we have new opportunities in new areas and believe we can do things that make a difference. president trump: thank you everybody, thank you. will you have robert mueller fired, mr. president? president trump: thank you very much. >> please make your way out. announcer: president trump also met with law enforcement officials and members of congress earlier today to discuss border security and immigration enforcement. jeff sessions and here's to kiersten nielsen were also in attendance. this is 40 minutes. president trump: i am honored to be joined today i members of

congress and law enforcement and secretary nielsen and jeff sessions to discuss the threat sanctuary cities. they are causing a lot of problems for this country. sanctuary cities release thousands of criminal aliens out of our prisons and jails and back into our communities. they go into those sanctuary cities. when they see them, they go there because they feel it is safe. in many cases they are very bad actors. gang members, predators, rapists, killers, a lot of bad people. under the scope of that threat, last year ice arrested thousands of immigrants who had charges for sex crimes, for killing people, other homicide related offenses, and we have offenses

that are so great we are not even going to talk about right now. last september, an illegal immigrant was arrested by san francisco police. ice filed a detainer but it was denied and the alien was released. less than 10 years -- 10 days later, he was arrested for murder. many cases like that aired in another case, an alleged illegal gang member was arrested by the san francisco police department. more than 10 times between 2013 for charges including domestic battery, assault, theft, and rate. rape. rate -- but san francisco refused to cooperate with ice here he kept getting released over and over. sanctuary cities like in california put innocent americans at the mercy of

hardened criminals and murderers. yet house and senate democrats voted your -- nearly unanimously in favor of sanctuary cities. explain that. we are looking to have safe cities. stoped the omnibus to catch and release. catch a killer, we have to release him. we need the extra beds so we do not have to release. is very important and be negotiated right now. democrats priority is to protect criminals, not to do what is right for a country. my priority and the priority of my administration is to serve, protect, and defend the citizens of the united states. tremendous people around this table, people who know what is happening and what is going on, and maybe, tom, i would like to start with you. you can say a few words quickly

and we will go around the table. tom: thank you for inviting me to this important discussion. i am proud to represent the 20,000 american heroes that work at ice. seriesntly conducted a of enforcement operations california. the jurisdiction that no longer cooperate with law enforcement officers, thanks to a statewide century city policy. wait conduct operations like this across the country every day. they are based on intelligence driven leads. there are no raids, there are no sweeps. we know exactly who we are trying to arrest and where we are going to find them very most of the time. emma 81% of all the people we arrested in california last year were convicted criminals.

coming illegally to the united states as a felony. let me be clear. as i have said many times, it is a crime to enter the united states illegally. officer should not be condemned because they are upholding the law. to focusld on one hand the sameals, but people who want us to focus on criminals will not let them in jail. it defies logic. as a result, many of my officers to make arrests. dangers toignificant the members of ice. any of our local law enforcement officers are partners in california, summit this table. they also uphold the dangerous

policy of sanctuaries imposed by sacramento. they have disagreed with the governor. they are not allowed to communicate with ice the way they want to and they have to deal with a public safety threat. 54, this comes from the california state sheriffs association. this legislation contains significant liabilities that restrict communications with federal law enforcement upon the released of wanted, undocumented criminals from our jails, including known gang members, repeat drunk drivers, people who abuse and other serious offenders. over half of the people who get released reoffend in the first year. what just happened in northern

california is an example. a law enforcement agency arrested a mexican national for robbery and multiple weapons willfulns including discharge of a firearm. this alien was previously ineased into the community november. following his arrest for conspiracy to commit crime. despite the fact that we issued a detainer, he was released. the many public safety threats we targeted during our most recent operation in northern california. operation in san francisco, three of the people we could not locate have since re-offended. one person i just talked about, arrested for robbery and multiple weapons violations. another person just rearrested

for dui. his third dui. if he has been arrested three times, how much -- how many times has he committed the crime? he is also been arrested for false imprisonment and battery of a spouse. he was released from jail. targeted criminal we attempted to arrest just got rearrested for injury of a spouse. these policies are being used by criminal organizations in mexico and central america. this is a way for them to get smuggled aliens to a safe jurisdiction where local law enforcement will not cooperate with ice. there rolling the criminal organizations -- they are bankrolling the criminal

organizations. sanctuary laws are helping borders to exploit illegal workers with convictions. i want to be clear on sanctuary policies. we do not want local law enforcement to be ice officers. what we want them to do is give federal law enforcement officers unfettered access to county jail to take custody of someone who is in the country illegally. and as yet committed another crime. it is safer for the offices and community. these people go out and reoffend. century city's do not protect -- sanctuary cities are not protecting their communities. comedent trump: thank you -- thank you, tom, for doing a great job. it is not an easy job. marion, we have been friends for

a long time. how is it going? inion: my son was killed 2014 by a repeat illegal alien criminal in colorado who had been released back onto our streets. it is a common thing. some thoughts have come in my head the last few days. this is actually a mass murder happening in the united states by illegal aliens killing american cities. 63,000 americans have been killed since 9/11 by illegal aliens. it is a crime spree that is being left unchecked and these sanctuary city officials are putting american lives in harm everyday. --re is collateral idea collateral damage to their personal agenda and has to be stopped.

a year and a half ago there were 300 sanctuary cities and now there are 600. it is an increasing problem. there are more and more city and state officials that are snubbing their nose at federal law. my big question today is, what are your plans to defund these sanctuary cities and make them adhere to federal law, and what action will be taken against them? president trump: we are with you. i never heard the number 63,000 people killed by illegal immigrants. is that a known figure? 63,000 people since 9/11? i have never heard that number before. that is an incredible number. thank you, i appreciate it very much. >> thank you for having us here. atf foro thank you and the assistance we needed in

chicago. we have a problem. my 17,000 members that i are not concerned about 70 coming here for a better life. we are concerned about people coming here to be habitual criminal offenders that their entire career is set up to undermine our legal system and to put officers in harm's way. i appreciate all the help you have been giving with general sessions. our members are out there every day in chicago area it is a dangerous place. -- in chicago. it is a dangerous place. we would like to be able to work closely with federal enforcement. president trump: what is happening in chicago is absolutely ridiculous.

it should never happen. ground zero for sanctuary state in california. there are two different issues. i would be remiss if i did not say that california law enforcement, we do not do immigration enforcement in the communities. we want people to have the comfort and confidence to call us if they need help. that is our primary mission. piece to which director holman spoke is of , pointedlyportance so to the share because we have corrections. very few people's lives through the cracks. most jails are not that fortunate. there are spectacular failures every day around california and wants,of folks that ice criminals that are going to go out and victimize other folks

and we are unable to capture, apprehend, detained for deportation. more of my officers was killed, danny oliver. the alien has been convicted in phases the death penalty but he andbeen removed four times he came back and convicted these crimes. struck my personal journey towards immigration enforcement. it is not about community forstmann -- enforcement for us. it is about cooperation with our enforcers to keep us safe. that is what we want to do right now. >> thank you. it is an honor to be here with the other members of our laws or cement as well as leaders, it is legalant as the chief

officer of arkansas to ensure that the rule of law is upheld. these sanctuary cities are defying the rule of law. they are putting citizens across the united states at risk. too often people want to say that illegal immigrants, it's gender, it's race, no, it's illegal. that is a crime. it is individuals we are dealing with who have broken the law. as law enforcement it is imperative that we shut down and work together to shut down these liberal chaos that is being created. the attorney general of texas, they have done great things in workingd it is taking together, law enforcement at all levels. america is the ultimate sanctuary and we have to protect it.

it is not a cesspool for criminals to comment hide. unfortunately these sanctuary cities create dangers for everyone across the country. because they do not just stay in the cities. they travel across and become little islands across the united states for these criminals. i am hoping that we can work together to combat the problem and make sure that these public officials uphold the rule of law. thank you. here representing 330,000 american law enforcement officers. we swear to defend the constitution in cities and counties and states across the country are declaring themselves century cities, forcing a police officer to disobey his oath under threat of loss of employment. we should not be put in that position.

we have asked congress to do something with the immigration law. we were very concerned about losing funding in law enforcement. we have now reached a point where we realize that unless we we cities in the pocketbook, are not going to stop the sanctuary cities. as of today, we fully support whatever actions you take on sanctuary cities. our members are being put in harms way every day. please officers should not be in trouble for cooperating with our federal partners. this will system works on cooperation. there are not enough federal officers to deal with the problem alone. we are here to let you know we support you and want our officers taken out of the middle. enforce the law of the country, and criminal aliens should be deported or jailed. we support you.

michael: thank you. i want to say i recognize my hometown of austin and the bombings, is the biggest investigation since the boston bombings. thank you for sending 500 federal agents to my hometown to find the perpetrator and bring him to justice. last bombing will lead to more evidence, hopefully fingerprints and surveillance photos. we can finally taken down. this is terrorizing austin. i want to thank you for all of the federal efforts you could spare. this is horrific. -- step back iy was a federal prosecutor for a long time. after 9/11, we're on the joint terrorism task force. cityi see the sanctuary

doing is tearing it down. it is threatening the paradigm that has worked so well after 9/11. if we could not charge him on a terrorist case, we charged him on an immigration case. if we could not put them in jail for material support, we deported them under immigration charges. what i see in california is a breakdown of the system. california is building a wall between federal law enforcement and local law enforcement. they cannot even work these cases on the joint terrorism task force. criminal aliens are killing innocent civilians. this is also a national security issue in my judgments. billworking on passing the

that will defund sanctuary cities. for me, to see criminal aliens being released on the street, to see local law enforcement defying an ice detainer, in my judgment they have blood on their hands. trump: i agree with you 100%. thank you. jeff: thank you for your leadership on this issue from day one. what is happening today is a knife in the heart of the relationships of our state and local law enforcement. they are making our job much more difficult. we have to do something about it.

i would say that the issue we're dealing with is not a small matter. it is something that fundamentally has to be addressed. what they are doing is shocking. the policy is ruptured. they are irrational. it makes no sense. they are radical at their fundamental asis. it is a radical policy that they are executing. jurisdictionsy call for open borders. it is an affront to the fundamental federal immigration law in america. under their version, and individual crosses the border illegally on monday, gets to chicago on wednesday, can never be deported. they are sanctuary in the -- ied in theirctuar cities. they are protected from

deportation even when caught with heroin. when they are incarcerated for take theoffenses, they view that the officer should not even tell an ice officer that this is happened. that is what they are doing. they will not tell when they are being released. so that the federal law can be executed. they release criminal aliens onto the street, leaving ice to hunt them down. it is unacceptable. these are huge matters. the federal and state law enforcement relationship can never be the same when this continues to place our officers at risk and their own citizens at risk. we are not going to sweep it under the rug. homelandand tom and federal law and supreme law of the land, it has

been made clear by the supreme court that the federal government has immigration responsibilities. we're going to do our part. if the states and counties are going to be partners with us, they need to participate us desperate dissipate with us. we are to change the mentality of these sanctuary jurisdictions. for thisk you roundtable. i think every city should be a sanctuary for law-abiding citizens so they can live and travel there and know they will not be subjected to violence and death at the hands of criminal aliens. where was the sanctuary for the mendoza family? wherethinks for the peace officers and their men and women at their enforcing the law everyday?

i want to commend what jeff sessions has done with bringing lawsuits against these studies -- cities. i want to commend secretary of the meadow women in homeland security or enforcing the law and say it is past time for congress to give the administration the tools it needs to ensure that we are able to stop these violent criminal aliens from wrecking anymore american lives. -- 10 --ken: my office is involved in this bombing issue. thank you, as congressman mccall said, there are 500 officers,

they have the resources. thank you for providing those resources. it is creating a huge issue for the austin area. we spent hundreds of billions of dollars on border security because the federal government wouldn't. we did not have the authority to do everything we needed. we are grateful for this administration's efforts to file a started dressing issue that is so affecting our state. we also ordered our state police to keep statistics on crime as it related to illegals. we have over 600,000 crimes committed by illegals in 2011. 70,000 assaults. 1200 people killed. families affected by illegals who should not have been here. so what you are doing has had the greatest impact of any administration we have seen. sanctuary city

fight. our legislator passed the city bill that allowed law enforcement to ask about immigration status. it also required elected officials to cooperate with law enforcement and the federal officials when they are holding criminals. there are penalties associated with that. they can be removed from office. it we charged with a crime. so we are taking it very seriously. and weernor signed it were sued by many of our cities from austin to houston to all caps oh. it is ridiculous -- two el paso. it is ridiculous. people who are committing crimes should not be in this country. yoursessions, i appreciate lawsuit as it relates to sanctuary cities with california. we will be participating to support your efforts.

my people appreciate what you did. president trump: the governor has done an incredible job and we appreciate it very much. thank you. pat: thank you for your leadership on this issue and thank you to law enforcement. certain that municipalities and jurisdictions in the united states confer a special legal protection on violent criminals because they came here illegally, that is madness. i just cannot understand it. nottuary cities are pro-immigrant communities. legal immigrants in the city often live amongst people who are here illegally and their lives are threatened by this policy. it seems to me there are two things we need to do here.

i have introduced legislation to solve this problem. solutiona legislative to do this comprehensive way. mine assures that a municipality core operating with the federal government would not be exposed to legal liability at the .ederal level if a municipality chooses to be a sanctuary city, they would have to forgo substantial amounts of federal funds. because they are endangering all of us. we have had two vote on the senate floor on my legislation. both times we had high portis and -- bipartisan majority. i will be very grateful for whatever sort port -- whatever support you can provide. it is very frustrating at times. it is.nt trump: it is hard to believe. thank you very much. mark?

mark: thank you for your leadership. obviously we are around this table for the first time ever under a sitting president to talk about an issue we should've talked about a long time ago. so i want to say thank you. congress we had statistics that would suggest that 196 murderers were released back into our communities. 216 kidnappers were released into our communities. when we talk about a sanctuary city, it is all about making sure we have a safe city. right now, your secretary cannot do her job because we have the state and local law enforcement officers who are choosing to ignore a federal law and some 60,000 people in jail right now, are here illegally, she could make a determination on but there is not a coordination. here is what we need to do.

it is time that we tell mayors and governors that want to establish national policy that if they want to do that, but their name on the ballot and run for president. it is time that we allow the federal policy in the dollars that go along with it to be controlled right here. co-opt allor us to of the funding for sanctuary cities, and if not, make sure we change the criteria for grant where we allow the law enforcement officers who are willing to work with federal tol -- federal officers benefit at their loss. i thank you for your leadership. president trump: you are 100% right. >> thank you for your leadership on this issue. and the doesrizona the family and their loss. we're right next-door to california. loss ofw in the sergeant mendoza, it is the policy of other cities that are

letting these people go and it impacts the rest of us. this is a federal government responsibility. a lot of the things that happen, the federal government overreaches. the federal government should be doing this. for them to be thumbing their nose at law and order is so dangerous. we look at the dangers of a southern border. wallght need to build a between california and arizona to keep the criminals and of our state. they cannot provide century for these terminals. it is not just impacting california. it impacts the rest of us because the criminals move quickly to other jurisdictions. we have ms 13 gang members in arizona that have come from california with previous criminal records. this is a very serious public safety issue. thank you.

sheriff from georgia. we cooperated from -- we cooperated with her officers. we started a 287 j program and in 2010.th ice we have more than 47,000 inmates as they came into our jail and identified more than 17,000 as being illegal aliens. we will continue working with ice and we certainly appreciate everything that you folks are doing for us. we need the help. thank you. president trump: thank you. we will get there. >> thank you mr. president and attorney general sessions. we appreciate all of the efforts you are doing to restore the rule of law. as sheriff's, we inherently

understand that the first role of government is to protect life, liberty, and property. sheriffs remain on the front line. denver has created sanctuary we havend out of that seen some of these illegal individualently at named ivan, who was released. the sheriff appointed by the mayor, we see these travesties of justice occur. we know what the results will be. we appreciate mr. holst at and his staff working with us to get through the legal hurdles on the contract that the shares need to work with those detainers. we are sued by the aclu on a daily basis and we are overwhelmed. when these things go sideways,

it would be helpful to have the federal resources behind us. to give you an idea of how far this has gone, aclu has gone around to sheriffs and are pressuring judges. i had one activists judge to hang a no ice agents sign on the door of her courtroom. i reminded the judge that the role of the sheriff is to handle the courthouse. everyone is allowed in the courtroom. ice agents are his in our jurisdictions, whether it is in courthouses or jails we're going to continue to work with our federal partners. this leadership is greatly appreciated. acrosss in colorado and the country are safer for the work you are doing here. thank you. president trump: secretary, you're working hard here you are making a lot of progress. >> we are.

as always, thank you for your leadership. i want to thank you all across the -- around the table. you are truly on the front lines and we appreciate everything you do each day. i think it has been well said, these are not sanctuaries for criminals. to protectl idea was illegal immigrants who are victims. it has been perverted and i we have a sanctuary for criminals. instead of encouraging law enforcement to work with our federal partners, we have elected officials pitting them against each other, their fellow brothers and sisters trying to protect our communities and country. we talked about the community risks, the risk to local and federal law enforcement officials doing their jobs, and we have talked about the difficulty of enforcing the rule of law. i began this job concerned, then

i was confused as to how anyone could advocate this. this is a very real issue. lives are being taken each day. we must work together. i think the attorney for everything you're doing with the lawsuit. i think all of the members of congress across -- around this table. we cannot thank you enough for supporting the men and women who are trying to keep us safe every day. making a trump: we are lot of progress and we will go wouldn't even faster clip. hard andrking very spending a lot of money. unfortunately we have to spend the money. but we are moving along and working on federal legislation. mark, you are working very hard on this. tom, you are one of the leaders. this is a real problem. we very much appreciate it. michael, your professionalism has been incredible during this time.

jeff, i will say the level of strength from the justice department on this issue and border issues has been fantastic. we appreciate it very much. we are going to win it. it should be easy, but it is not. nothing is easy. this difficult, it is almost like common sense. sometimes you understand and usually when you have an opponent you understand the other side. you get it. you might disagree, but you get it. this is something, i don't think anybody in this room can even understand what it comes to the other size. is soer side very it basic. it is called law, order, safety. we're going to happen in our country. i want to thank everyone around us can -- around this table. sanctuary cities are dangerous and we are going to take care of the problem. thank you all very much. thank you.

thank you very much. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. today, we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy event in washington, d.c. and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. >> tonight on c-span. education secretary betsy devos and housing secretary ben carson testify before congress about the president's 2019