Democrats energetically oppose commonsense policies that protect the integrity of the ballot. Democrats oppose requiring a photo I.D. to vote. Democrats oppose election integrity. Democrats oppose ensuring American elections are decided only by American citizens. Yet they support banning immigration enforcement at polling places.
“Again, illegal immigrant criminals should not be at polling places. They should not be roaming our neighborhoods or our communities. They need to be arrested and removed from our country. Once again, Democrats are putting illegal immigrants ahead of the safety and security of the American people.
“Taken together, the list of Democrat demands points in one dangerous direction – towards abolishing ICE, abolishing our borders, and turning America into a sanctuary country. Republicans will not accept changes that make our communities less safe.
“The deadline that Democrats demanded to fund the Department of Homeland Security is Friday. That is three days from now. The Department of Homeland Security budget is $90 billion. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is 11 percent of that. Democrats are risking America’s safety over 11 percent of the Department of Homeland Security budget. The rest of the budget goes to other critical functions. It funds the Federal Emergency Management Agency
for disaster relief. It funds TSA to keep Americans safe when they fly. It funds the Coast Guard to stop the flow of drugs and conduct search and rescue. It funds the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to protect our nation from cyberattacks. And more.
“This week, Senate Democrats have a choice to make. Option 1: Fund the Department of Homeland Security. Option 2: Democrats can once again side with the radical left and force a shutdown of vital services to the American people to protect illegal immigrant criminals. If Democrats choose Option 2 – if they force a shutdown to protect illegal immigrants – the consequences for the American people will be painful. Democrats will delay disaster relief, disrupt air travel for every American, and degrade anti-drug operations. Our nation will be more vulnerable to cyberattacks. All of these key missions are conducted by the Department of Homeland Security.
“Republicans are ready to keep Americans safe. We’ve been ready for weeks. Weeks ago, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan appropriations bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Senate Democrats had agreed to it. The Democrats flip flopped due to cries from the radical left. They were for it before they were told to be against it.
“Democrats need to start protecting the American people and stop protecting illegal immigrant criminals. Today, Democrats continue to be the party of open borders and illegal immigrants.”
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