Press Releases 03/29/2023 Tillis Grills Secretary Mayorkas Handling of Southern Border, Calls on Congress to Pass Sanctuary City Legislation

Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) this week pressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the ongoing crisis at the Southern border and reckless sanctuary city policies instituted by a number of local North Carolina elected officials. Senator Tillis called on all local officials to cooperate with ICE and on members of Congress to support his legislation, the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act, which he introduced in 2019 and 2021, and will introduce again this Congress.

Watch the Senator’s full remarks here

“In a state of 10 million people, North Carolina has more than three million people living in sanctuary jurisdictions. That is why I have proposed and will propose again, the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act. It’s fairly simple. It says that if a local government entity has a sanctuary policy refusing to cooperate with ICE policy, they should be held accountable if their actions produce harm. If someone gets murdered, like somebody did in the Charlotte area by someone who could have been transferred to ICE or countless examples across the country, I simply want a private right of action for the aggrieved party or their survivors in the event of death, to be able to sue that governmental entity. If their policies are fair, if they are safe, then they have nothing to worry about, but don’t have the risk of safety and destroy good order and discipline among various levels of law enforcement.” 

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