Good morning. Thank you for taking the time to be with us. , i am the matt albans senior official performing the duties of the director. I would like to thank and recognize the sheriff starting b. Sheriffs joining me today. Sheriff connate sheriff conway from gwinnett county, georgia. Sheriff Chuck Jenkins from frederick county, maryland. The Engagement Office for the work she does with these sheriffs to support their communities. Today, i was at this podium as i am today, with sheriffs from around the country. Valued partners who understand the importance of Law Enforcement at every level, working together on behalf of americans. We share our ongoing frustrations with districts that risks of badthe laws and policies. U. S. Immigration and customs ability to enforce Immigration Law has fallen victim to judicial overreach. Authorities are being singled out and marginalized in ways that no other federal Law Enforcement organization has to tolerate. Tying our hands to the bench does not make our country safer. Our commitment to justice is fundamental. The rule of law is a critical component to our democracy. A recent ruling handed down by the District Court of California Holds ice to a different standard of lawful cooperation, and will hinder our ability to safely carry out our congressionally mandated mission. This decision will threaten Public Safety as it will lead to the release of criminal aliens back onto the street. Criminals that we will not find before they hurt, or worse, more innocent victims. Victims that could have been victims who could have been spared painandsuffering if ice was allowed to do its job. Immigration officers have used a light detainers has a collaborative Law Enforcement tool to request other Law Enforcement agencies notify ice upon the upcoming release of an alien arrested for a criminal violation unrelated to immigration status. The detainer serves as a request to hold that person, enabling ice to assume custody. Ice has used detainers based on a finding by trained officers cause toe is probable believe an individual is a removable alien. Ice all Law Enforcement, utilizes all evidence at its disposal to determine if probable cause exists. Including databases and electronic data. The same legalis standards that other Law Enforcement agencies must meet to make an arrest. The reality is we live in an electronic age where information is digitized. Likely stemd will from databases. To include those that contain biometric data, and other similar sources. A judge ins reality, california has opined that immigration officers cannot develop probable cause to believe an individual may be removable based on certain databases alone. This is out of step with Law Enforcement, endangers the public, and construes trouble because in a restrictive way. Moreover, this decision issued by a single dutch judge in los angeles will impact 43 states. Threatening communities far beyond the one in which the judge sets. I wish i could say this was an isolated concerns that occurrence. It is just the latest targeting Law Enforcement. Dhs has been prevented from exercising authority granted to it by congress because of the decisions of unelected judges who substitute judgment for that of our legislators or the government officials entrusted with enforcing laws. We need people to understand the laws we enforce were not written by ice. Our Authority Comes from the United States congress. From the loss they draft, debate my pass and send to the president. These decisions are not just an onack on dhs, but an attack congresss ability to carry on the most basic function of passing laws for the protection of our country. Our commitment is to strengthen National Security and uphold Public Safety, which we accomplish by enforcing the law as it has been enacted with the utmost professionalism despite challenges faced by no other Law Enforcement agency. Mitigating the challenges through cooperation with state and local Law Enforcement agencies in every jurisdiction would make our Public Safety efforts more effective, and our entire country safer. Ask only for the cooperation provided to other federal agencies within the community. We ask no Law Enforcement agencies to enforce laws on our behalf except those who have volunteered to obtain this authority under the program. Within which we have 79 valued partners. Some of them on stage with us. Despite significant changes in immigration patterns, both legal and illegal over the last 20 years, congress has failed to modernize our laws. Unfortunately, as we have seen in this context, congress will only act or even acknowledge there is a crisis when it has no other choice. Theressional inaction in face of a growing Public Safety threat is not only an abdication of its duty, it is dangerous to all who reside in this country. To, ih as i would like cannot stand here today and promise that dangerous aliens are in fact, it is quite the opposite. In Court Decisions that negate our authority. The principal beneficiaries of the recent Court Decision limiting ices ability to use its authority are criminal aliens who have been arrested for criminal offenses by state and local jurisdictions. What i can promise is that ice and our partners will do everything consistent with the of to prevent the release dangerous criminal aliens into your communities. When they are released by think very jurisdictions, take them off the street before they can reoffend. The threat to your communities remains. It is real. Ice enforcement operations officers throughout the country are out there every day unnecessarily putting themselves in harms way searching for repeat and violent offenders who were released because local Law Enforcement was not permitted, or makes the conscious decision to not cooperate with ice. Case in a litany of tragic examples illustrates the stager. Lopez entered this country illegally as an unaccompanied alien child in 2015 he was arrested no less than four times in the past seven months. For charges including criminal trespass, theft, malicious mischief, and failure to appear. Each time, ice lodged a detainer. Was released without notifying ice. On september 30, two thousand 19, he was arrested for homicide. Has made approximately 140 thousand arrests this year. 75 came from ice working with the jails and prisons. The other 25 are made by isis atlarge ices teams. It has taken time to make those arrests at a much greater risk to our officers, and the subjects themselves. We couldve apprehended those criminals from the safe confines of a jail upon their release. Efforts have been crippled by congresss failure to provide additional funding for beds, transporting. Underminedts were more than just by certain courts. Last week, the new jersey attorney general took another step to undercut how individual sheriffs are working with ice. We have two partners in our program in new jersey. Designated and trained local officers who work under ice supervision to identify criminal aliens. These partnerships are vital to our success. They give ice the opportunity to use resources that would otherwise be assigned to those jails and to be redeployed to target dangerous aliens. Many from neighboring jurisdictions who failed to provide such cooperation. Monmouth county, elected by their constituents to perform their duties in a matter to their desires had established a great relationship with ice. The state attorney general ixia knows what is better for those communities. I do not understand how an attorney general, the chief Law Enforcement officer for the state, tells other officers under his command to ignore the law. Perhaps he made a few friends in the statehouse house and governors office. He surely did nothing to put the citizens of new jersey he surely did nothing but put the citizens of new jersey at greater risk. We will adapt like we always do. We will persevere like we always do. By continuing to put our lives on the line to protect the public, this bike to best efforts of those who would like beste despite the efforts of those who would like to see no enforcement. Innocent victims whose lives will be forever changed for the worse all across our country. We could have stopped it. 3000 are more than sheriffs in this country. The majority see the benefit in working with ice. Honoring our request to hold someone, or something as simple as notifying us before criminals are released. We have done this for decades. It is good policy. It is better Public Safety. I will take a few questions. First, i want to introduce sheriff weyburn from texas. Thank you. It is an honor to be here standing with our brothers and sisters in Immigration Enforcement along with my fellow sheriffs. Narrativeclear, the of trying to go after ice and immigrations is very much like the narrative used against our vietnam returning soldiers. They are eviscerating honorable people doing noble things, standing on the wall between good and evil. These people want to change things. Capitol hill is down the street. People often get confused. Texas, the 15th largest county in the nation is this morning we had 4200 inmates per out of that, 7 were illegal aliens. Held for murder, Sexual Assault of children, there were robbers and kidnappers and people who committed arson. People who were dwi. You think about that. If we returned them with this radical ruling out of california where you have a federal judge making the law for the nation, or attempting to, it will put our communities in jeopardy. Of those people we have in custody, we know that 72 of them are repeat offenders. Loose,ave to turn them or if they get released, they are coming to your neighborhood in my neighborhood. These are drunks will run over your children. Know that yous, i want, and i would want for you the full force of the law. Immigrations is part of that full force. These people have come into the country illegally. I understand that many come across the river looking for a better day. Something better for their family or do not think anyone disagrees with that or the problem is thehe people they were fleeing came with them. That is who we are trying to eliminate. In tarrant county, you have to commit a class b misdemeanor or higher to have your immigration status challenged. It is in our jail that that happens. They have already committed another offense to get there. Victims, there are plenty of them, and the people that we have in jail are here illegally. And then they commit an offense against one of our citizens. Often, some people from their own community. Aggravated Sexual Assault on children are not children who are legally here. They are they are children who are here illegally. Those people are crying out, and we are treating them as victims. We work with ice on those things. They are not supported. We do not ask them their status. We make sure we can prosecute these people to the full extent of the law. That full extent includes their immigration status. In texas, we take an oath of office that says we will defend the constitution. We will uphold federal laws. Anything less than that such as the attorney general and new jersey, i think he forsakes his thank you. Im going to have gonzales speak briefly. Good morning. It is an honor to be here representing the men and women of u. S. Immigrations and customs enforcement. Been, i want to say i have with ice since it was created. Prior to that, i was with immigration naturalization i have been in Public Service over 20 years. I have served in many administrations. Victimslp lead the office. An Important Office where we are helping victims who have been impacted by crimes committed by individuals with a nexus to immigration. I have held the hand of too many mothers were lost a child to a dui, or somebody else who has been raped by an illegal alien, or someone with a nexus to immigration. It is a problem we cannot ignore is a country. We have the responsibility to protect our borders. While crime happens in america, these people were not supposed to be here. Many of these people violated Immigration Law and then subsequently went and killed others. It is a problem. It is one that should not be partisan. Being victimized. Not just americans, other people from other countries as well that are here lawfully. Also, individuals that may be here unlawfully are being victimized or raped or abused. Impart the importance of this conversation that Public Safety needs to come before any political rhetoric. This is about Public Safety. Everybody needs to have this sure, crime where happens, but these crimes were preventable. Many of these into visuals should not have been here in the first many of these individuals should not have been here in the first place. Enke. Is there a new approach or outreach that you all might consider just because it seems like this thing has gone the wrong direction on you. You have the probable cause case , you have the contract controversy. D. C. Council right here in town just voted essentially to go the other way. From what you have been advocating. Is there a new approach . This is part of the new approach. Liaise with these jurisdictions. Our officers in charge have relationships in these jurisdictions peered as i mentioned, secretary johnson went to new york city, went to chicago multiple times trying to get these jurisdictions to cooperate. This is not a new problem. This is not a problem limited to one administration. This is a problem in which politics people using politics and putting it ahead of Public Safety. Why is city council trying to figure out a way to get these criminals out . If everyone is complaining about resources they dont have enough cops, one of the easiest ways a lot of these are recent offenders. We know out of california, one cohort we have been tracking, percent of these and visuals are repeat offenders. Seems perfectly logical to find a way if they are here unlawfully to assist us to get them out of those communities. There is no middle ground, right . The middle ground with Public Safety . How safety want to be . Somewhat . [indiscernible] this is something we spoke about a significant amount. I will answer briefly, but what were talking about here is criminal aliens. People who are here illegally already and getting engaged in illegal activity. Despite crossings come as we have document at the fact that congress has failed to act the loophole. To fix the tv pra come of those factors which allow people to come to the country, present as a family, and as having the ability to detain those individuals. Thus, having them released. It is all about the release. The goal of these people coming here illegally is to get into the country and be released. Havent you stepped up measures with personnel as well as surveillance . Backlp prevent or push those who we have created a lot of programs peered you have seen the numbers. We are still not out of the crisis. The protection protocols program with regard to safe countries. The new wall that has been built. I would love to put new resources to it. We have had to redeploy our ice resources to support the Border Patrol with those challenges at the border which has made us less safe. We have had field offices where sohave shut down our teams they could handle the influx of people coming in illegally as well as the increase of people in detention. We are going to arrest 15,000 fewer criminal aliens this year as a result of what is going on on the border. For those saying we should go after the worst of the worst, i would love to. That has to come with Strong Border security. Byyou open your remarks criticizing a federal judge. You couldnt use databases that were inaccurate if there were causing you to detain american citizens. Do youhat circumstances think that judges should be able to order your agency to do, or not do things . Do you reject the Courts Authority to tell you what the law is . Days sinces been 213 our last briefing could you come up and talk to us . [indiscernible] litigation is ongoing. There is little i can say. We expect the judges rulings. We are Law Enforcement officers. We have to respect excuse me, i am answering your question. We respect the laws and reinforce reinforce them. We abide by judicial rulings. Ability norhe should we have the ability to pick and choose what laws we should enforce. You said that with a lack of cooperation, you are always looking at ways of adapting. What are you currently doing . Theres been talk of facial recognition, could you expand that . Were using dna sampling in the boardroom environment trying to many individuals coming here are not legitimate families. They are utilizing the loopholes in the Settlement Agreement to come here as a family which is led to significant numbers of children being recycled and victimized for the purpose of adults posing as families. That is what the dna sampling goes after. We hitting it 15 rate of individuals or families present against families that really arent families. We have had great support along the southwest border. We prosecuted more than 1000 cases along the southwest border dealing with imposters. We are also seeing unaccompanied children adults posing with other company children. 21 euros posing as 16yearolds. As21yearold posing 16yearold spirit they end up in a shelter for love children. That is an unsafe environment. [indiscernible] we continue to modify space modify ways in which be in force. We are going to pull back some resources. We rely upon our partners. Fromve raised the program 22 to 79. We have a warrant server Officers Program which is a limited Authority Program which will allow cooperating jurisdictions to arrest on our behalf. We expandnd up as that, that will give us greater bandwidth. We need more resources for officers and attorneys, they have not feed deemed it fit to do so. Can you follow up on that . My second question is, are you planning to conduct more workplace operations . The families we are going after our those who have had the opportunity to avail themselves with due process and have either not shown up, as 87 last time i checked of those cases that were based on the accelerated docket have failed to show up. Go through the process and are ordered removed, it is incumbent upon thus to affect those removals. System has no integrity of those removal orders are not affected. Teams out there every day going after these families. It is not a matter of deterrence. It is an effective us enforcing the law. The number of families that continue to show up for Court Hearings and therefore get removal orders continues to grow. Mississippi was one operation. We enforce more than 400 laws. Those laws regarding Legal Employment and worksite enforcement are part of that portfolio. About what youon want the American People to understand about the crisis itself. They will hear you and they will want to the brass tacks. What are you trying to say simply speaking about what you are attempting to do and what you are not getting from other stakeholders like congressional lawmakers and local leadership in places like chicago . If they live in a sanctuary jurisdiction, they they are elected leaders are making them less safe. Issue ofu speak to the the accuracy of the databases that ice has used . With respect to the arrest of citizens . Is ice Getting Better . I cant speak to ongoing litigation. As part of our investigation that includes a very substantial investigation into an individuals background pattern. The loss around citizenship or so cop ticketed. Complicated. [indiscernible] that is a Perfect Question for mark morgan. He controls the detention facilities. [indiscernible] im sure he answered you. We have not gotten an answer yet. The president expressed concerns about terrorists picking their way across the border making their way across the border. Given what we are seeing in syria, isis fighters are being released, how concerned are you about that . What are you doing to make sure they dont crossover here . Are you in touch with any Extensive Network with Homeland Security operations. We have security posts in over 35 locations throughout the world. We continue to expand to those prague rams those programs when Congress Gives us funding to do so. Amount ofgnificant investigations involving individuals that are suspected up or this department was born after 9 11. Our entire mission is National Security. Of the biggest complaints that sanctuary jurisdictions have about ice is that they would like to cooperate, but when victims as you noted, most victims of crime of crime from Illegal Immigrants are themselves a legal emergence. When they come forward, you all prosecute them as well. Communitysure that that that is not the case . Can you make a guarantee that you will not go after the victims of crimes, but those that are perpetrating crimes . Quick followup, to what you said about having to help out Border Patrol the president promised 10,000 new Border Patrol agents, but because of pay disputes you have not been april to hire that many able to hire that many. Ice has no problem hiring people. Border patrol, to the level that congress appropriates. We fill vacancies quickly. We do not have a problem with hiring. Our nonretirement attrition rate is 2 . To your first question, as the sheriff mentioned, i mentioned this last time. About anlly find out individual through their interaction with the criminal justice system. That interaction means there were about into a jurisdictions facility. Their fingerprints were run, data was taken, they bounced off databases. That is how we find out about individuals. Victims are not booked into criminal custody. Absent that, we would not be out there looking for victims. Knowst cases, we would not who the victims are. I will tell you in many of these cases we work with our state partners. We have an Extensive Network of specialists within ice because we deal with so many victims when it comes to human trafficking, smuggling, child expectation. We deal with victims all day long. I wish we did not have to, but we do. We are skilled at working with them. We work with prosecutors and everyone to ensure if there is a case they want to prosecute that they have the ability to do so. You mentioned resource reallocation. I am wondering if you can provide any breakdown between arrest and deportation of people with final orders of removal versus anyone with past criminal convictions. Only remove those individuals with final removal final orders of removal. We removed 246,000 people last year. Everyone had a final order of removal. Probably arrest around 140,000 people this year. We will release our numbers in the future. I do not have an exact breakdown. That is a good question. One that i think there is misinformation about. When we arrest someone if they have not already been through the process and had to process, they get that ability. Due process. They dont go from arrest to prison and serve a sentence. They have to go through the judicial process. We have a process through an within the executive review. [indiscernible] the safety and security of our personnel, officers and officers alike is our primary concern. Withve been straightened our concerns about some of the ugly rhetoric that has been utilized around this issue and the vilification of the men and women of ice and cbp. They are merely enforcing the laws that congress has passed. It is disheartening when it comes from individuals who have the ability to pass laws or change laws. Instead, they would rather vilify officers. One third of our officers are military veterans. Respectuld be given the as any other Law Enforcement officer i am concerned. It is dangerous or hopefully, those people that have opinions as to how Immigration Enforcement should be conducted would do so in a professional and responsible manner. The issue. Ed i i wonder if you can comment on that. t. I can [indiscernible] 246 thousandned people were moved last year, do you have data about how many were criminals . I dontsay about want to get it wrong but around 140,000. It is on our website. Data fornt have the 19 . We are releasing shortly. Do you expect an expansion of the counties . How minorities think will join up . The best partners when it enforcement is getting Aliens Office regarding sheriffs we work closely with all police departments. Generally, the entities to halt attaining individuals for criminal violations ourselves. Think of your time. Thank you for your time. Announcer today, h. R. Mcmaster and others discuss the trump administrations Foreign Policy strategy including the president s recent decision to withdraw troops from syria. Watch live at noon on cspan. Online at cspan. Org, or listen live on the free radio app. Announcer cspans campaign 2020 coverage continues as President Trump holds a rally in minnesota tonight on 8 00 p. M. Eastern. Cspan. Org, and listen wherever you are using the free radio app. Announcer a new pulse shows that just over half of americans are confident that the 2020 president ial election will be open and fair. There is a significant partisan gap on the question. Are confidentcans in the system, only 39 of democrats share that belief. Only 41 of republicans share in that concern, more than three quarters of democrats and over half of independents believe foreign governments may interfere with elections. 31 of people believe the federal government has done enough to protect elections from foreign interference. 54 of republicans report either having a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in federal efforts. , and just overs a quarter of independents agree. You can find all the results including whether americans think candidates should release tax returns, and whether citizens should show an id to. Ote at cspan. Org yesterday, Vice President pence visited iowa and made remarks on the u. S. Mexico canada trade agreement