Senator Schmitt on Impending Immigration Enforcement Debate: “Bring it on”

Schmitt Lays Out Plan to Support ICE, Enforce Law and Order

ST. LOUIS, MO - Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) joined Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures to applaud Trump's deportation operation, forcefully condemn Democrat rhetoric targeting ICE and federal law enforcement, and praise President Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, his foreign policy agenda, and efforts to modernize the Pentagon's procurement processes.

Watch the full interview HERE

Senator Schmitt on his Immigration Plan, Defending ICE, Deportation Operations:

"I want to be clear: We're not going to do anything that inhibits law enforcement's ability to execute the laws that Congress has voted on and the deportations the American people voted on in November of 2024. President Trump ran on this issue. It wasn't a footnote, it wasn't a side note - it was a central plank of his campaign. The American people deserve that, and I think it's important to take a step back. This didn't begin in Minneapolis last weekend, or even when President Trump took office last January. This began in January of 2021 when Joe Biden took office, dismantled the border controls that we had before, and let in 15 to 20 million people here illegally, including tens of thousands of murderers, hundreds of thousands of other criminals. And so, to my Democrat colleagues who have made this now the central focus of the next two weeks - thank you. Thank you very much because we're going to have this debate now. This is a home game for us. We need to be aggressive if they're going to put forward these ridiculous proposals that put immigration enforcement and the individuals [in ICE] who have families in harm's way. We're going to propose and move forward on ending sanctuary cities, increasing the penalties for illegal entry and re-entry, making sure we dismantle the [non-governmental organization] network that exists that's creating all these confrontations and protecting law enforcement. We should not back down at all, Maria, we need to press forward and the deportations will continue."

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"I think the most shocking thing about all this is the rhetoric from these Democrat elected officials: Calling people 'Nazis', calling these law enforcement agents 'the Gestapo', 'President Trump's secret police'. It's ridiculous, and I don't know if they actually believe it, I don't know what's really in their heart, but I do know a lot of people on the streets do believe that, and they keep telling them that. And they tell them to disrupt these investigations and disrupt these activities that law enforcement is lawfully doing. Protest all you want, but you don't get to interfere in [law enforcement] operations. It's incredibly dangerous. And my fear is, through their rhetoric - we've already seen tragedies. We're going to see more of them unless they pump the brakes on this stuff. The solution is very clear. The de-escalation that can happen needs to come from the Democrats, to say, 'protest all you want, but step back and let law enforcement do their jobs'."

Senator Schmitt Praises Trump's Nominee to Lead the Federal Reserve:

"[Kevin Warsh] is extremely qualified. I think he has broad support. May even have bipartisan support, I don't know. But the Democrats are in full obstruction mode. Look, when these things happen, there are always statements that are made and discussions that are had, but I fully expect, at the end of the day, he will get confirmed."

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"I think one of the great tragedies of the Powell-era is the deafness to what should have happened months ago, in fact, probably years ago, which is interest rate cuts. He's been overtly political, in my view, at his job, his assessment of tariffs, which were wildly wrong, along with most of the financial establishment. Now we're going to have somebody, I think, that's very forward thinking, that's very focused on growth. We have record investment in this country, Maria, $19 trillion in the first year. You see the foundations being laid here for a boom for our economy. Look, there are people that are still struggling, and things are, you know, not as affordable we want them, because we had four years of maybe the worst economic administration we've ever seen of the Biden-era. I think better days are ahead."

Senator Schmitt on Iran, President Trump's Realist Foreign Policy:

"The United States is the most powerful military in the world. There's no doubt about that. And so, deterrence is a big thing here. I think that, ultimately, the kind of regime change that might happen [in Iran] has to happen with the Iranian people. However, we do have sanctions. There are tariffs that have imposed by President Trump. I think that's adding pressure to Iran right now. The main thing is we don't want them to have a nuclear weapon. Those B2s that came out of Missouri from Whiteman Air Force Base did the job and obliterated their nuclear architecture. I think President Trump is the peace president, and I trust him to work something out. And what I want to say, Maria, is, I don't think people are interested in a forever war in the Middle East. I'm certainly not. But I think that's not really what's happening right now. We're talking about applying pressure - economic pressure - for the things that we think are smart here."

Senator Schmitt Applauds Efforts to Unleash Innovation, Modernize Procurement at the Pentagon:

"This is a challenge. And I think, quite frankly, the result of some laziness that happened at the Pentagon over the years. We weren't focused on innovation. I do think that's changing. I think one of the more underrated things that's happened in this administration, Maria, is not only with Secretary Hegseth but Steve Feinberg, who is the head of procurement [at the Pentagon]. There's a lot of things that are happening internally, a culture change that we have more competition, we can do things quicker, we're not over budget and out of time. We live in a world of scarcity. We can't be everywhere all at once all the time. You see President Trump now telling the European allies, they need to step up more meaningfully for their own defense so we can focus on the Western Hemisphere and, more meaningfully, in the Indo-Pacific. We have to have the weapons to be able to do those things. I do think those changes are happening and there's progress, but it's been a problem for a long time. But finally, we have an administration that's focused on it."

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