Senator Schmitt Eviscerates Democrats for Flooding United States with Criminal Illegal Aliens, Highlights Insanity of Sanctuary Cities

Highlights Severe Problems with Legal Immigration Programs, Secured Commitment from the Secretary Noem to Review & Re-Evaluate OPT

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) eviscerated the Democrats for their open-border agenda that allowed 15 million illegal immigrants to flood the country, many of them dangerous criminals, and highlighted the human impact of illegal immigration and sanctuary cities. The Senator also secured DHS Secretary Noem's commitment to review and re-evaluate legal migration programs, such as the Optional Training Program (OPT), and praised her for refocusing the Department back to its core mission - enforcing our immigration laws, defending the homeland, and protecting American citizens.

Watch Senator Schmitt's full line of questioning HERE

"Mr. Chairman, since we're having folks stand up, I would have Laken Riley stand up. I would have Kayla Hamilton stand up. I would have Jocelyn Nungaray stand up. I would have Rachel Morin stand up. I would have the beautiful sons and daughters who were murdered by illegal immigrants stand up. But they can't, because they're dead. They were murdered by illegal immigrants that were let into this country by Joe Biden. And I think it's important to set the stage, since we're having this oversight hearing about how we got here. Five years ago, something was done that had never been done in the history of our country. We had a president who willfully ignored immigration laws and immigration enforcement. He threw open the border to 15 million - MILLION! - people who are here illegally, tens of thousands of murderers, hundreds of thousands of hardened violent criminals. And we can debate why - I know why, they're trying to pump up the numbers for their Congressional districts because they lost the case with the American people. But the tragedies that ensued, the tragedies that were left in the wake of this disastrous policy, are what we're left with, and your job now [Secretary Noem] is to finally enforce our immigration laws, and [the Democrats] don't like it. They actually don't think that anybody should have to leave, because if you create the problem so big - which is what Joe Biden and the Democrats tried to do - the only solution is mass amnesty. And I'm here to tell you, we're not doing it. The mass deportations will continue. Thank God we front loaded the money for ICE. Thank God we did it, because it was just a matter of time. Now, by the way, the outrage machine has moved on to something else, so I actually have hope that maybe we'll approve DHS funding. But we're not kneecapping ICE. We're not doing it. We're not going to take away the tools that they have to deport criminals in this country who are raping and murdering American sons and daughters," Senator Schmitt said during his opening remarks.

Senator Schmitt on the Dangers of Sanctuary Cities:

Senator Schmitt: "So, for all the spectacle that the Democrats want to create, the American people will not lose sight of what this mission is, which is to restore American sovereignty. No country, no sane country, would ever do this. We lived through it. Now it's time to fix it, and the sanctuary status that many of these jurisdictions - there's about 11 that matter the most in this country. But what is that about? What does that really mean? It means that the local leaders will not tell ICE when rapists and murderers and criminals are released from prison so they can be deported. Think about that. That's what's happening. And by the way, it's happening in Northern Virginia. The new governor just today said that this brutal killer, Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone with more than 30 prior arrests, who brutally stabbed to death Stephanie Minter, a mother, an American citizen less than 50 miles from here, [the Governor] will not work with ICE. If, for some reason, this monster gets, gets released, [the Governor] will not let ICE know when he's being released. Think about that. That's what is happening in this country. So, forgive me if I don't want to be lectured by the Democrats on this point. I would think in a different time, in a different place, that we could all actually agree that if somebody is here illegally and they're being released from prison, that we would let federal law enforcement know about it. Apparently not. And If you want to know why we had the flashpoint in Minneapolis, it's because it's a sanctuary jurisdiction that wasn't letting anybody cooperate [with ICE]. It wasn't responding to 911 calls for law enforcement and encouraging people to engage in this kind of confrontation. So, I just want to go through a few of these. I mentioned Abdul Jalloh. Let's talk about the difference between states that actually work with ICE and states or jurisdictions that don't. […] I don't know how you explain this away. I just want to ask you, Madam Secretary, how critical is it for the operations of ICE to deport these monsters and to be able to work with local leaders?"

Secretary Noem: "Oh, it's absolutely, critically important. It keeps our officers safe. It allows them to do their operation in an efficient manner to make sure that the public is safe as well. And when you talk about these sanctuary jurisdictions turning murders and rapists loose on the street, I picture every time listening to Rachel Morin's mom telling the story of how [Rachel] died, how she was brutally raped and murdered. And a mother of five children that no longer have a mother and that individual who raped and murdered her was released three different times. Back out to perpetuate more crimes. That's what I don't understand the argument that these Democrats are making. Do we have to wait until someone who's in this country illegally creates another victim before we hold them accountable and get them out of our country? Why do we have to wait until there's more murder victims?"

Senator Schmitt Highlights Abuses Within Legal Immigration Programs:

Senator Schmitt: "We need to end sanctuary cities. I want to ask you really quickly; we talked about illegal immigration. With the time I have left [I want to talk about] legal immigration and the abuses we've seen. I've written to you about H-1B and OPT [Optional Training Program]. For the those listening, the H-1B program was marketed as a program to bring in the best and the brightest for jobs that we don't have people for. That's been patently false. What's happening is that American citizens are being displaced by cheaper, more obedient foreign labor. The abuse has been pretty rampant. I've written to you about that and the OPT program, which has become visa mills for universities, taking away opportunities for American students because they don't have to pay taxes on the foreign labor for at least a year if you have this visa for OPT. Anyway, there's been rampant abuse we've seen. I've written to you about this. I appreciate your response. I want to just, with the remaining time, you committed in that letter to reevaluate OPT's scope and duration. I want to ask you, what's the timeline for that review? Will you commit to completing that reevaluation this year?"

Secretary Noem: "Yes, we are. We're continuing to do that review now, and it will be completed in 2026."

Senator Schmitt: "Thank you, Madam Secretary."

Watch Senator Schmitt highlight the vicious criminals that benefited from sanctuary city jurisdictions HERE.

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