WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain joined House Republican leadership to blast Democrats for prioritizing violent criminal illegal aliens over the safety of American citizens in their Department of Homeland Security funding demands, calling the shutdown a deliberate choice that puts communities at risk.
As prepared for delivery:
I’m going to say this as clearly as I possibly can: this shutdown is a choice Democrats made.
It is a conscious decision by Democrats to put violent illegal criminals ahead of the safety and security of the American people.
Let’s talk about what was happening before this shutdown.
Law enforcement officers were doing their sworn duty — arresting and deporting dangerous individuals who never should have been in this country in the first place. We’re talking about child molesters. Rapists. Murderers.
People who threaten the lives of everyday Americans! People who threaten our families! People who threaten the safety of our children!
And that’s not some exaggeration. These are the convictions of the violent, illegal criminals who were arrested in just my home state of Michigan.
And in Chicago, my heart breaks for Sheridan Gorman’s family. She was just 18 years old and had her whole life in front of her.
Sadly, her parents will never see her walk the stage and graduate from Loyola University Chicago.
All because Democrats flooded our country with violent illegal aliens, like the Venezuelan who murdered Sheridan. He was released into our country by the Biden administration, arrested for shoplifting, then released AGAIN by the Biden administration.
As a mother, it infuriates me to see Democrats refusing to stand with the heroic officers taking these criminals off the streets. Instead, Democrats are back to their old chant: DEFUND THE POLICE.
Here’s the thing though: This time, it’s not just a slogan. It’s a shutdown of our homeland security.
And the consequences are real.
Just look at the numerous terrorist attacks that have happened on American soil in the last few weeks. Attacks by violent terrorists on our homeland that have taken the lives of innocent Americans.
Of course, while all of this is happening, Republicans have done the responsible thing.
We have voted — again and again — to fully fund our homeland security.
And we’re going to do it again this week with a clean DHS funding bill.
And like last week and the week before, I expect that nearly every single Democrat will vote to defund law enforcement.
Every single one of them will vote to expose the American people to threats of terrorism.
They will be voting to make your communities less safe. They will vote to risk the lives of the American people.
That is what they will vote for!
I will close by saying this: Thank you President Trump for doing what Democrats refuse to do. Thank you for using every resource at your disposal to keep Americans safe.
To Democrats:
FUND homeland security.
FUND our law enforcement.
And get on board with deporting violent illegal aliens that threaten the safety of every man, woman, and child across our country.
