Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday in a House Judiciary Committee examining the border crisis.
The hearing, titled “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Victim Perspectives,” included several people who had family members who were victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants.
The big picture: Boudreaux testified to what he sees in Tulare County, discussing how an unprecedented increase in illegal immigration with migrants not associated with agriculture over the last three years has impacted law enforcement and has stretched resources thin.
- Boudreaux called back to the “Reign of Terror” incident in December 2018 that Gustavo Garcia committed. Garcia had been deported twice and arrested two days before the incident, but he committed a murder in Visalia, attempted murders in Exeter and Tulare and committed shootings in Pixley, Sultana and Visalia. He also committed an armed robbery in Exeter. Gustavo was killed during a multiple-vehicle crash while on a high-speed chase with officers.
- “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested an immigration detainer on Garcia after learning of his arrest two days before his terror spree,” Boudreaux said. “Due to California’s sanctuary state law, the Sheriff’s Office was legally prohibited from recognizing or honoring the detainer of this would-be murderer and we were further prohibited from notifying ICE of his release from jail.”
- He talked about how the free flow of illicit and deadly drugs, notably fentanyl, has turned Highway 99 and Interstate 5 “into two highways of death that unleash unspeakable carnage.”
- Boudreaux also said his office has seen an uptick in Chinese nationals coming across the southern border illegally and being involved in either illegal massage parlors or financial scams.
- His office is currently working on an investigation into someone engaged in prostitution with Chinese immigrants with a local massage parlor.
- “The rest of the world is taking advantage of the current policies concerning our border,” Boudreaux said. “The world recognizes the Biden-Harris administration has removed the foundation of legal immigration. Allowing an unsecured border has encouraged the world to violate immigration laws. As a result, local law enforcement is overwhelmed with increases in demands for service to provide public safety.”
Sanctuary state problems: Rep. Tom McClintock (R–Elk Grove) asked Boudreaux about Senate Bill 54, which was signed into law in 2017 and bars law enforcement from asking suspects about their immigration status.
- McClintock asked about Democrats saying there is no real evidence that illegal migrants cause more crime.
- “That’s part of the formula,” Boudreaux said. “If I’m not able to ask, then there’s no data to support.”
- Boudreaux added that his office is seeing “well over 50%” of crime being committed by illegal immigrants.
Cruel and inhumane: Melissa Lopez, the Executive Director of Estrella del Paso and a witness invited by Democrats, testified that “cruel and inhuman actions and policies” by law enforcement have made it incredibly difficult for people fleeing violence and insecurity to live safely.
- Rep. Andy Biggs asked Boudreaux for his thoughts on an open border that allows people to come in unvetted and commit crimes, if that is anything but cruel and inhumane.
- “What we’re seeing is very cruel,” Boudreaux answered. “When I look in the eyes of 11-year-old girls who have been brought across the border and been raped, when we have young families that have been brought across the border as victims of human trafficking landing in the United States – specifically what I can speak to in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California. Not one or two, these are hundreds of people coming across as victims, where they’re brutally raped, beaten and used in a sexual way and in the sex industry – it’s cruel. I feel that if we secure our border we vet the people coming in. We identify the most egregious and felonious and those with mental health conditions that are impacting the safety of Americans and Californains, as to what I can speak to. I would identify your statement as being true, very cruel.”
Watch: Watch the entire hearing here:
