There is an invasion at our southern border with over 8 million people entering the U.S. illegally in the past 3 years. Louisiana must take action with our neighboring states to keep our communities safe by helping to secure our border. Thank you @ValarieHHodges #lalege #lalege https://t.co/H7huMjUFYw
— Blake Miguez (@BlakeMiguezLA) April 10, 2024
Posts filed under Immigration
Kennedy warns Senate Democrats against burying Mayorkas impeachment: “They’ll regret it”
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today urged his colleagues not to break centuries of Senate precedent by burying the articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas without a trial.
Kennedy encouraged his colleagues to adopt his resolution, S. Res. 623, which would establish fair and efficient trial procedures for this impeachment according to longstanding Senate precedent.
Key excerpts from Kennedy’s speech are below:
“I fear, though, that Senate Democrats are going to try to take the articles of impeachment that our colleagues in the United States House of Representatives thoughtfully crafted and passed with a majority vote and toss them into the trash without hearing from either side.
“They don’t want to let the House impeachment managers make their case. They don’t want to let Secretary Mayorkas make his case. They just want to ignore the House’s evidence summarily, sweep it under the rug and move on. And that is wrong.
“The Senate has never in its history tabled an impeachment. Never. In the more than 200 years that this body has existed, the House of Representatives has impeached an official 21 times, and we have never once tabled the impeachment. Not once.
“Now, Senator Schumer may also try to dismiss these charges instead of tabling them, but that’s never been done before either. If the Senate dismisses these charges without a trial, it will be the first time in the Senate’s long history that it has dismissed impeachment charges against an official it has jurisdiction over without that official first resigning—and that’s a fact.”
. . .
“Americans need to hear what I’m about to say, even if my Democrat colleagues won’t listen. Let me say it again: A majority of the duly elected members of the United States House of Representatives—who represent all the different communities across America—spent months investigating the allegations against Secretary Mayorkas. They spent months crafting the articles of impeachment, and a majority of the House then voted ‘yes’ to bring two very serious charges. The Senate Democrats are now treating those charges—those articles of impeachment—like spam that landed in their inbox.
“Americans, however, are not nearly so sanguine about the border crisis that has brought death, drugs, violence, chaos, criminals and mayhem into their neighborhoods. The Biden administration’s border crisis is as unprecedented as the majority leader’s move to bury the evidence of who could be to blame here.
“I, for one, want to hear the House’s evidence, and so do the American people.”
. . .
“I’m going to have a resolution—if I’m allowed to present it, Madam President—that will give us the procedures we need to conduct this trial fairly and efficiently . . . It’ll be efficient. It’ll be fair. It’ll be honest. It won’t uproot the longstanding precedent we have to give articles of impeachment in the past.
“If the majority leader and my Democratic colleagues table or dismiss these charges and destroy Senate precedent, a precedent we’ve established to conduct full and fair impeachment trials, they will regret it. They will regret it. Senate Democrats, if they do that, will show the world that their proclamations about protecting democracy and upholding the rule of law are just tools of their own political expedience and arrogance.
“Senate Democrats will let people, the American people, know that they endorse the lawlessness and misery the Biden administration’s broken border has brought to this country.”
Read Kennedy’s impeachment resolution here.
Kennedy, Britt introduce Laken Riley Act to require Biden admin’s ICE to detain criminal aliens before they commit more crime
“President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas may be determined to let dangerous lawbreakers come here illegally and roam our communities, but Congress isn’t. The Laken Riley Act would get criminal aliens out of our country before they further victimize innocent Americans.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today joined Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) in introducing the Laken Riley Act to require the Biden administration’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants who commit theft, burglary, larceny or shoplifting offenses.
“There’s no reason that Laken Riley’s accused murderer was allowed to walk free after officials arrested him for other crimes. President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas may be determined to let dangerous lawbreakers come here illegally and roam our communities, but Congress isn’t. The Laken Riley Act would get criminal aliens out of our country before they further victimize innocent Americans,” said Kennedy.
The Laken Riley Act is named after a 22-year-old nursing student whom an illegal immigrant allegedly murdered. Prior to Riley’s murder, the suspect had been arrested for shoplifting, but ICE did not detain him. The legislation would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants who commit theft or similar offenses until they are removed from the country.
The Laken Riley Act would also ensure that states have standing to bring civil actions against federal officials who do not enforce immigration law or who violate the law.
The legislation is a companion bill to the House of Representative’s H.R. 7511, which passed last week in a bipartisan vote of 251-170.
“Make no mistake—Laken Riley’s heartbreaking murder was a direct, preventable consequence of willful open border policies by President Biden and his administration. This commonsense legislation would ensure ICE detains and deports criminal illegal aliens, so more innocent American families do not have to face this kind of unimaginable tragedy. I am grateful for Representative Collins’ strong leadership and for Senator Budd’s partnership in introducing this Senate companion bill. Senator Schumer should bring this bill to the Senate floor immediately,” said Britt.
Background:
In February, Kennedy demanded answers from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about why Riley’s suspected murderer was paroled into the U.S.
Earlier this month, Kennedy called for the Senate take up impeachment charges against Mayorkas. The House of Representatives charged Mayorkas for his failure to make case-by-case parole determinations for illegal immigrants.
In Nov. 2023, Kennedy helped introduce the Southern Border Transparency Act, which would require the DHS to disclose catch-and-release data, including the number of migrants that the Biden administration has paroled into the country.
Full text of the Laken Riley Act is available here.
Louisiana governor vows to help Texas with National Guard troops
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) on his decision to join governors in helping Texas with the ongoing border crisis
Kennedy explains how Biden’s open border helps cartels and terrorists: “This is insanity.”
“Today, President Joe Biden’s failed border policies have wreaked havoc in every single corner of the United States, including Louisiana.”
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor, warning the Biden administration that terrorists, cartel members and sex offenders are exploiting the chaos at the border to enter our country illegally.
Kennedy urged President Biden to work with conservatives to secure the border and address this ongoing national security threat.
Key comments from Kennedy include:
“You can cut the irony with a knife. After years of presenting themselves as ‘sanctuary cities,’ officials—many of them well intentioned—throughout the country learned in 2023 that the crisis at our border is not just a problem for southern states like Texas, Arizona and even my state. It’s an American crisis. Today, President Joe Biden’s failed border policies have wreaked havoc in every single corner of the United States, including Louisiana.
“According to one estimate, and it’s not the only estimate, but I think this is a very telling estimate—Louisianians pay an additional $4,613 an illegal migrant—that’s about $604 million per year—in state taxes because of illegal immigration. . . . That’s happening at a time when Louisiana families are also having to come out of pocket with an extra $800 per month to deal with inflation.”
. . .
“President Biden’s border policies are not just a human rights disaster, though they certainly are. But his policies have also provided the perfect cover for terrorist sympathizers, child sex offenders, for cartel associates to enter the United States illegally. All you have to do is mix in because nobody is checking anybody.
“The numbers that I’m about to give you will make you throw up. Border Patrol apprehended 169 members of the FBI’s terrorist watchlist attempting to cross the southern border illegally in 2023 alone. . . . That’s more than 10 times the number of potential terrorists that Border Patrol detained in the four years before President Biden took office.”
. . .
“We know what Mexico’s cartels have done. They have been exploiting our open border to terrorize Americans for years. Their weapon of choice is fentanyl. The cartels kill tens of thousands of U.S. citizens per year by working with China to flood our communities with fentanyl. That fentanyl comes from China, and it comes from Mexico. Louisiana lost more than 1,300 people—1,300 loved ones—to fentanyl poisoning in 2022 alone. The narco-terrorists flood our communities with poison and fill their coffers with as much as $1 billion per year.”
. . .
“These cartels, the members, they put migrants through hell as they march them across our southern border. Predators sexually assault an estimated four out of every five women. It’s unsurprising, then, many of the male migrants the cartels usher to the border are also known sex offenders. In just two months, Mr. President, Border Patrol agents in Texas caught 21 known child predators . . . attempting to enter the country illegally. Imagine how many we don’t know about. Border Patrol apprehended 284 sex offenders in fiscal year 2023 alone.”
. . .
“The American people see the southern border like they see the front door of their home. Most Americans lock their front door at night. They don't do that because they hate everybody on the outside. Most Americans lock their front door at night because they love the people on the inside, and they just want to know who's coming in and out of their home—and that's all the American people want in terms of immigration.”
Kennedy’s full remarks are available here.
Governor Jeff Landry Signs Executive Order
Takes First Step to Protect Louisianans from the Costly Burden of Illegal Immigration
Baton Rouge, La– Governor Jeff Landry signed an Executive Order focused on identifying, quantifying, and mitigating the adverse effects of illegal immigration in Louisiana. This order will require the head of every executive branch entity throughout the state of Louisiana to capture certain data in order to determine the costs the state is having to incur due to those entering our country illegally.
“The cost of illegal immigration in this state is falling on the shoulders of hard-working Louisianans. This Executive Order will analyze data to determine the financial burden our citizens are being forced to carry because of those who do not follow the law,” said Governor Jeff Landry. “Louisiana will always welcome those who legally immigrate, but taxpayers cannot continue to foot the bill for individuals who break the law and skip the line.”
To view Governor Landry’s Executive Order, please click HERE.
ICYMI: Kennedy in the Daily Advertiser: Washington’s broken border policies are costing Louisianians too much
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in the Daily Advertiser explaining how the Biden administration’s broken immigration policies are costing Louisiana taxpayers and leaving them less safe. He urges his colleagues in Congress to join him in working to secure the border and end failed “catch-and-release” policies.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“Many in Washington like to pretend President Biden’s border crisis is over, but the numbers don’t lie.
“In July alone, U.S. border agents arrested more than 130,000 migrants trying to bypass our legal immigration system and enter the country illegally. That’s more people than the entire population of Lafayette in just one month—and that’s only the migrants we stopped.
“Many more were not caught, and many who were caught were allowed in any way because they claimed to be refugees who feared political persecution in their own country.”
. . .
“Since taking office, President Biden has released 2 million migrants into the United States. We really don’t know these people, which creates concerns about crime and public safety. But someone must also foot the bill for the 2 million more people who must access our roads, schools, jails, fire departments, and other public services, too.
“According to one estimate, [Louisianians] pay an additional $4,613 per migrant—a total of $604 million per year—in state taxes because of illegal immigration. At a time when Louisiana families also must spend an additional $765 per month because of inflation, the $604 million taxpayers are investing in noncitizens who bypassed our legal immigration system could provide a lot of relief to Louisiana families.”
. . .
“Border agents confiscated more than 1,500 pounds of fentanyl in June alone, enough poison to kill the entire country. In Louisiana, we lost 2,352 people to drug overdoses last year. Nearly all of those probably involved fentanyl. In New Orleans, officials found fentanyl in 94 percent of overdose victims. In East Baton Rouge Parish, the drug was present in 88 percent of overdose victims. In St. Tammany Parish, 11 people die from fentanyl overdoses each month.
“Yet, when I tried to increase prison sentences for predators convicted of feeding fentanyl to our children, my Democratic colleagues in Washington blocked my bill.”
. . .
“Why would anyone abide by America’s legal immigration process when they can just walk into the country, skip their court dates, and—in many cases—begin taking advantage of American entitlement programs? I’ve tried to pass a bill that would close the ‘catch-and-release’ loophole, but, again, Democrats blocked it, rubbing salt in the wounds of the good people waiting to enter our country legally. German engineers and Nigerian doctors who are patiently waiting in line in our legal immigration system have dreams, too.
“America is the freest, most prosperous country in the world, but we cannot afford to ignore our lawless border and the suffering it has caused people. I’ll continue to press President Biden and my colleagues in Congress to recognize the mess they made with stupid border policies so we can work together to give the American people the secure border they deserve.”
Read the full op-ed here.
'WE ARE DONE WITH YOU' Watch Mayorkas Sit In SILENCE As Clay Higgins EXPLODES On Him
'She's Either Not Telling The Truth Or She's Day-Drinking': John Kennedy Roasts Karine Jean-Pierre
At a press briefing yesterday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) slammed the Biden Administration's record on the border.
SCALISE: Immigration Policy is Stunning Hypocrisy
DeSantis responds to criminal investigation after he flew migrants to Martha's Vineyard
Kennedy, Republican senators introduce resolution calling on Biden to fight crime, secure border
Photo source: Senate
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined more than 15 other Republican senators in introducing a resolution highlighting rising crime rates in the U.S. and calling on President Biden to combat crime and secure the southern border.
“The Biden administration seems to think that when a criminal commits a crime, it’s not really the criminal’s fault. Under President Biden’s watch, crime rates have gone up, drugs are pouring across the border and criminals are murdering cops. The White House must do something to keep American communities safe,” said Kennedy.
The resolution points out that the murder rate in America rose by 30 percent from 2019-2020, the largest single-year increase in more than a century. In addition, there was a 59 percent increase in the number of police officers murdered last year. At least 16 American cities set record for the number of murders in 2021.
More than 2.5 million illegal immigrants have been caught trying to cross the U.S. southern border since January 2021, and overdose deaths have reached an all-time high as the flow of illegal drugs across the southern border is putting communities at risk across America.
Text of the resolution is available here.
