House Judiciary Subcommittee Takes Hard Look at Illegal Alien Crime

FAIR Take | May 2023

Last Tuesday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement held its third hearing on the Biden Border Crisis.

The hearing focused in on the devastating effects of the Biden Administration’s open-border policies, emphasizing the harms facing American citizens from criminal illegal aliens.  The hearing also highlighted the record numbers of suspects on the terrorist watchlist entering the country.

Witnesses for the hearing included:

• Tammy Nobles, mother of Kayla Hamilton who was allegedly murdered by an unaccompanied alien child MS-13 gang member
• Teresa Kenny, a City Supervisor from Orangetown, New York
• Rodney Scott, Retired U.S. Border Patrol Chief
• Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of the Hebrew Immigrants Aid Society

In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) highlighted the magnitude of the current crisis at the southern border. “We have seen 2.1 million illegal immigrants unlawfully admitted to the United States by this administration,” he said. “That is a population larger than the entire state of Nebraska…the danger of this policy should be self-evident.”

Tammy Nobles recounted in heartbreaking testimony how her daughter Kayla was allegedly murdered by an illegal alien who was processed as an unaccompanied alien child (UAC).  She described to the Committee in detail how Kayla was killed for $6.00 and her cell phone and shared her outrage that local police have not charged the alien because they don’t believe they have enough evidence.  Instead, Child Protective Services has now placed the alleged murderer in a home with other children.  Tammy concluded her testimony by saying: “Nothing will bring my daughter back nor fix the pain of not having her here, but I want to prevent this from happening to someone else’s child.  This is about protecting everyone here in the United States.”

For their part, House Democrats continued to advance the argument that we need to welcome more immigrants.  The witness invited by the Democrats, Mark Hetfield, from the Hebrew Immigrants Aid Society, asserted several times in his testimony that in order to secure the border we must also expand “legal immigration pathways.”  He stated, “As long as there are jobs to fill that Americans cannot do or will not do, the U.S. government will not be able to secure the border.”

Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, however, testified that the Biden Administration’s priority was, in fact, to release as many people as quickly as possible.  He stated, “During my tenure as Chief, the Biden administration’s team at DHS was laser-focused on expediting the processing and flow of migrants into the U.S.  They downplayed or completely refused to accept the significant vulnerability this creates for terrorists, narcotics smugglers, human traffickers, and even hostile nations to gain access to our homeland.”

In addition to hearing from experts, advocates, families and public servants, the Judiciary Committee also received a statement from FAIR for the Congressional Record.  In its statement, FAIR included a firsthand account of staff experiences along the border from May 9-11, the week that President Biden ended the Title 42 public health order.  FAIR told the Committee that, “What was seen in the wake of Title 42’s end in El Paso was nothing short of devastating.  Over the course of three days along the border near El Paso, we observed the execution of Biden administration policies to allow migrants to enter under the president’s expansive use of parole authority, rather than have them cross the Rio Grande.”

FAIR also urged Congress to act and told the Committee, “The crisis on our southern border requires real leadership. Given that the President has failed to produce a meaningful and strong plan to deter mass migration, Congress must act immediately to close loopholes in our immigration system and provide resources to our men and women on the front lines.”

To read FAIR’s entire statement submitted to the Committee click here.