Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20240622

I believe the world is burning to the ground lets see how far weve come i believe it is all coming to an end lets see how far weve come the road to the white house continues this weekend with democratic president ial contender lincoln chafee. Cspan asksam about the data from the white house. That is at 6 35 p. M. And again at 9 35 p. M. Eastern. Coming up in less than two weeks, cspan partners with the New Hampshire union leader for the voters first forum. That takes place at 7 p. M. Eastern at Saint Anselm College in manchester. Our road to the white house coverage continues with my cup of the who visited the pizza ranch. He answered questions on immigration, health care, and recent comments by fellow gop candidate donald trump. This is about an hour. MyMike Huckabee great to see you. Thanks for coming. You didnt have too far to drive . Im glad you came today. I hope you enjoy this time. Nice to meet you. We have the same last name, we probably know each other. How are you . I am tired. I wonder why . Mike huckabee i woke up early. Review at the event . We met briefly. How are you today . How are you, sir . Mike huckabee, nice to see you. MyMike Huckabee i guess we dont have a choice. I cannot imagine. Just our luck that the one guy on the show was a conservative clown. [laughter] [indiscernible] Mike Huckabee that just proves im speaking to an intelligent group. That is good to hear. We just got back from ames, doing the family leaders of event. It went well. A big crowd. You were there . Thank you. That is a great place. Well, it is my opportunity to welcome you here today. He asked me to introduce him. I would invite the pastor from the Monroe Methodist Church for the prayer. I am usually not the one i have to write my heart down on this piece of paper to say what is on my heart and on the hearts of all i think who live in this great nation. Let us pray. Oh myighty god, we thank you for your presence, wisdom, and love. We thank you for those who have served in our military to a sure our freedom that allows us to meet this day for the good of our country. Our hearts are heavy for the unnecessary deaths of the marines in our borders. We reach out to the families of these brave man who selflessly served our country. And we ask that you hold them with your love. Sometimes, we forget how fortunate we are to live in a country where we have the freedom to openly congregate and share our thoughts and opinions. Lord, many of us feel our nation may be headed down a path of danger and immorality where our constitution is not being adhered to in a way that is always guided this nation. The threats of terrorism, violence, tyranny, unrest in our borders, we need to even more. God, help us to follow your laws before humanity. And give us the assurance that you are always in control. We gather here today with governor huckabee as he makes a bid to become our next president of the United States of america. By this be a time where we express and share our thoughts. We pray that his wisdom, leadership skills, passion for others, and his love for you will guide this great nation in the direction of peace asperity unity, and patriotism. Help us continue to be the great nation founded by you, god. And bless this time we share together with governor huckabee. In jesus name we pray, amen. Stand and join in the pledge with me. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. It is my pleasure to introduce our guest here today the governor he was the 44th governor of arkansas. The governor for 11 years the longestserving governor in history of that state. I tell you, the first time i met the governor was when he was coming through here about eight years ago. And we were at the straw poll in ames. And he was on stage playing his guitar. I missed seeing you on the saturday evenings, too. I enjoyed that. Governor huckabee i miss that. The governor has been an avid musician since he was 11. [laughter] governor huckabee i will need help getting up. They tell me here he is 69. [applause] Mike Huckabee i certainly feel that way. 89. Yes sir. I was a school speaking several years ago, i did a lot of speaking at schools. I went to a campus and talk to kids. First of all, they are so honest. They just let you have it. And i was at an elementary school, and so, the kids were out there kind of restless. I got up and said, ok, by the way, how old are you guys . You are about nine years old . That is about how old most were. I said, how old do you think i am . And one kid said 76 . I said kid you are never going to get out the third grade. [laughter] some things the governor cannot do, that is something i can make happen. Expel that child, dont let them have a seat. [laughter] thank you very much for coming out and 4 30 on a saturday. It is a tough time, we just got back from ames, and 3000 of your fellow iowans were there at the family leader conference. It certainly does not give us the confidence to have a kind of intimacy where we can visit. And i will do something that hillary will not do. I will answer all of your questions today. I am not going to put the press inside of a rope. I think that is a press. Lus. Im grateful for you being here today. Eight years ago, when i ran for president , i came to places like this in iowa. The truth is, when we first started out, i had fewer people than on this first row right here. And it was just inch by inch little by little we kept building a group of people that were willing to support me. And when we won the Iowa Caucuses in 2008, we ended up having the largest number of caucus voters for me that have ever voted for a president ial candidate on the republican ticket in the history of the iowa caucus. The good news is, that is a wonderful milestone. But it does not mean that i think for one minute that i can just show up a few times in iowa and say, well you voted for me before . I expect you to do it again. I am grateful for those who voted for me. But i have no expectation that there is any obligation people would do it again. I have to earn it, this like last time. I hope i can do that. I really believe that i have the right skills to lead this country. And if i did not think that, believe me, i would not have left the wonderfully pleasant job and ive had for the past six and a half years. Over the past quarter of a century, i have been a candidate for office. And i can say to you that is hard work. We get music. [laughter] that is excellent coming from another room. That is not in here. And that is what you are trying to do . It is in the speakers next door. So let me pick up back here. Running for office is really hard work. Then i got elected him Lieutenant Governor then governor. That is even harder work. It is a challenge. Especially when you govern in a state like arkansas where it was the most partisan state in the country. And i know that may be a surprise to you, but arkansas is more partisan we had more lopsided political structure the massachusetts did vermont maine, oregon, california. Any state the most in the country. And serving as Lieutenant Governor after three years governor for 10 half years, i can tell you that was hard. The last six and a half years, i hosted a talk show on television. I have done radio talk, both commentary and a talk show. I drive around making speeches. I will be honest with you. Talking about the candidates and officeholders, that is the easiest job ive ever had my life. [laughter] and it paid better money than anything i have ever done. I got amused when some reporters wrote that huckabee is not serious. He is just trying to build his profile so we can get a tv show, sell some books, makes and speeches. I am thinking, what idiot wrote that . I had a television show, i have written 12 books, i have more speeches than i can accept. That is what i walked away from to run for president. The only reason i would do that is because i truly believe our country is in real trouble. Something i had that i did not have a years ago, five grandkids. By the way, all five of them are four and under. [laughter] one of them is less than four weeks old, the little boy george. And the oldest one just turned four on the second of this month. Imagine how loud things are when theyll get together . [laughter] one of the reasons i am running for president is because my grandkids. It or running because i want to say the nation for them or i am running because that way i do not have to hear how loud they can be when they are altogether. [laughter] i think all of you know that the reason anybody would do this has to be something other than ego. I have been in politics too long to let you go be the reason i ran a campaign. The glory of being a political candadidate disappears after 15 minutes. Nothing is better than being on tv. People love you. You run for office, before hate you. And that is your own family. [laughter] let me say very honestly, i am blessed. My wife was a little upset with me for not running four years ago. Nobody is a stronger supporter and a more committed participant in this process than she is. And frankly, i would not be doing it if i did not have her wholehearted support. This is hard to do. When your family is with you, i find it impossible to do. If your family is not with you. Frankly, a divided family is something none of us in afford to have. But we have a divided country. A severely divided country. And we are seeing the effects of it, the effects of it economically. I am in a town where once many many people would go to work at the maytag plant in newton iowa. It was known all over the country. People knew it was here. I did not live here, i lived in arkansas, i do you had a maytag plant. I remember when whirlpool bought maytag, there was a big plant in my state of arkansas. I remove or when this plant closed, i remove or when the whirlpool plant closed. I remove or when the arkansas plant close. We lost all the jobs to mexico. A lot of people you know, perhaps some of you for all i know may have once worked there and lost jobs. Im tired of seeing america lose jobs. Im tired of seeing americans work year after year really hard at something only to find one day they walk in and theyre told the job is gone. The president has been telling everybody the economy is in recovery. I dont talk to a lot of people and places like this were people say yes, the economy is just doing swimmingly well. People tell me quite the opposite. The economy is not recovering for many working americans. If anything, it struggles because so many people had a good job a few years ago that paid benefits and even a pension. Today, they are working two and three parttime jobs no pension or benefits. A couple of weeks ago i was in aiken, south carolina, we were spending a day there at the fairfield inn. A nice little hotel, and lets you have Free Internet and free breakfast. We are cheap, we have to be. [laughter] i got down there when they open for breakfast at 6 00, i was only one down there except the guy working. He was taking care of the tables for people coming down to have breakfast. Because i was the only one down there, we struck up a conversation. His name is mark, he is in his 50s they be a few years under the me. And these old ladies. [laughter] just seeing if you were listening. We got to talking, until three years ago, he was one of 300 people that work at a manufacturing plant there in aiken. They close the plant, all 300 lost their jobs. He was a College Educated accountant for the company. But the manufacturing facility closed down, his job went away. This man had a good degree, good job, working for 20 something years, now found that he had no job. He was working three parttime jobs. One of which was to get up at 5 00 in the morning and go down to the fairfield inn and serve breakfast to people like me who were in the hotel. He would go to two more jobs after that. And he did that because his house is almost paid off. He cannot afford to lose it. He can afford to move anywhere. He cannot find another job anywhere. And that is the america that i see happening all around us. That is the america we need to fix. And we also need to fix an america where people are in danger not just they go to the middle east, theyre in danger standing outside an army reserve recruiting station or Marine Reserve recruiting station or a marine and Naval Reserve unit. That happened in my home state of arkansas. A young man, private first class standing out front of the recruiting station was assigned there. Yet gone through training. He was sitting outside as a recruiter. A young, radicalized islamic jihadist from memphis who grew up a baptist in a nice neighborhood by the name of what was Carlos Bledsoe went to yemen and came back. His father call the fbi and said i think my son is into something bad. The fbi did not take it serious enough. He had several attempts to do some horrible things. It was pretty bad at being a terrorist. His attempts failed, one of the things he wanted to do was blow up time square. That did not work. He never got caught. But one day he drove over from memphis, about two and half hour drive to little rock, to the rifle and held outside of his car and fired shots that killed in the long and very severely wounded another army soldier. Standing in front of the Army Recruiting station in a strips Shopping Center in little rock arkansas. When this happened the other day, when the shooter went on his rampage and shot up the front of a recruiting station in a strip Shopping Center, my first reaction was i have seen this movie before. It does not end well. And one of the things that was most distressing was these are the most trained, capable people we have to handle weapons. But when they have duties like that, you make them put their weapons aside. They are sitting ducks for the terrorists. Day one, when im president , the secretary of defense will be notified that military members will be free to carry the weapons for which they are trained. We are not going to disarm our soldiers sailors arranged, coast guard and have them walking as vulnerable sitting ducks so that savages will murder them in cold blood on the streets of america. That must stop now. People ask me what do i think is the most important thing we have to fix in america . The economy . Or is it National Security . I tell people that is like asking me which wing on the airplane is the most important left or right . When i fly, folks, i want both wings attached. The plane life better. The plane needs a steering mechanism. And needs to have flaps and a rutter, or economic steered. Wings without a steering mechanism still ends in a crash. America has to have a strong economy, and a Strong National defense. But theres Something Else that america has to have. It has to have a strong moral foundation to steer this country without morality, without a clear unapologetic commitment to the moral absolutes of things being right or wrong, we do not have a steering mechanism. And this country still crashes. I am running for president because i believe with all my heart that it is not just about saying we must get the economy back in shape. Yes, we do. And that is why i support the fair tax which would end all the taxes on work, savings, investments. We would pay taxes at the point of consumption. We with the jobs come back to the country, capital come back people able to manufacture and make things again. But it is also about protecting americans overseas and here on our own soil. So people working in Oklahoma City do not have their heads cut off by a terrorist at work. All of that is dependent upon it president who understands how to lead with moral clarity. And understands that we cannot be a great nation, it is just not possible, if we try to separate ourselves from being a good country. A country that is on its knees before an almighty, providential god. Without whose help we would not be great. I believe with all my heart this country has no way of existing without the estimation that gods providence was involved in how we got here. I do not think this country is dumb. If i did, i would gather my grandchildren and we would huddle up and go to disney and live the best life we could into it all fell apart. But i think it is worth the fight. America has been really, really good to me. Probably like it has to many of you. I grew up dirt poor in south arkansas, the son of a man who never finished high school. Whose dad never finished high school before him. Im the first male to graduate high school, much less go to college. My family has a long history of just poverty. My dad is a tell me, dont look very far of the family tree. There is stuff you dont need to see. That made me curious, i realized the old man was right. [laughter] but i am blessed because i was born in the United States of america, i did not have to stop where i started. The opportunities afforded to me because i live in this country meant that one day i could become the 44th governor of my stay, even though my dad would never believe it. He told the when i was an eightyearold kid, the governor is going to come down here and dedicate a lake. He is going to make a tall, i will take you down there to hear the talk. You may live your whole life and never meet a governor. My dad cannot conceive that i would ever meet the governor again, much less become one. Why would he think that . We live in america. Where that is possible. I want that kind of opportunity for my grandkids but i want for your grandkids, too. And for your kids. And if we continue on the path we are on, that will not be the case. And that is why i am convinced we have to get our shoulder to the wheel, we have to get this country back on track. And we need to make it so our kids and grandkids will have the kind of america we grew up taking for granted. And that is why im running for president. I need your support in the caucuses. I want to remind you something you have been through them before here in iowa. Im asking you to do something that is not easy, get out of your comfortable homes on a cold february evening snow all over the ground. Chances are it will be snowing that night, maybe sleet area i will ask you to get out of your car and sit there for two or three hours in front of your neighbors and coworkers and folks you go to church with and say, Mike Huckabee for president. And persuade your neighbors to vote for me when you are there. And if you are willing to help do that, we need you. We need you to multiply with your friends, relatives, the people you work with, and neighbors. If for some reason, and i cannot imagine why, you think you might vote for somebody else in the caucuses, then i tell you, it is going to be cold that night. [laughter] you need to stay home where it is warm. Put your feet up pop some popcorn, watch it on tv. Say, boy, i should have gone down there. But for heaven sakes, if youre going to vote for someone else do not show up that night. [laughter] i want to take your questions. Who has one . Yes, sir. What is your stance on immigration in february cities . Mike huckabee we should have them. That is one government aiding and abetting the breaking of the law in another area of government. We have seen the disastrous impact of that in San Francisco. We have seen it elsewhere, but that was so vivid to see that young, precious girl cold down in my own daughter, she is 32 years old. I tell you, that got close to home. We cant fix the immigration problem without having control of our borders. I pledge, we will control our borders and will secure it in the first year of my presidency. Found sounds a little audacious, we built a 70 a 1700 mile road 73 years ago became British Columbia and alaska. Keep in mind debtors pretty tough that is pretty tough conditions stop. We did in less than a year. He was a there is just no way to secure the border, yes there is if you have a president who decide it is a priority. If we can build 1700 miles of road in British Columbia and alaska, we can secure the border. And we will. But we cannot fix anything wrong with immigration until then. That is first and foremost. Yes . What is your take on that, and what are you willing to do to protect israel from the inevitable iran wants to blow them off the map. Mike huckabee i read all 159 pages of the iranian deal, i was really disgusted when i heard there was a deal. I thought maybe if i read this i will find some comfort. I didnt i thought more outrage. This was a colossal disaster of epic proportions. You mentioned israel, i first went in 1973. I have been there dozens of times. Once this year, i am going back next month. I know the people of israel very well, and i watched this nation heres what ive seen, ive seen the prophecy come true. The dry bones have come to life. I have seen the desert bloom with my own eyes. I watch this country become one of the powerhouses of the world. Like america, the only way you can describe what israel is about is gods intervention. I shudder to think what the of done with this iranian deal. We empowered, and emboldened terrorists these are the people who, 36 years ago took over the country and held americans hostage. These of the peoples were never kept a single be a live made. They connect americans, murdered americans, consistently. These are the people that sponsored hamas. They pay for the very rockets fired from gaza. I was there last august when those rockets were being fired. I was at the southernmost airbase. When the israelis went and flew into gaza and saw this attack in her care that they took to try to keep from having civilian deaths. I also saw the video is where hamas would move civilians in front of what they do with the targets. Thats who we aere are dealing with. They cannot be trusted. Their president was screaming death to america while we were in discussions with them. I want to remind americans this is not just about israel. Iran has repeatedly said israel is the little satan america is the great satan. They do not chant death to israel, it was not the primary target, it was the warmup act. We are the target. Why would be help load a gun that is pointed to our own head. Only an idiot would do that. What we did was nothing short of idiotic. We ought to reverse it, bankrupt iran, ought to utilize our own forms of energy to bankrupt what theyre capacity is their capacity is. We have energy right under our own feet. We could put millions of americans to work and give them good jobs. We could lower the energy costs for americans which means that single mom driving to work every day should be paying one dollar for gas not four dollars. Make it so that the 84 year old widow could turn her airconditioning on rather than have to leave it off because he cant afford electric bill. We can become the number one exploiter, and exporter, of energy. We would take the markets away from russia, saudi arabia, and iran. When we do that, we not only transform our economy, we also reset the whole balance of world power, and we take the power of putin away, we take the power of the iranians away, and we take the power of the saudis away to train terrorists to fly buildings into planes into buildings on 9 11. Somebody else . I think a lot of people think obamacare should be eliminated. But, i think a lot of people will also agree that the Health Care System is broken. A lot of people arent able to afford it. Mike huckabee the real problem was that obamacare did not address the real problem. The problem and americas not a health care crisis. We have the best health care in the world. Do you know anyone that you had a diagnosis from the doctor did anyone say quick, gimme to havana cuba. Ever heard of that . Never. Ever heard anyone say my goodness i need to get to shanghai as quick as i can . No. I w you hear i want to get to new orleans. It is in america. The best health care is here. What we have is not a health care crisis, it is a health crisis. 80 of the money we are spending in america is treating chronic diseases. We very sick population. That is expensive. Instead of just saying lets put more money to treat people who let illnesses, lets put the money to prevent the illnesses from ever happening and to cure the ones that are curable. What would happen if a president named huckabee said in the next decade we will find a cure to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and alzheimers. Heres what we decided, just like we eradicated polio, i was there. I might not be 89, but i can remember this. I were member lining up the Courthouse Lawn and getting my polio vaccine. I never got polio because of that. Kids two years older than me had to wear braces on their legs. I never did. We do not spend money last year on polio, because we beat it. What if we did the same thing to our disease, diabetes, cancer, and alzheimers . Do you realize that hundreds of billions of dollars we could save . Right now Cancer Treatment is over 100 billion dollars a year. Alzheimers will he 1. 1 trillion by the year 2050. We transfer not just the economy, but they can about the impact on your life. We will find cures to these diseases. Most of us have gone through one or more of those diseases in our immediate family. We know how devastating it is. All four of those have touched my family. My mother, father, wife, motherinlaw, it has touched mtyy family, and yours. If we put our focus on your rather than ask your rather than intervention. They can be covered, and should be. Obamacare has done exact the opposite. It said if you like your doctor, you can keep him, and it will cost you less every year. I am waiting for someone to say i kept my doctor, my health insurance, and it is cheaper. Ever the opposite. Ive lost my doctor, lost health insurance, and as an they cant afford. The bottom line is it is costing thousands more. Business owners are now making decisions not to grow their business but to shrink their business. This is the first time in history that a Business Owner is trying to figure out how to keep his employees under 50 because he cannot afford to grow his business. Yes to shrink his business. He has to shrink his business. We say serve more customers, not cut back because you cant afford the government mandates. As president , that is exactly what i would absolutely get done. The quickest way to do that job wise to the fair tax. The groups way health care wise is to put the focus on prevention rather than intervention. It makes a huge difference. Thank you, chris. I think the need that. I hope that is just water. I will be talking funny soon. Thats just water, you have to trust me on this. [laughter] let me take a couple more questions. I wont wear you out you may have things to do. I heard the donald trump made some comments today about john mccain and he did not people who had been captured. Do you have anything to say about that . Mike huckabee unfortunately, he did Say Something to the effect that he likes he was being disparaging towards mccain and said he wasnt a hero because he got captured, and the people that got captured with the losers. I find that offensive. I will be honest with you, john mccain was my political opponent eight years ago im happy to say and beat him in the state. But ultimately he beat me. I was never personally bitter about that that is how politics works. I went all over this country and campaign for him because he was our nominee. One thing i will tell you about the john mccain, and i have many disagreements with him, but i will never question that man sacrifice and service to this great nation. For six years he was a prisoner of war and was tortured mercilessly by the north vietnamese, brutally tortured. I read the account of mccains incarceration and torture. It is just stunning. I dont think most of us are made of the stuff he is made of, to take that kind of torture for six solid years. He did something that very few people can claim, through all of that, he returned with honor. I dont care if he were the most liberal democrats in the world i would say he earned my respect. I can disagree politically but i will never disrespect the Sacrificial Service not only that he put forth, but that every veteran put forth. Folks, i want to be very clear i get to walk on free land, and breathe free air, because of the men and women who put a uniform on and sacrifice to keep me free. Whether they saw combat, or were pows, they served, i live free. Not only am i grateful, but if there is one thing in this country we should make sure we do, it is ensure that every single promise that we make to those veterans we keep tenfold. They kept their promises to us. That is not a money issue not a political issue, it is a moral issue. Keep your word. Make a promise, keep it. If you cant keep it, dont make it. I feel the same thing about Social Security. We will change all the rules and taking hold on many have been paying this since we were 14 years old. Nobody asked me if they could take that out of my check. They took it out whether i liked it or not, with the caveat that if they took it out when i got to be 65 Social Security and medicare would be there. I will not hopefully have to depend social solely on that. But people in this country who have Social Security, and some of them it is their primary source. Are we honestly, seriously, taking it makes sense to take that away from the people who have done their duty . They have accepted having that confiscated from their checks . I dont think so. God help us if we are that dishonest. One final question. Howe m how much is it cost to be treated there . Mike huckabee it depends on what youre being treated for. Say colon cancer. Mike huckabee i cant give you a figure at the mayo clinic. My wife had spinal cancer, it scared the daylights out of us. We were fortunate enough to have health insurance. It cost more than we made over several years. People should not be penalized because they get sick. I have never suggested that it is ok to say you just set the tough it out. That is not the kind of country america is. I dont want to see a street this monstrous Government Program that is all about what the government tells you you have to do, and have to pay for. It is about insuring that people have access to healthcare, but making sure what they have access to is affordable, and portable and that he goes with you just like your car or form insurance home insurance. It also means that you have some responsibility. If i set fire to my house, i dont get to call the Insurance Company. If i run my car into a tree can call the Insurance Company and say i was pretending i was richard petty. I have to show some responsibility. If i want to live his reckless as possible, it will cost more to insure my car in my home. It will probably cost more to insure my body if im reckless with my own health. That is the insurance has to work. It cant work where we let somebody else pay for our irresponsibility. At this point, the average person cannot afford to go to those fancy clinics. Mike huckabee and you may not need to. Ive never been to the mayo clinic myself. I go to the local facility where i live. I did not mean the mayo clinic was the only place, it is just one of those places. Tehre sh there should be a means to access the Health Care System. That is something we did not work on with obamacare. What we worked him as making sure that we force people by government edict to buy a level of insurance that they may not have needed, and it not want. Because of obama care mandates the coverages im a 59yearold male, i have maternity coverage. [laughter] it is mandated. Im not sure you laugh because youre thinking how ridiculous. I am pretty sure i am bn not going to get pregnant. And if i do, i will get a reality show in may so much money able need insurance. This will be huge. But i have to have maternity benefits. I also need benefits for drug counseling, i cannot a drug addict am not a drug addict. I have never tasted beer i havent. I dont drink. As a teenager, and a smelled it, and it smelled awful. My friend said well you have to develop a taste for it. I may be crazy on some things behind every rational and said to let me see if i get this right i have to develop a taste . What that means is that if i go and continue to take something into my mouth that i find repulsive that i will be able to accept it then like it. I said that doesnt make any sense to me. Why would i beat my body into submission to accept something . I am not at risk for getting addicted to alcohol, but i have to pay for coverage because it someone else wants it, i am subsidizing that. Should i have to pay for that . I dont know, i dont think so. Folks, you have been wonderful. I want to thank you very much. I hope i answered the questions that were undermined, and heart. Member february, where will you be . In caucus . Who will you vote for . [laughter] if you are not going to vote for huckabee, what will you do . Stay home. Weve got it folks. Thank you. [applause] thanks for hosting the event. Thank you guys. Thanks for coming out. [indiscernible] [laughter] my mother is a pastor. When i first came here she looked me right in the eyes. My mom said that. I said yes, maam. Mike huckabee how are you guys . How are you doing . Good to see you. You have your hands full, i realized that. Hi there. How are you doing . What i am thinking is, you can never go wrong with pepperoni. [indiscernible] Mike Huckabee that looks pretty good. [indiscernible] Mike Huckabee i saw one the other day. Thank you. It is lovely to see you, it is great to be back. Good to see you. Hi, there, we will put you right here. Get on the other side, over here. There we go. Thank you. Are you from their . Is that right . Mansfield. [indiscernible] no, he is an illinois. Mike huckabee that is quite a drive, isnt it . Did you get out there . No. [indiscernible] Mike Huckabee i am glad you all came out here. I voted for you the last time around. You are on my bucket list to meet. Mike huckabee get the camera there, they will take it for us. Thank you. It is nice to meet you. Mike huckabee here we go. Thank you for your prayer this afternoon. You are welcome. Mike huckabee that is immanuel is no confidence in his photography. When someone asks me to smile , i say i cant. Thank you, god bless. You did all that without a teleprompter . Mike huckabee those are expensive. Could i get your autograph . Mike huckabee sure. My father raise me to believe if you tell the truth you dont not remember what you said. I believe that is true. 2017. I dont know what you are thinking about vp, but Mike Huckabee i have to get the first slot first. I am plugging for both of you. Mike huckabee that is not a bad idea. Thank you. You must like to hunt. I am a storm chaser for the National Weather service. I just happened to be driving by. Mike huckabee do you live here in iowa . I was in des moines. Mike huckabee how long if you been chasing storms . Since i was 16. Mike huckabee we had some bad tornadoes. I was in two personally. Terrible stuff. I am glad youre running. You are the only candidate that knows how to do that. Mike huckabee be careful when youre out there. Wrote to the white house continues this week. Cspan asks the former rhode island governor about his bid for the white house and the decision to switch from the gop to the democratic party. That is a 9 35 p. M. Eastern. Coming up, and less the two weeks cspan partners with union leaders. All 17 curricula likely candidates have been invited to participate. That takes place at 7 00 p. M. Eastern. Live on cspan, cspan radio and cspan. Org. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] a california father called on congress to improve legislation to give undocumented felons off of u. S. Streets. His daughter was shot and killed on the San Francisco p year earlier this summer. Police said the gunmen previously had several runins with the law. He and other families has to fight before the Senate Judiciary committee, pleading for tougher Immigration Enforcement. The u. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also testified. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] senator grassley for the benefit of the audience and witnesses. Generally, and in this case, too, senator feinstein is the Ranking Member for this hearing and she and i will make opening comments. Then, well go to our first panel. This committee continues to honor its pledge to conduct oversight over the implementation of the Laws Congress has passed as well as the policies and practices of the executive branch. Today, we will focus on how this committees immigration policies and practices are hurting american families. The committee will hear powerful testimony from a number of relatives who have lost loved ones as a direct result of the administrations failure to deport aliens or its tolerance of sanctuary policies. Ill begin by extending a special welcome to our witnesses, especially Family Members of victims. I hope you will accept our deepest sympathies for the losses each of you have suffered. Thank you you very much for your willingness to share your store us under difficult circumstances and to pay tribute to those, no longer with us in body, are surely with us in spirit. Today, well honor josh, kate, dennis, denny, grant and many others whose lives were tragically cut short because of the administrations lax immigration policies. We had many families and relatives who wanted to testify today, but unfortunately we had to turn them away because we were limited in time and space. However, we welcome all testimony for the record and encourage them to commemorate their loved ones with stories written letters to this committee. We will examine the administrations policies from top down. Well look at how federal benefits are being granted to deportable criminals by u. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services while criminals are being released by u. S. Immigration Custom Enforcement and how enforcement of the laws can be better achieved. We will look at how we can improve cooperation between Government Agencies and well look into how we can improve cooperation between the federal government and state and local Law Enforcement agencies. After all, we all work for the same taxpayer, we ought to be cooperating. Well look at sanctuary jurisdictions and try to understand why policies protect criminal aliens are in place. In the past few weeks, we have learned that there are thousands of detainers placed each year on federal agents by federal agents on undocumented immigrants with criminal records that are ignored. According to Government Data between january and september, 2014, there were 8,811 declined detainers in 276 counties, 43 states, including the district of Columbia District of columbia. Of the 8,811 declined detainers, 62 were associated with over 5,000 individuals who were previously charged or convicted of a crime or presented some other Public Safety concern. And nearly 1,900 of the released offenders were arrested for another crime after being released by sanctuary jurisdiction. This is obviously disturbing not only to me but to most americans. Theres no good rationale for noncooperation between federal level and state and local Law Enforcement. Public safety is needlessly and recklessly put at risk when state and local officials provide sanctuary to lawabiding immigrants just to make a political point. This administration in too many cases has learned a blind eye to enforcement, even releasing thousands of criminals at its own discretion, many of whom have gone on to commit serious crimes, including murder. The administration has also granted deferred action to criminal aliens who have committed heinous crimes after receiving this relief from deportation. I have written to secretary johnson about four specific cases in which such individuals have received president obamas deferred action for childhood arivals, and that is referred to as daca, in this town. One of these beneficiaries was a known gang member when he applied and received daca. Then went on to kill four people in north carolina. Another daca recipient used his Work Authorization to gain employment at a popular youth camp in california where he was recently arrested for child molestation and distribution of child pornography. Im still waiting for responses on some of these cases. Further, the administrations completely failed to do anything about sanctuary cities while all the while challenging states that took a more aggressive approach to enforcing immigration laws. I recently sent a letter to attorney general lynch and Homeland Security secretary johnson about sanctuary cities. I urge them to take control of the situation to ensure detainers are not ignored and undocumented individuals are safely transferred to federal custody and put into deportation proceedings. I implored them to take a more direct role in the matter, and on those letters i have not received a response. But this isnt a new issue for this administration. I wrote to thensecretary napolitano and thenattorney general holder in 2012 and asked them to intervene in cook county, illinois, another sanctuary jurisdiction. Nothing happened. In fact, since then the Administration Officials have publicly stated that they neither believed detainers have to be honored nor that they even want them to be mandatory. Enforcing the immigration laws in this country is not a voluntary or trivial matter. Real lives are at stake. Things cannot continue this way. We are a nation based upon the rule of law, and if that rule of law isnt respected, only chaos will succeed. That is why im introducing legislation today that will hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable. It will require the executive branch to withhold certain federal funding if they refuse to work with the federal government in transferring criminal aliens. My bill will require them to cooperate on criminal aliens or risk losing Law Enforcementrelated grants that are distributed by Homeland Security and d. O. J. My bill will also require mandatory minimum fiveyear prison sentence in addition to possible fine for individuals who enter the United States after having been deported. Current law does not require prisoner time and caps to possible prison sentence at two years. My bill is aimed at individuals who ignore our laws time and again. No more people should die at the hands of those who break our laws just by being here. No more families should have to go through what these families and others have gone through. Again, id like to thank our witnesses for taking the time to be with us today. Your strength and determination to change the unacceptable status quo wont go unnoticed. I will now turn to senator feinstein and after she does ill introduce the witnesses. Senator feinstein thank you very much, chairman grassley. I want to say our Ranking Member, patrick leahy, would be here but theres an urgent family appointment that he had to keep this morning. And so i sit in in his stead and i know this is a hearing that he very much would have wanted to have attended. Yesterday, i had occasion to meet with the steinle family and jim steinle is sitting front and center at the dock. And what i saw was a very hurt family but very resolute and very concerned about doing the right thing, whatever that may be in the case like this. So i want to voice my very clear sympathy and condolences to the Family Members that are hear today. Here today. I cant think of anything thats harder to do than what youre going to do today, and i think your strength in doing it is noted and very much appreciated. It is very clear to me that we have to improve cooperation between local, state and federal Law Enforcement. The overriding concern and a deep belief of mine is that convicted felons should not be removed from the country should be removed from the country but not released onto our streets. When immigration authorities ask that a state or local Law Enforcement agency notify them of an impending release of an alien with a serious felony record, that request should be honored. I strongly believe that local Law Enforcement should have notified the immigration authorities in the case of the accused murderer of kate steinle. The man who killed kate is a classic case of the multiple felonies and prior deportations. And a simple phone call would have been enough. But that did not happen. In fact, the San Francisco county sheriff adopted his own policy on march of 2015, just four months ago. The memo states, sfsd staff shall not provide the following information or ask access to i. C. E. Representatives, end quote. One of the items listed in the departments memo is, quote release dates and times, end quote. In other words, the Sheriffs Department barred its own deputies from informing i. C. E. About an individuals release date and time. That, i believe, is wrong. I believe it is not required by San Franciscos ordinance as the mayor has made clear to the sheriff in a letter dated july 14. And mr. Chairman, i would like to put that letter in the record, if i may. Senator grassley without objection, so ordered. Senator feinstein i agree with the mayor, and to prevent a similar tragedy i hope and expect that my home state of california and the city of San Francisco, in particular, will agree to take part in the department of Homeland Security Priority Enforcement Program known as p. E. P. This focuses on felons and others who are High Priorities for removal from the country. Under p. E. P. , i. C. E. Can request notification of an aliens release date from a state or local from state or local custody, and so that they would have the opportunity if the circumstances warranted to take custody of that individual itself. In some instances, p. E. P. Also allows for i. C. E. To lodge a detainer request with local Law Enforcement asking that they hold an alien for up to 48 hours. It seems to me that a simple notification to i. C. E. Could have prevented Kate Steinles death. I have urged mayor lee and the board of supervisors to participate in this new program, which the secretary announced late last year. This program prioritizes those who threaten our nations National Security. Im pleased that mayor lee is taking this request seriously and is in the process of communicating with the department of Homeland Security about participating. We all know that most undocumented immigrants are otherwise lawabiding, hardworking and just want to provide for their families. I believe that deeply, but thats not the element of the undocumented population were talking about today. Im currently working on a bill, as is our chairman and i think others in this committee, that would require state and local Law Enforcement to notify immigration and Customs Enforcement of the impending release from a Detention Center of an illegal alien who has previously been convicted of a felony. If i. C. E. Requests such notification. This bill is a work in progress, and mr. Chairman, i look forward to hearing the testimony today and to working with other members of this committee so that we might produce a bill that is worthy of consideration and passage. And i thank the chair. Senator grassley thank you, senator feinstein. Our first witness, ms. Susan oliver, ms. Oliver is a widow of deputy danny oliver, a Police Officer in sacramento. Danny was killed while on duty by an undocumented immigrant who was previously arrested on two separate occasions on drugrelated charges and twice departed. Ms. Oliver has established a foundation in her husbands name to help kids in school. Our second witness, ms. Grace huang, she is Public Policy Program Coordinator for Washington State coalition against Domestic Violence, a Nonprofit Network of Domestic Violence founded in 1990. Our third witness, mr. Michael ronnebeck, he was shot down by an undocumented immigrant. U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released grants alleged murderer who was awaiting deportation. Grant was born in iowa but resided in arizona and had two brothers and a sister. Our fourth witness, the reverend gabriel salguero. Reverend salguero and his wife are the lead copastors of the lamb church of the nazarene, new york, and also founder of the National Latino evangelical could hings. And mr. Jim steinle of pleasanton, california, the father of kate steinle, who was gunned down 20 days ago while walking on a pier in San Francisco alongside this father. Her alleged killer had seven prior felony convictions and had been deported five times. Sanchez was shielded by San Franciscos sanctuary policy which allowed for his release in march despite an i. C. E. Detainer placed on him. Six person chief j. Thomas manger. Chief manger has been chief of police, Montgomery County since february, 2004. Chief manger also serves as president of the major city of Chiefs Police association. Our seventh witness is dr. Brian mccaan. Mr. Mccaans brother, dennis, was killed in 2011 by a drunk driver who was in the country illegally and driving without a license. U. S. Immigration Custom Enforcement had placed a detainer on the drunk driver but he was released under cook county, illinois, sanctuary city policies. Our final witness, ms. Laura wilkerson of pearland, texas shes the mother of josh wilkerson. Josh was 18 years old when he was kidnapped and murdered by his high school classmates, an illegal immigrant after offering his classmate a ride from school. Joshs murderer was sent to life in prison and will be eligible for parole in 30 years. I want to thank all of you for being here. As i expressed to you privately, our condolences, i say so now publicly, youre very brave to come forward in testimony and we welcome that very much, and well start with ms. Oliver. You i know you folks have been told about a fourminute rule. The red light comes on. If you have a longer statement it will be put in the record. That doesnt mean just exactly when the red light will come on ill gavel you down. Please cut it short because this is a very important hearing. We want to get the witnesses in but the most important thing after you tell your stories is for us to hear from the administration and to question the administration. Will you start, ms. Oliver . Ms. Oliver good morning. I just wanted to first state that im honored that the bill has been named after my husband, deputy oliver, as well as detective davis who were killed on october 24, 2014. Over the past nine months, my life has changed dramatically because of the loss of my husband. Sacramento county sheriff deputy danny oliver. Danny oliver was a special person that knew that treating people with dignity and kindness resulted in stronger, healthier and Safer Communities and he worked every day to help make that a reality for communities that needed it the most. As a 15year veteran of Sacramento County sheriffs office, danny oliver was not a man to boast or gloat of his professional accomplishments. In fact, when he was given a standing ovation at a Community Meeting he felt unsure how to deal with this overwhelming approval. Danny felt he was doing his job and that was all that was needed to feel accomplished. My husbands last shift with the sacramento chefs office ended by doing something he did countless times before in his career. He was policing his community and trying to make a difference. Danny was a pop officer, problem oriented policing officer. His job was to identify possible Community Challenges and try to get ahead of them. He put himself into harms way every day. On friday, october 24, 2014, my husband and father of two approached a car on his beat. But this time it was the last time. The last thing my husband attempted to do as a pop officer was to ask the man inside the car how his day was going. But he never made it to the drivers window. At about 10 30 a. M. , that man was in the country illegally and armed with numerous illegal weapons. He aimed one outside the car of a parking lot of motel 6 in sacramento and he opened fire. Killing my husband with a shot to the forehead. I can honestly say that not a day goes by that this has not affected me. It may not be visible always. It may not be written in bold for all to see, it may not even be recognized but its always in the background of my mind. Sorry. Sometimes daily. Sometimes moment by moment as it should be. Many people asked if i gotten past that terrible day and i say no. Honestly, i dont think ill ever get past that day. I lost the man i was married to for 25 years. Each day i look for parental backup for rearing my child whos 12 years old and i fill that loss. Feel that loss. Each day my child meets milestones. Recently my daughter got endaged and there will be a marriage he will not be at. There will be weekly family branches that we have held. I no longer have my husband by my side. I was with him since i graduated high school 25 years ago and we watched each other grow up. We made careers together and we raised two children. We could just look at each other and know what we needed. Perhaps it was support, a loving smile or even ill talk to you when we get home look. It is hard to build this trust and understanding, but we had it mastered with ease. But because of the actions of one criminal, this all ended on october 24. My life will never be the same. Unlike Law Enforcement, there are few professions that consistently send our loved ones into harms way. Its frightening, always knowing that each time they walk out the door it could be the last time you see them. At the same time not many professions consciously or intentionally give the order to take a life through the use of deadly force in order to protect others who cant protect themselves. An awesome responsibility that my husband understood clearly and this continues to be to create a lot of ongoing dialogue within communities throughout the country as we see a lack of as we see a lack of as we see a lack of continuity among Law Enforcement groups and communities that they serve. Every single day Law Enforcement at the state, local and federal level put themselves, their loved ones, their communities that they serve at risk when they are forced to release criminals who are illegal, who pose a threat to Community Safety. All in violation of current laws that require deportation. In just the last two years i. C. E. Released back in the nations streets 76,000 convicted criminals who are in this country illegally. There are 169 criminals in the United States who are here illegally right now. That means there are 169,000 people in our streets who have criminal convictions and were lawfully departed but who remain here to commit other crimes, to possibly kill someone elses loved ones. The sanctuary cities have resulted in another 10,000 potentially deported illegal immigrant criminals being released by local law agencies since january of last year. And 121 of these criminals have been ordered deported in the last few years and yet were released by i. C. E. I have now and have now been charged with additional homicide offenses. The man that killed my husband danny oliver, was deported several times for various felonies before killing my husband on october 24, 2014. However, due to the lack of coordination between Law Enforcement agencies, he was allowed back into the country and in one day he committed another crime. Only this time his illegal crime status impacted many in a direct and profound way when he shot and killed my husband. It would be remiss if i didnt also mention that it wasnt my it wasnt just my life that was changed that day. That same criminal eluded hundreds of officers from sacramento to auburn california, during a sixhour crime spee that left David Michael jr. Dead, a motorist in serious condition from a gunshot to the head. Many lives changed on october 24. Today, i honor my husband. Sacramento county sheriff deputy danny oliver, and the other Fallen Heroes throughout this nation who are always with us in our hearts and in our memories. I wonder if i would even be here today talking to you about my loss if the government if the government better enforced immigration laws. Unfortunately, this is now my reality. Thank you for honoring danny and the others who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I hope by being here today and telling you about the grief my family has unnecessarily endured i can help save the life of someone elses friend, husband or father. I hope that my husbands death wont be in vain. I hope i can be here to make a difference. My life has changed and saddened. Please put policies in place to make sure that criminal aliens who are in this country illegally are never allowed to dictate the life of a true humanitarian like my husband deputy danny oliver. Senator grassley thank you, ms. Oliver. Ms. Huang. Ms. Huang thank you, chairman grassley and members of the committee. Im grace huang, deeply honored to be here regarding federal Immigration Enforcement on victims of Domestic Violence. A show of violence in our communities is challenging complex and deeply emotional. As someone who worked for survivors of Violent Crime for over 22 years, i know how important important it is for people to feel that they can prevent future tragedies and i want to extend my heart felt condolences to the families here today. Over the years, over the years in my work at the coalition ive had the honor to work with work in helping families make it work in the advocacy process in advancing Effective Policy Solutions through and open and honest dialogue, i hope we can find solutions that make our communities safer for everyone. One crucial thing we can do is to build Strong Police and Community Relationships which means establishing an environment of trust. If victims and witness does not feel safe coming forward, the police cannot do their jobs and we are all less safe. Congress has affirmed that principle that immigrant victims and witnesses should feel safe to come forward by creating the u. V. Suffer victims of crime in 2000 in the violence against women act which was recently reauthorized. I thank you all for everything you have done to make women in our communities as a whole more safe. I ask that you remember these lessons as you work to address this new challenge. As a Victim Advocate im deeply concerned that mandating local Police Cooperation with Immigration Enforcement will strengthen the hands of violent perpetrators, helping them silence their victims and witnesses. Im also concerned that vulnerable immigrant victims brave enough to step forward will face detention, separation from their children and swift deportation. This was what many communities encountered with the cure communities and the chilling affect it had on Police Community relations with both dramatic and counterproductive. One example of this Chilling Effect is the case of cecilia, she was sexually abused by a family friend at the age of 5. Her parents, who were undocumented, were terrified of reporting the crime to the police after having been told by friends and family that they would be reported to immigration if they stepped forward. A year later that same perpetrator sexually abused another child. In the end, after the father of that child contacted cecilias parents, they went to the Police Together and the perpetrator was caught and prosecuted but because of their initial fear to report, another child was harmed. When immigrants are afraid to come forward with information about a crime, the entire when reaching out to police to address Domestic Violence may end up in deportation, Law Enforcement is effectively removed as an option for safety, which has lifethreatening impacts. For example, one client, maria so distrusted the police that when her abuser tracked her down after she fled to another state she tried to call her lawyer instead of calling 911. It was midnight, he was pounding on the door and she was frantically calling over and over the closed office of her attorney who was of course not at work. For maria the idea of calling the police was simply not an option that put her life in danger. Imagine being so fearful that even though somebody is trying to break into your house you cannot turn to the police. As Victim Advocates, were concerned that immigrant survivors are caught up in deportation cases when their demand for cooperation. It is not unusual for them to be deported. For example, in california cindy, a taiwanese, was arrested and convicted of domestic Violent Crime charges and spent a month in jail. She bit her abuser when fighting him off while trying to rape her. Although the jury determined the force to defend herself was greater than the assault. Because she was not automatically referred to i. C. E. , she was able to continue her studies, become a productively member of society. Police policies limiting local Police Cooperation with i. C. E. May provide just enough respite for cindy for them to access the resources they need. We in the domestic advocacy field appreciate the work that congress has done to support a coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence. Proposals that are under consideration now to limit funds to socalled sanctuary cities will allow Violent Crimes to go uninvestigated and leave victims without redress. Federal funding of Law Enforcement supports critical training, equipment and staff that assist victims all over the country every day. Without such funding there will be cases that go uninvestigated, protection orders that will not be served or enforced, rape kits that will not be tested, the child abuse sexual Abuse Victims that will not have trained interviewers. These victims are not limited to immigrants. We recognize the fact there are victims, both with lawful status and those without, that are harmed by some immigrants. We all want justice for victims and to prevent future crimes. We urge congress to proceed with measured, thoughtful policies in order to enhance the safety of all of our communities. Thank you. Mr. Ronnebeck good morning, distinguished committee members. Grant ronnebeck, a 21yearold son, brother, nephew and grandson, he was a bright young man with an infectious love of life. He had a positive outlook on life. Grant had no enemies. He was a friendly, outgoing, loveable guy. As a 21yearold american, he was just starting out in life, starting to realize his dreams starting to follow his heart in matters of career choices and just discovering his lifes opportunities. His desire was to work his way up into the job he loved working for the Quick Trip Corporation as he had for the previous five years, or possibly later to become a member of the Law Enforcement community. He loved fourwheeling in the desert or around his home near mesa, arizona, spending time with friends and family and watching the broncos play during the football season. He was a pretty typical Young American man, but to us he was a very special family and Community Member. At 4 00 a. M. On january 22 2015, just six months ago, while working the overnight shift at his quick trip store, grant assisted a man buying cigarettes. The man dumped a jar of coins on the counter and demanded those cigarettes. Grant tried to explain that he needed to count the coins before he could give the man the cigarettes. The man pulled a gun and said youre not going to take my money and youre not going to give me my cigarettes. Grant immediately offered up the cigarettes to the man who shot him point blank in the face killing him. Seemingly unaffected, the man coldly and callously stepped over grants dying body, grabbed a couple packs of cigarettes and left the store. After a 30minute High Speed Pursuit through the streets of mesa, arizona, the man was taken into custody. Inside his car were the cigarettes and two handguns, one of which was believed to have been used to kill grant. The alleged murderer is an illegal alien. According to a news article dealing his 2012 arrest, he was a selfproclaimed member of the Mexican Mafia and says he has ties to the drug cartel. The news article states that in august of 2012, he was arrested with two others after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman and burglarizing her apartment. She was allegedly held naked and against her will for a full week prior to escaping. He took a plea deal and pled guilty to a charge of felony burglary for that incident. He was sentenced to two years probation and turned over to the immigration and customs Enforcement Agency due to his undocumented status in the United States. He never served any time in custody related to that offense. I. C. E. , immigration and customs Enforcement Agency, released the now convicted felon on a 10,000 bond pending a deportation hearing. In the two years since then while awaiting his deportation hearing, he has had two orders of protection filed against him, including one from a woman who claimed he threatened to kill her and pointed a gun at her boyfriend. I. C. E. Was reportedly notified about the protection order by a judge. He was still allowed to remain free in our country. In addition to him, i. C. E. Reported they released 66,564 other criminal aliens back onto the streets of our country in 2013 and 2014. And another 10,246 as of march 2015. This group included aliens convicted of violent and serious crimes, including homicide sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault. At least 123 american citizens have been killed by these convicted aliens, including my nephew, grant ronnebeck. There have been a number of immigration bills, among those grants law, for my nephew kates law, for kate steinle, the davis oliver act for Law Enforcement officers danny oliver and michael davis, and jemeils law for jemeil shaw, all americans killed by illegal immigrants. Each of these potential laws have a specific component that would help protect american lives. I ask that each of you give consideration and priority to passing these important bills into laws. It is my familys greatest desire that grant ronnebecks legacy will be more than a fading obituary, a cemetery plot or a fond memory. Instead, we want grants death to be a force for change and reform immigration policies of this great nation. In closing, i am asking you, our elected leaders, scholars, lawyers to make these changes, to rise above your political differences, to set aside your personal interests and to use your resources to make sensible Immigration Reform a reality in the coming months with the safety and security of the american citizens first and foremost in mind. Senator grassley thank you, mr. Ronnebeck. Now, reverend salguero. Revernd salguero my name is gabriel salguero. Together with my wife, jeanette, i am the pastor of the multiethnic lambs church of the nazarene, where immigrants Police Officers, whites, africanamericans and asians worship together. Im also the founder of the National Latino evangelical coalition which represents are some of the eight million hispanic evangelicals living in the United States. I offer my sincere thanks to chairman grassley, Ranking Member feinstein and the other members of the committee. Im honored to be here today. I want to begin by saying that im heartbroken by the senseless violence and tragedy that we are discussing here today. I prayed and asked the lord to bless these families and provide grace and comfort to each Family Member here today. I could only imagine that every Family Member, friend and Community Member continues to reel from the shock, loss and grief at the remembrance of these lost loved ones. My prayers and sincere condolences go to each of you and your families. Nothing i can do here today will heal that grief, but your families will remain in my prayers. I pray for an end to violent acts such as these and i pray that those who would commit such acts face just consequences and redemption. I am here to speak about my belief that we should take care to ensure that while we work to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the future we do not harm entire communities in the process. Faith organizations, including my evangelical community, have historically played a Critical Role in promoting Community Trust and providing safe haven to refugees, those fleeing violence and other immigrants facing daunting challenges of opportunity in the United States. I do not believe that these tragedies we discuss here today are the result of policies that seek to promote trust and cooperation with immigrant communities. The values of sanctuary churches in the United States are deeply rooted in safety, family unity and trust. These values are critical in the promotion of healthy, vibrant and nonviolent communities and they are the foundation of hundreds of communities across the country who have chosen to embrace local Law Enforcement policies that foster and protect trust. These policies should be designed to prevent dangerous crimes, not encourage them. In the midst of our collected grief, i pray we avoid criminalizing or casting collective blame on entire communities for the actions committed by one or even a small number of individuals. In order to uphold our criminal Justice System and ensure our communities feel safe enough to come forward and interact with Law Enforcement, cities across the United States need to work on their role in collaborating in an effort to ensure both survivors of both Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking and other serious crimes will cooperate with Law Enforcement and come forward. If we fail to create smart policy that promote trust, victims and witnesses will remain silent due to their fear that they or their loved ones face deportation after seeking protection from the police. Silence can create fear and expose all communities to greater risk. We as a nation should focus on solutions that will make our communities more integrated and, yes, more safe. I believe that legislation targeting immigrant communities will just lead to more crime as it may silence many of the more than 11 Million Immigrants who will fear cooperation with police at the risk of deportation. I urge congress to resist politicizing the murders and the grief of these families with sweeping measures and to instead work with local communities and churches and others to ensure Community Safety. Lets Work Together to reform our immigration laws. Faith communities should work to keep families safe, to keep Families Together and to keep children with their parents. Faith communities should not permit our grief to turn us against each other or against entire communities. Yes, our immigration system is broken and it needs reform, but we should not move forward with reactionary legislation that does not address the real issues at hand. The real solution to our immigration challenges is broad, just and humane Immigration Reform, which would place undocumented immigrants on an earned path to citizenship, get many people on the rolls that way we know who the criminals are and who isnt. Allowing them also, those hardworking immigrants to contribute to their Families Communities and country. As a pastor, i want to avoid scapegoating entire communities by passing legislation that focuses solely on deportation and not on integrating hardworking families in the United States. So lets Work Together to promote Community Safety. We can and should look at state and local policies carefully. I encourage communities to carefully tailor their policies to keep people safe. I encourage the federal government to carefully review its own policies and work with these localities across the country to ensure that our systems appropriately meet the goals of violence prevention against all Community Members. But i do not encourage us to force states and localities to pursue a onesizefitsall policy. As we continue to mourn and pray for these families, lets Work Together to find Real Solutions that promotes peace and security, not fear and not collective punishment. I pray for an end to senseless acts of violence. I pray for every policymaker here and beyond to make rational and deliberate decisions. Pray for reform that promotes thoughtful Community Safety policies, immigration integration and commonsense, comprehensive Immigration Reform. I pray for the comfort of each of the families speaking here today and those who are not here. And i thank you, again, for inviting me here today. Senator grassley reverend salguero. Now, mr. Steinle. Mr. Steinle first of all, on behalf of my family, id like to thank the members of this committee for the honor to speak to you about our daughter, kate. All children are special in their own way, and kate was special in the way she connected with people. We called it the kate effect. Kate was beautiful, kind, happy, caring, loving and deep in faith. Kate had a special soul, a kind and giving heart, the most contidgeous laugh and the smile that would light up a room. Kate loved to travel, spend time with her friends and most of all spend time with her family. In fact the day she was killed we were walking arm in arm on pier 17 in San Francisco and enjoying a wonderful day together. Suddenly a shot rang out, kate fell and looked to me and said help me, dad. Those are the last words i will ever hear from my daughter. The day kate died she changed her facebook cover photo to a saying that said, whatevers good for your soul do it. That was true that truly describes kates spirit. After graduating from california poly, she went to work for a Title Company and saved her money so she could see the world. She traveled to spain, thailand, amsterdam, dubai, south africa just to mention a few. She even made her way to the slums of dubai, india, to reach out to friends. She spent time with a womans family and came back a changed person. Everywhere kate went throughout the world she shined the light of a good citizen of the United States of america. Unfortunately, due to disjointed laws and basic incompetence on many levels, the u. S. Has suffered a selfinflicted wound in the murder of our daughter by the hand of a person that should have never been on the streets of this country. I say this because the alleged murderer is an undocumented immigrant who has been convicted of seven felonies in the u. S. And already deported five times. Yet, in march of this year he was released from jail and allowed to stay here freely because of those legal loopholes. Its unbelievable to see so many innocent americans that have been killed by undocumented immigrant felons in recent years. In fact, we recently came across a statistic that says between 2010 and 2014, 121 criminal aliens who had an active deportation case at the time of release were subsequently charged with homiciderelated offenses. That. 121 times over the past four years an illegal immigrant with prior criminal convictions that later went on to be charged with murder when they should have been deported, that is one every 12 days. Our family realized the complexity of immigration laws. However, we feel strongly that some legislation should be discussed, enacted or changed to take these undocumented immigrant felons off the streets for good. We would be proud to see kates name associated with some of this new legislation. We feel if kates law saves one daughter, one son, a mother, a father, kates death wont be in vain. Senator grassley thank you, mr. Steinle. Now, chief manger. Mr. Manger chairman grassley, thank you for giving me a chance to testify. I come here to represent the Major Chiefs Association which represents the largest cities in the United States. As cops we see the good and the bad every day. Were witnesses to the immense benefits of immigration, that immigration brings to our nation but we also see the sinister side. Our priority in local Law Enforcement is exactly what i think youd want and expect. The safety of our communities across the nation and our priority should be the prevention of crime and the protection of the public that we are sworn to serve and thats every resident of our community. In order to do our job, local Law Enforcement has to have the trust and confidence of the communities that we serve. If we fail, if the public or any segment of the public does not trust the police and will not come forward when we need them or when they need us. I want to talk about the major city Chiefs Association policy with regard to immigration. I want to start by making a statement. I want to be very clear. While we do not believe that local Law Enforcement should be saddled with the responsibility of Immigration Enforcement, we do believe that it is our duty to cooperate with i. C. E. In a manner that is consistent with our duty to protect the public. To this end, weve developed a policy which i think strikes the right balance and im pleased to share some of the aspects of that policy this morning. First and foremost, immigration is enforcement is a federal responsibility. It is today and has always been. Local agencies cannot be expected to take on these additional duties. Secondly, we must secure our borders. Immigration is a National Issue and the federal government should first act to secure the national borders, preventing any further illegal entry into the United States. Federal agents must consistently enforce existing laws, prohibiting employers from hiring undocumented workers. We are united in our commitment to continue arresting anyone who violates criminal laws of our jurisdictions, regardless of their immigration status. Those individuals who commit criminal acts will find no safe harbor within any major city but will instead face the full force of criminal prosecution. The decisions related to how Law Enforcement agencies allocate their resources, direct their work force and define their duties to best serve and protect their communities must be left to the control of local governments. The decision to have local Police Officers perform the functions and duties of immigration agents should be left to local government. This shall not be mandated or forced upon them by the federal government through the threat of sanctions or Holding Police assistance funding. The major chiefs supports the program that has been developed by the u. S. Department of Homeland Security. D. H. S. Listened to our concerns and they included us in the development of this new program that includes procedures for notification to i. C. E. By local police agencies. Montgomery county, maryland, serves as an example of how the new Program Works well. While its not our policy to inquire or investigate immigration status we provide electronic notification to d. H. S. Whenever we make an arrest. Likewise, we provide notification if such person in our custody is to be released. This is a modeled policy of major city chiefs and the policy of Montgomery County. Local Law Enforcement is cooperating with d. H. S. Through the know notification provide sess but not engaged in routine Immigration Enforcement. In our view this notification policy represents a balance that the Judiciary Committee should consider. With recognition of Immigration Enforcement as a federal responsibility, we ask the committee to resist initiatives that would seek to force routine aspects of federal responsibility upon local police. Finally, regarding federal funding, federal assistance programs at the Justice Department and Homeland Security were established to strengthen criminal justice and domestic security, not to compel local agencies to perform federal duties. Their purpose was to help local police, not require we take over the job of federal agencies. It is right to call upon us for actions to protect the public from crime and violence. But its wrong to demand that we engage in matters related solely to Immigration Enforcement. By withholding federal funds to coerce performance of federal duties by local police. This is not why these programs were established. We welcome this dialogue and commit to our partnership with this committee. Thank you. Senator grassley thank you, chief manger. And now mr. Mccaan. Mr. Mccann on behalf of the mccann family, i want to thank you, senator grassley, and other members of the committee, for this opportunity to share with you my efforts to return justice to our family after the violent death of my brother four years ago and about six weeks. Denny was crossing on chicagos north side to visit with a client of his. He was a commercial insurance broker. The restaurant was named el cids and he and the owner would frequently dine together in the evening. As he was crossing a walk that was at the international marker, this kid, chavez, came by drunk as a skunk and dragged him for about a block and a half and killed him. He was charged with aggravated d. U. I. And two days later i. C. E. Issued the detainer, a bunch of us, family i guess a week later for the arraignment and they assured us, i didnt know anything about detainers. They assured the federal government had these holes with detainers and no way would he be able to post bond and leave. His bond was, what, 250,000. So we were comforted if you can use that word that he would be prosecuted and few people in the neighborhood, a retired judge said hed get six to eight years. Thats some measure of comfort that we were assured of. Well, unbeknownst to us, that summer members of the cook county board cook county, theyre the administrators of justice in my hometown, chicago, they worked tirelessly without my knowledge we have this witness notification system in illinois thats in the constitution. Well, nobody notified me what they were doing. And they ran through an ordinance after the august recess in september without going to committee. Now, you all know how Important Committee work is. Well, cook county apparently didnt in this case and got it passed 105. Well, we werent notified of that. Nor was the prosecutor. She wasnt aware of this. Somehow there is this lack of communication. The county passes this very important ordinance and they dont even tell the 400, 500 assistant state attorneys. The lady was prosecuting my brothers killer was never notified. So here i am sitting at home the sunday before thanksgiving and i get a recorded message from some kid at the jail and said that chavez left. He posted bond and ran. And who do i call on a sunday . Nobodys working. I couldnt get ahold of the prosecutor. So i got a hold of my niece who was a Deputy Sheriff in the county and she verified he in fact did get released but i wasnt able to call the prosecutor until the next day. Well, she immediately runs to her supervisor and they sent out a couple of cops to look for him. Hes gone. The brother said that he never sees him and that he lives in the basement. There are a bunch of lies everywhere. So anyhow, long story short we also learned and i failed to mention, this kid was prosecuted for a prior felony two years earlier and he was put on probation. And i. C. E. Was never notified because secured communities i guess had gotten off the ground in 2008 or something and so the notification the system the police use, electronic system, was im going way over time here. So anyhow, long story short, weve been fighting for the last couple of years. We have a law suit pending Judicial Watch is has helped us. We worked with the prior i. C. E. Guy, morton. He was very helpful. And its just been a pathetic miscarriage of justice upon my family and hundreds of families across the country. Im glad that you were able to spend time listening to this. All eyes are on both the senate and the house Judiciary Committee. Im convinced this is where resolution rests. The sanctuary jurisdictions are going to get away literally with murder passing these policies and you guys got to do it. And i regret that my senator had to leave and couldnt hear my testimony. But maybe ill talk to him later. All right. Thanks. Senator grassley thank you, mr. Mccaan. And ms. Wilkerson. Ms. Wilkerson thank you for allowing me to tell the story of my son, josh, and his murder. My sons name was named joshua wilkerson. In 2010, he was beaten strangled, tortured until he died. He was tied up, thrown in a field and set on fire. His killer, hermillo morales was brought here illegally by his illegal parents when he was 10 years old so he fit the dream kid description. He was sentenced to life in prison which means it will be 30 years until he will be up for parole. He will be a 49yearold man who i dont expect to be deported and i just hope he doesnt come to live in your city. We had to hear this kid from the stand muttering about in my country, in my country, never to finish that sentence. He went on to tell we listened to tell us repeatedly that his killing skills took over, that josh had kicked his dog, his killing skills took over. His parents somehow managed to provide lessons that he acquired so he acquired a black belt in mixed martial arts. Joshua who had never been in a he didnt speak a lot but when he did you listened to him. Like i said, he never been in a fight in his life but somehow the killing skills were the martial arts his parents gave to him. We got an autopsy report that reads in part this body is , received in a gray body bag. Theres a tag on his toe that bears the name joshua wilkerson. He is a white male weighing 100 pounds. He is tied up with braided rope 13 loops around his neck with a , slip knot. It goes behind his back during through his back loop it goes , to