WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) today blasted Democrats for refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats are instead putting illegal immigrant criminals ahead of the safety and security of the American people.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks:
“For 26 days now, Democrats have left our country undefended. Democrats in this chamber have voted three times to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down. Once again, Democrats are putting illegal immigrant criminals ahead of the safety and the security of the American people.
“Quoted in the press this morning was Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat from Hawaii. Says he has the votes wrapped up to be the next Whip for the Democrat Party. But this is what he said about what the Democrats are doing now keeping the Department of Homeland Security shut down. He said, ‘We are very serene,’ he said, ‘with what is going on.’ Very serene.
“Well, let me tell you what that means for our country – what the Democrats are very serene about. Because right now at this very moment, Iran is targeting our homeland. They’ve announced it, they are in the process of doing it. Let me quote a headline that appeared yesterday in the Los Angeles Times newspaper. It says, ‘Iran threats on U.S. soil: sleeper cells, lone wolves, cyberattacks.’ Our government’s own threat assessment calls Iran a ‘major threat’ to our cyber network and our data. It’s the Department of Homeland Security that is responsible for defending us from these attacks, the very Department the Democrats in this body – that side of the hall – refuse to fund.
“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is a vital part and plays a critical role in the Department of Homeland Security. It is the agency that protects our critical infrastructure nationwide, including our nation’s energy infrastructure. 2,400 people provide this vital service to protect our country each and every day. But because of the Democrat shutdown, only one out of every three of them are on the job today. And those who are, are working without pay. All of the others have been furloughed because of the Democrat shutdown. These are people who are critical to our intelligence analysis. These are people who are cybersecurity specialists. These are all off the job. The Democrats say, ‘Stay home. We don’t care. We prefer illegal immigrants than the safety and security of our nation. Stay home. We don’t care.’ And they say, ‘We’re very serene about it.’ Can you imagine that?
“The security assessments, the vulnerability scans, the protective guidance for our networks – they’ve been canceled or delayed because of the Democrats’ actions. Our energy grids, our hospitals, our state and local governments – they are all left exposed. Democrats are ‘serene’ about that this morning. That’s what they say. And this is all happening because the Democrats are driven by the far-left ideology of their most radical supporters. And that’s why they’ve shutdown the Department of Homeland Security.
“At major airports across the country, TSA Security lines are taking hours for people to get through. 50,000 TSA agents are missing their paycheck. And many of them live paycheck to paycheck. For the third time in just six months, Democrats are forcing TSA agents to work without pay.
“CBS News reported last night on what that means. It means unscheduled absences have doubled in the shutdown. Hundreds of qualified, experienced agents have quit. This is what happens when Democrats force people to work without pay. Some go to get other jobs. Take part-time jobs. Don’t show up for work. Well, how do the American people respond? Well service clubs are holding food drives for the unpaid agents. Our Rotary Club in Casper, Wyoming, has done the exact same thing to help these agents because Democrats want to keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down.
“Think about that. A food drive for federal workers who are going to work every single day who can’t get paid. And what do the Democrats have to say about it? Quote, ‘We are very serene’ they say, ‘about what is going on.’ That’s how the Democrats look at it today. Sitting back in their serenity, watching as people suffer, people work without getting paid, and our nation’s security at risk today. Democrats don’t seem to care. Once again, they’re much more interested in protecting illegal immigrant criminals than they are in protecting the wellbeing and the safety and security of the American people.
“As Democrats keep the Department of Homeland Security shut down, the threats continue to grow. Our vulnerability continues to be exposed.
“This past weekend, in Senator Schumer’s, the Minority Leader’s hometown of New York City, two radical Islamic terrorists threw homemade bombs into a crowd in front of the Mayor’s residence. The attempted bombing was carried out by two individuals who identify closely with the terrorist group ISIS. Recall, ISIS stands for the Islamic State. The New York City Police Department reported that the explosive devices could have caused serious injury, could have caused death, and we are fortunate that no one died.
“A week earlier, in Austin, Texas, another radical Islamic terrorist opened fire into a crowded restaurant. Three people were murdered. A dozen more were wounded. The shooter wore a tee shirt, and what did it say? It had an Iranian flag on it; it was underneath a sweatshirt that said, ‘Property of Allah.’
“These are the threats that we face right here on American soil today. It’s reckless for Democrats to shut down the Department designed to stop terrorists and it is insulting to the American people to say that they’re serene about it.
“Defunding American security is disruptive, it is dangerous, and it is deadly.
“Let me tell you about one more person. Her name is Stephanie Minter. She was a mother. She was 41 years old, from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Two weeks ago, Stephanie was waiting at a bus stop not an hour away from where we stand right here in the United States Capitol. She was stabbed to death by an illegal immigrant criminal. Stabbed to death.
“You know when her killer entered the country illegally? 2012. Barack Obama was president at the time. Do you know how many times that killer has been arrested in the United States in those 14 years he’s been here illegally? Thirty times. Arrested thirty times. And arrested for violent crimes. For multiple stabbings. For assaults. For rape. Do you know how many times he was convicted? Zero. Why? Because pro-crime Democrats – Democrats who prefer illegal immigrant criminals over American law-abiding citizens – pro-crime Democrats kept dropping the charges. Time after time after time after time because they were worried about something, the pro-crime Democrats were worried about something. In their words, they were worried about the ‘immigration consequences.’ Immigration consequences. What about the effect on the victims of these crimes? And now this death in northern Virginia, right across the river. It’s happening right across the river in Fairfax County, Virginia.
“Who supports this? Well, apparently the Democrats do. Sanctuary State Democrats. Democrats like their newly elected governor of Virginia. Because on her very first day of office, and, of course, she ran as a moderate, but her very first day of office, she announced Virginia would no longer cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. You know, they used to say, there’s a new sheriff in town. This isn’t a sheriff. This is somebody who wants to undermine the law of our nation. Undermine the security of the American people. She said – get this – she said that enforcing federal immigration law, she said, ‘Is certainly not contributing to any strengthening of our community, let alone making our community safer.’ This is blood on their hands. This is blood on the hands of the Democrats.
“Governor Spanberger is wrong. Enforcing federal immigration laws save American lives. Failing to enforce them endangers every American. The police force – the police are besides themselves. The county police from Fairfax County repeatedly have warned the liberal prosecutors to lock up this killer who killed Stephanie. But what happened? The local Police Commander wrote, ‘It is not a question of if’ this man would hurt someone ‘but when.’ And now it happened with a murder. Three months after that message was sent, Stephanie Minter was murdered by an illegal immigrant in cold blood.
“We owe every American citizen a government that keeps them safe and secure. The Democrats have a whole different view of America today. It’s not a view of laws and citizenship. It’s a view of open borders and illegal immigrant criminals. Republicans want a nation where mothers can go to work, where college kids can go out on runs, where women can ride on the train without fear of losing their lives to illegal immigrant criminals being protected by the Democrats. Democrats are fighting for something so different than what Republicans believe the American nation stands for and our history stands for. They want open borders. They want to release illegal immigrant criminals into our communities. They want to turn America into a sanctuary country. That’s why they defunded the Department of Homeland Security.
“Make no mistake. If Democrats continue to obstruct funding for the Department of Homeland Security, more blood will be on their hands. The next terrorist plot that goes undetected, Democrats – blood will be on your hands. The next lone wolf attack, Democrats – blood will be on your hands. The next criminal who crosses our border illegally and kills an innocent American, Democrats – blood will be on your hands.
“The American people deserve safety and security. It is time to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. It’s time to pay the people who protect our country. Let them get back to work protecting us. It is time to put the American people first, not illegal immigrant criminals as the Democrats continue to want to do.”
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