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Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, last month, an illegal alien from Venezuela was arrested for allegedly murdering Laken Riley, a 22-year- old nursing student, while she went for a run on the University of Georgia campus. The suspected murderer, 26-year-old Jose Ibarra, should have never been allowed to set foot in our country. But the Biden administration paroled him into America after he illegally crossed the southern border, along with more than 2 million other migrants who are now eligible for work authorizations and benefits from the Federal Government.

That is the difference. When someone gets paroled, they get benefits. They get work permits. And while President Obama and President Trump each paroled only about 5,600 people a year, President Biden paroled 800,000 in 2022 and 1.2 million in 2023.

When you look at this, what you can say is that this administration failed Laken Riley. They failed her more than once.

Also, when you look at sanctuary city policies, what you know is this: that New York City, with their sanctuary city policies, failed Laken Riley. Athens, GA, another sanctuary city, failed Laken Riley.

Last year, in New York City, Ibarra was arrested for reckless endangerment of a child. But instead of working with Federal law enforcement to get him deported for his heinous crime, city officials there, in New York City, released him before Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, could request his custody.

A month later, police in Athens, GA--whose city government passed a resolution in 2019 welcoming illegal immigrants ``of all statuses''-- released Ibarra after he shoplifted hundreds of dollars in goods.

It is no coincidence that both New York City and Athens, GA, are sanctuary cities. In sanctuary cities across the country, we have seen illegal aliens commit crimes with impunity, as local governments refuse to work with law enforcement to deport criminal illegal aliens.

Just last month, the New York Post reported that the violent Venezuelan gang is directing its members to come to our southern border, apply for asylum, and, once waved into the country, establish robbery rings in major U.S. cities. I couldn't believe this.

Then, as I talked to law enforcement in Tennessee, I found out that those gangs are there. They are moving in. And I was so surprised that we had gangs, in addition to MS-13, that have come in on parole status and also as asylum seekers.

Gang members are recruiting migrants in New York City shelters to join their operations in which they steal phones from innocent bystanders so they can resell those phones in Colombia.

In Chicago, another sanctuary city, authorities are tracking the gang's growing crime network, which includes human trafficking, drug smuggling, and sexual exploitation.

No city in America should be allowed to make illegal immigration legal and harbor criminal illegal aliens. They ought not be able to do it. It makes our communities less safe.

That is why, earlier this month, I reintroduced the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act, or CLEAR Act, which would ensure State and local law enforcement officials can work with Federal law enforcement to deport criminal illegal aliens who are in their communities.

Under the provisions in this legislation, it would require States and localities to provide the Department of Homeland Security with information about every alien apprehended in their State, including the name, address, physical description, and the reason for their arrest. At the same time, the bill would ensure their compliance by denying Federal funds to any jurisdiction that refuses to work with Federal immigration law enforcement.

It would also require the Department of Homeland Security to take illegal aliens into custody within 48 hours after receiving a request from a State and local government, provide essential information about illegal immigrants to the Justice Department, and supply resources to help localities enforce immigration law, including grants and increased space for detention facilities.

Do you see what is happening with all of this? When you have got entities that say, ``We are just not going to enforce the law; we are going to do something different, and we are going to ignore immigration law,'' what happens is every town becomes a border town, and every State becomes a border State.

This is one of the reasons that crime and the border are two of the top issues that people talk about.

Any person who is in this country illegally and committing a crime that endangers our communities should be immediately removed and barred from coming back.

Unfortunately, our Nation's crime issues go beyond the criminal illegal aliens. Across the country, from New York and Washington to L.A. and Chicago, we have seen far-left DAs and soft-on-crime judges push radical bail policies, including easing cash bail requirements or prohibiting cash bail altogether. Far from improving public safety, these so-called bail reforms put criminals back on the streets and place law-abiding citizens in danger.

After the Shelby County District Attorney's Office spearheaded bail reform and made it easier for criminals to avoid pretrial detention, homicides in Memphis last year reached a recordbreaking number--398 homicides in Memphis, TN. Many of these were committed by criminals who were out on bail.

Just last month, a violent criminal who was out on bail for attempted murder set off a city-wide manhunt after going on a horrific rampage through the city of Memphis. Across his 5-hour-long crime spree, the offender carjacked a woman in a church parking lot, shot two people after breaking into a hair salon, and killed an innocent teenager outside of a strip mall.

In May, a repeat criminal posted bail after shooting and injuring an off-duty Memphis Police Department officer while attempting to break into a parked vehicle.

One month later, a gunman--while out on bail for carjacking and employing a firearm with intent to commit a dangerous felony--shot and killed a man during an attempted carjacking.

In November, a Memphis judge released the suspected murderer of a 15- year-old boy who was shot and killed outside his grandmother's house on Thanksgiving morning.

And just this month, a Memphis judge set just a $175,000 bond for a man charged with attempted first-degree murder against a police officer.

These tragedies should never happen to anyone, but far-left bail policies continue to prioritize criminals over law enforcement, families, and hard-working taxpayers. I can tell you, Tennesseans are tired of this. They are tired of seeing criminals being prioritized over hard-working taxpayers and families.

While addressing crime is the primary responsibility of local governments, there are important steps the Federal Government can take to ensure public safety. That is why I am introducing the Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act. It would deter States and localities from pushing pro-crime policies that make cities like Memphis less safe.

This legislation would block any State or local government from receiving Federal funds if they have a policy that prohibits the use of cash bail for offenders. It would also block Federal funds if they refuse to employ pretrial detention practices for every violent offender, including juvenile offenders.

With crimes spiking in Memphis and other cities across the country, it is essential that local governments protect their residents and put violent criminals behind bars where they belong.

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