John Campbell

Mr. CAMPBELL of California

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Speaker, today, the House considered legislation to increase spending. I support the Global War on Terror and would have supported a clean bill to continue to provide financial support to our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, I could not vote for this bill because it was loaded with extraneous unrelated spending initiatives that run up our deficit and take precious recourses away from our troops in the field and those fighting the War on Terrorism.

Mr. CAMPBELL of California

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Speaker, today the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin work on the immigration and border security legislation the House passed at the end of last year. This bill is one of the most important pieces of national security legislation before Congress because border security is national security. Recently we have been engaged in debates, some of which you have just heard, about whether or not our ports are secure. This is an important debate. But we know our southern border is not secure; we know that illegal aliens, criminal illegal aliens, are attempting to cross that border every single day, and it is time that we stop it. In December, the House passed a good enforcement and border security bill, and the bill is a great start to address this problem and make our Nation safer. One important provision included in the bill was an amendment I had authored which will withhold Federal law enforcement funding from sanctuary cities that prohibit law enforcement officers from notifying Federal officials about known illegal aliens. The practice of prohibiting cooperation is appalling. We should not reward these cities with Federal funds. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to include this provision and pass a strong enforcement bill without amnesty.

Mr. CAMPBELL of California

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood).

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, there are cities around this country that have laws or executive orders under which they prohibit law enforcement officials from reporting to the Department of Homeland Security when they encounter, through the normal course of law enforcement practice, individuals who are aliens, who are foreign nationals and who are in this country illegally. That, first of all, is a violation of Federal law. Both the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 both prohibit cities from adopting that sort of ordinance. But secondly, it is just wrong. We have Federal law here, and we have people in the ordinary course of their law enforcement activities encountering people who are foreign nationals and in this country illegally, and cities are passing ordinances making it a crime basically for those law enforcement officials to let Department of Homeland Security know that. The reason this happens is there is no enforcement mechanism on this Federal law right now. What this amendment would do is simply provide an enforcement mechanism by making those law enforcement agencies in those areas not eligible for Federal grants if they have such a prohibition which is in violation of Federal law. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate the comments from the gentlewoman from Texas, but let me make it clear what this bill does and does not do, what this amendment does and does not do. It does not require local governments to do anything. All it does is tell them they should not prohibit, they should not actively prohibit their law enforcement officials from giving this information to the Department of Homeland Security. It does not require them to give the information. It says you may not prohibit or you lose Federal funds. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth).

Mr. CAMPBELL of California

Mr. CAMPBELL of California. Mr. Speaker, thank you all. Thank you, Congressman Dreier. I wish, Mr. Speaker, to thank my family first for their support and their coming here today. I wish to thank the people of Orange County for the confidence that they have placed in me to have this very honored position. And I look so forward to working with all of you on the many issues that we have coming ahead of us. I feel so the history as I stand here, what this building, what this room means and what it has held and what it has done. I only hope that I can do honor to those who have served before us here, and that I will help with all of you to do justice to those whose futures we serve.