Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the crime of the week this week was not committed by some menacing outlaw, but it was committed by a repeat offender, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

The Texas parole board has been releasing violent offenders years before they are finished serving out their sentences, and then these violent criminals continue their lawless ways.

Keith Hines was supposed to be in the jailhouse for 30 more years for violent crimes against the citizens of the State, but the good old parole board gave him a get-out-of-jail-free card, and this was a fatal error.

On December 5, Hines robbed a gas station at gunpoint in Humble, Texas. The robber then ran to his vehicle to make his getaway. Witness, volunteer firefighter and good Samaritan, Steve Jackson, jumped into his car and followed Hines while relaying to 911 the locations of the hijacker.

Down the road, with Jackson in pursuit, Hines jumped out of his getaway car, ran up to Jackson's vehicle, shot Jackson twice and murdered him on the side of the road.

Hines is now charged with capital murder. All this because the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles let this habitual offender go every which way, including loose.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, in west Texas, where the rattlesnake rules the hard, rugged land is Edwards County. It is a sparsely populated place because not much grows on that dusty soil. Local landmarks include Devil's Sinkhole, a massive bat cave and a place called Bullhead. This land used to be the home of the fierce Lipan Apache Indians, dating all the way back to the 1600s.

This county, near the Texas-Mexico border, is the size of Delaware. On patrol of this massive place of over 2,000 square miles are only three deputy sheriffs. One of them is Gilmer Hernandez.

Recently, Deputy Hernandez was on patrol about midnight, alone. He came across a truck that had run a red light in the small quiet town of Rocksprings, Texas. He pulled the vehicle over and approached it. He noticed numerous people lying on the floor of the truck.

One thing led to another, and the vehicle sped off. Hernandez says the driver turned around and tried to run him down, so he fired numerous times at the vehicle. He shot out the tires. So the vehicle stopped and the occupants, they fled into the darkness. All except one, who was lying down on the floor, hiding in the back, wounded by a ricochet.

Deputy Hernandez immediately called the sheriff, Donald Letsinger. He immediately showed up, along with the Texas Rangers, to do routine follow-up work.

But then the Federal Government shows up and takes over the investigation. The Mexican Government is notified that an illegal from Mexico has been wounded in the United States.

Using poor law enforcement investigation techniques, the illegals are all interviewed together, but still give conflicting stories at a later trial.

After the dust settled, the Feds filed charges on Deputy Hernandez for firing a gun at the van. After being tried by a zealous prosecutor, Hernandez was convicted in Federal court. He is in jail waiting to be sentenced. And, yes, Madam Speaker, by the same Prosecutor's Office that prosecuted Compean.

Everyone in his hometown of Rocksprings, Texas has sided with Deputy Hernandez. They are taking care of his family.

But once again, our Federal Government has taken the other side, the wrong side of the border war. Our government is more concerned about illegals in the van than they are about the safety of Deputy Hernandez.

And get this: Our Federal Government even gave these illegals green cards and allowed them to stay in the United States.

Madam Speaker, this ought not to be. Deputy Hernandez did everything a normal person would have done in these circumstances, including immediately reporting the event.

Why is our government so relentless and zealous in prosecuting border protectors and not protecting the border?

Why does our government work backroom deals with illegals to convict our law officers?

Why does it seem the Federal Government is so quick to cooperate with Mexico to thwart border security?

And why does it allow these illegals more consideration than it does American peace officers?

Gilmer Hernandez is 25 years of age. He is married and has a young child. He makes $21,000 a year being a lawman in rough west Texas.

It is disturbing. This trend is disturbing. Our government is saying to peace officers on the border, don't protect yourself on this border because if you do, you will not get protection from the government. And to the illegals that come in and are caught, the Federal Government is saying to them, fear not. We are from the Federal Government and we are here to help you.

Looks like another case of the Federal Government continuing to swoop in and save the day for the illegals who cross into American land.

The American government needs to gets on the right side, the American side of the border war.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court is the most powerful Court in the world. These nine black-robed individuals rule on constitutional matters that affect all Americans for lifetimes. The third branch of government holds its session in public, as it ought to be.

The theory behind public court proceedings is that the more public and open, the more likely they are to be fair. More courts throughout the vastness of America are expanding on this public trial concept by allowing unobtrusive cameras in the courtroom. This allows citizens to view court proceedings. When I was a judge in Texas, I allowed cameras to film criminal trials, including a capital murder case. I found that this enhanced the concept of a fair public trial.

Those that have never been a trial lawyer or a trial judge say that lawyers play to the cameras; but lawyers don't play to the cameras, they play to the jury or the court.

So open Supreme Court proceedings to cameras. Let America see what takes place. And to those judges who are opposed to this openness, maybe they shouldn't be doing what they do when the camera is not rolling.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, the NYPD is one of the most recognizable police departments not only in the United States, but the world.

Nearly 38,000 strong, these brave men and women protect and serve the greater New York metropolitan area and its citizens. Being a peace officer in New York City is a dangerous job. It has always been a dangerous job, and New York peace officers risk their lives daily.

The starting salary for a peace officer in New York City is $25,000, and once they graduate from the academy, it is only $32,000, almost poverty wages in one of the most expensive cities in the country to live in.

Yet, each year's recruiting classes, young men and women choose to wear the blue uniform and badge of NYPD. They choose to serve New York City and its citizens with honor and bravery.

Madam Speaker, I have had the opportunity as a former judge in Texas to address NYPD peace officers, and after we got through the language barrier, I found them to be dedicated keepers and protectors of the law.

Officer Patrick Lynch, Christine Schmidt and Joseph Cho are three of the valiant PD police officers from New York City. Little did they know that in the early morning hours of February 5, just a few days ago, they would make and become a cut above the rest of us.

It all started with a guy by the name of Danny Fernandez. He was broke, and he was in debt, so he decided how he was going to get some money to pay his debt and pay off other expenses, and he wanted to commit many serious felony crimes ranging from robbery to attempted murder.

So to begin his crime spree, he needed a weapon to commit these robberies. So he decided to attack an NYPD officer to get a firearm. His choice was 30-year-old Officer Joseph Cho, a 2-month rookie assigned to late-night foot patrol on the tough New York streets.

That night, Officer Cho unknowingly became Fernandez's target. Fernandez attacked him and smashed Cho twice over the head with a baseball bat.

Meanwhile, Officer Patrick Lynch, another rookie, who was also out of the academy just 2 months and assigned to the latenight foot patrol, was on patrol. Around 1:00 a.m., Officer Lynch came face-to-face with the menacing Fernandez, armed with a baseball bat, standing over Officer Cho ready to strike him a third time, even though Officer Cho was on the ground.

So seeing Officer Cho on the ground, unconscious, with the bat- wielding outlaw standing over him, Officer Lynch charged after the suspect, and then he radioed for backup. Responding to his calls for assistance was Officer Christine Smith, a 26-year-old, yes, that is right, rookie within NYPD.

She, like Officers Cho and Lynch, had only been out of the academy for 2 months, and she was on foot patrol just a few blocks away. She had given up a career in teaching to become a peace officer.

Together, this dynamic duo quickly caught the outlaw and held him and charged him with serious crimes.

Their bravery and heroism has earned these three rookies commendations from NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. It has also earned them the respect of their fellow officers and the gratitude of the entire city.

Officer Cho received numerous skull fractures and required 20 stitches, but eventually he will recover. The criminal will be facing a jury in New York City for his crimes against New York City's finest, the NYPD.

Lawmen and women like Officers Lynch, Smith and Cho are a rare breed, but they are the Americans who wear the badge to protect and to serve. So, today, we thank rookies Lynch, Schmid and Cho and the thousands other peace officers in this country for their daily valor, courage and sense of duty to the people. These individuals fight the local thugs, child molesters, robbers, killers and street terrorists. They do our work for us. They are what stands between us, the law and the lawless, and we thank them for that.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, a government spokesman has said people from poor countries are taking jobs and giving nothing back to the country. But the government spokesman was not from the United States, but Russia.

Under a new Russian crackdown on illegal immigration, illegals are being ordered out of the country and employers who hire them are being prosecuted. Russia is also securing its visa program against fraud. All of these actions are working. The illegals are leaving the country by the thousands. No massive deportation is needed, no amnesty or path to citizenship.

Similar to the United States, millions of illegals are crossing Russian borders. They take government resources from legal citizens. The Russian Government, however, unlike the U.S. Government, isn't giving in to those who want cheap plantation labor. The Russian Government doesn't care if illegals or businesses don't like the new rules.

Russia is enforcing border security by prosecuting illegals and those that hire them. The U.S. Government could learn something from Russia. Prosecute businesses that knowingly hire illegals, and illegals will leave. Russia has proven it. But does America have the moral will to do the same? We shall see.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, in Chicago, a 22-year-old woman is suing a Spanish language radio station. It seems she won a Corvette in the station's raffle, but the station won't give it to her. Why? Because she would not produce any identification. You see, a valid Social Security number or taxpayer identification number is required by law of the winner to get this type of prize because the winner must pay Federal taxes on the Corvette. The radio station strictly adheres to FCC contest rules. This person did not have either document. Why? Because she is illegally in the United States and because she won't pay the taxes, so the Corvette was withheld.

Never mind the station followed the law and the illegal is breaking the law by being in our country. She is now suing the radio station because she wants the Vette. She is also suing because of emotional distress. What arrogance this illegal has. The lawsuit should be thrown out of court, and when she gets to the courthouse they should put her in the jailhouse and deport her.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, peace officers are a noble breed, daily risking their lives to protect and serve the rest of us. They are what separate the evil of the lawless from us.

Two weeks ago on a dark, cool misty Texas night, Needville, Texas, Independent School District Chief of Police Ernie Mendoza, was coming home from his job. He had been supervising a basketball game at one of the local schools. As chief of police of Needville Independent School District, it was his job to protect students during school and during events.

However, on the same road was 29-year-old construction worker Guillermo Paniagua. Guillermo was drunk and driving his pickup truck. He was headed toward the chief's car. And within moments Gulliermo's truck crossed the center stripe of the road, slammed head first into the chief of police's vehicle. The crash instantly killed this dedicated police chief.

The chief had devoted 25 years of his life as one of Texas's lawmen. It was something that meant a lot to him. He was proud to serve his country as a peace officer. He was a 1983 graduate of the Waco Police Department where he worked in this small central Texas town.

Then he moved on to the big city of Houston, Texas, where he worked with the Houston Independent School District Police Department, one of the Nation's largest school districts. And then in 1996 he accepted the position with the Needville ISD Police Department where he became chief of police.

ISD police officers have the responsibility to protect children and teachers while they are in school. They maintain law and order and discipline. They keep the kids safe from day to day. And Chief Mendoza was one of the best. He strived to be a positive role model for the kids he protected, and he made peace officers look good.

He took the time to talk to kids and was well liked throughout the school. But it all ended a mile from his own home and the indifference of a drunk driver. Like most drunk drivers, Guillermo had only minor cuts and bruises. He was not injured. But those bruises did not keep him, the coward, the killer, from running from the scene in the darkness of the night.

He was quickly captured by the Wharton County, Texas Sheriff's Department, and now he faces first-degree felony murder charges, and failure to stop and render aid.

You see, when you drink and drive and kill somebody, that is a felony, as it ought to be. Chief Mendoza's wife and four children are now deprived of

their husband, and father for the rest of their lives. The kids of the Needville school system have lost a good protector.

But, Madam Speaker, this was not Guillermo's first rodeo. You see, he has a total of four intoxication convictions in the United States, two in Texas and two in Georgia. In Texas he was given probation for a DWI, but that was revoked when he was rearrested. And then when he got that second DWI, he only spent 3 days in jail and got 18 months probation and his license was suspended.

This drunk should never have been given his driver's license back at all. His four DWI convictions proved that the system is not holding him accountable for being a drunk driver.

But the most disturbing thing about Guillermo Paniagua is he is illegally in this country. So why is he still here? How did he get a driver's license in the first place? Why was his immigration status not checked by the police officers each and every time he was picked up for drunk driving? He should have been deported the first time he was arrested.

Police Chief Ernie Mendoza was killed at the hands of an illegal, a drunk driver. And this could have all been prevented. He and his family have become more victims of the U.S.'s inability to secure the border and protect its citizens.

Madam Speaker, Chief Mendoza was a real person. This is a photograph of him taken shortly before he was killed. The Needville ISD and the great State of Texas have lost a fine lawman. And the casualty list continues to mount in the U.S. by those lawless insurgents who are illegally occupying our land.

This government should be as concerned about the homeland casualties as it is about those casualties killed in lands far, far away, or there will be more Chief Mendozas killed.

And that is just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, on the lawless southern border, Border Patrol agents are routinely assaulted by illegals. They are shot at. They are run down by smugglers in trucks. Officers who daily risk their lives protecting America are not always protected by America.

As a border agent's wife writes me: ``In Texas, agents are regularly assaulted, and no prosecution is sought. They are told their injuries are not severe enough to deem Federal prosecution. My husband and his partner were both shot while on duty. The criminal who shot them was never tried on Federal charges. Instead, he was tried by the State of Texas. Why is it when an agent doing his job injures a criminal, the highest level of prosecution is sought, but when agents are assaulted, rarely, if any, prosecution is sought?

Why also is it that hundreds of drug smugglers flee to Mexico, but we never try to track them down until they will aid in prosecuting border agents? Those who do a difficult job of protecting our borders need all the help they can get.''

Mr. Speaker, America needs to vigorously prosecute criminals who assault our border agents. After all, they are the first line of defense from the illegal invasion into our homeland.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, a young 8-year-old-girl in Florida is kidnapped, raped and buried alive under a large concrete slab by an illegal.

A decorated Houston police officer is shot in the back four times and murdered by an illegal. A Texas State trooper was shot six times at point-blank range and left for dead at the side of the road by an illegal.

``The Railroad Killer,'' a violent predator who terrorized, stalked, raped and murdered 12 victims along the Texas railroads, an illegal. One study indicates that there are nearly 240,000 illegals who are sex offenders in the United States. They commit a total of one million crimes. These illegals create millions of victims who seek treatment and aid because they are victims.

The United States does a good job of taking care of crime victims. We have created crime compensation funds in States, programs that aid in the recovery and help with the cost of treatment, but the cost is paid by America.

Many victims are never compensated, however, and spend their life in pain and even in poverty. So why should not the country of the illegal pay for this crime as well? Countries who encourage the criminals to invade the United States should be held just as responsible as illegal perpetrators.

U.S. victims, Mr. Speaker, should be allowed to seek monetary compensation from the country the illegal came from. News sources report that a 2006 FBI report on undocumented illegals found that 95 percent of the murder warrants in Los Angeles are for illegals; 83 percent in Phoenix; 86 percent, Albuquerque. Seventy-five percent of those on the most-wanted lists in L.A., Phoenix and Albuquerque are illegals.

A recent Department of Justice study concluded that criminal illegals, once arrested, are likely to be rearrested six more times for other crimes. They are preying on innocent victims in the United States, both citizens and legal immigrants. When they are caught, some of them even flee back to their country.

These countries should be held liable for the crimes that their citizens commit. A victim of crime by an illegal should be entitled to receive damages from the country which encourages illegal entry into the United States. Many countries, such as Mexico, Brazil, El Salvador, encourage their citizens to illegally enter the United States. Because of that, these nations should be held financially responsible for the crimes of their citizens, and victims should be allowed to have a cause of action in American Federal courts against these nations.

Now, we know many times that these nations probably will not pay for that compensation for whatever reason. They just do not pay. If that is the case, then the victims should be allowed to apply through the State Department Foreign Aid Fund that we give these nations, like Mexico, and then receive just compensation, the compensation that they were awarded in Federal court.

Victims should not have to continue to pay for the crimes of illegals. Their nations must pay. Illegals and their nations should be accountable and held accountable for the failure by coming into the United States illegally.

Americans seem to always pay for illegal entry; those days need to end, and this is one way where countries should pay for the crimes of their illegals by compensating American crime victims and citizens or people that are here legally from other nations.

Mr. Speaker, that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, another border agent has been tried for allegedly using too much force in arresting an illegal at the Texas- Mexico border.

Former border agent David Sipe was found guilty in 2001 by a Federal court jury for using excessive force in arresting Jose Guevarra.

According to news sources, the Federal prosecutor hid evidence at that trial that was beneficial to the border agent, such as the Federal Government had made deals and gave benefits to witnesses like Social Security cards, and the prosecutor had not revealed the criminal record of a witness.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Anyway, Sipe was granted a new trial and last week a second jury, after hearing all of the facts and the truth, found the border agent not guilty.

Why does it seem our Federal Government is so zealous in prosecuting border agents who appear to be doing their job and give those who illegally enter the United States a free pass? Once again, it seems like the Federal Government is on the wrong side of the border war.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, crimes by illegals continue to plague American cities.

Jose Vallejo is another illegal charged with a vicious crime, this time rape of a 4-year-old in Illinois. The judge in that case set a $150,000 bond, and the defendant actually made the bond; but ICE arrested the individual and took him to an immigration judge for deportation. Vallejo begged the immigration judge to deport him so he wouldn't have to be tried in Illinois for the State charge. The judge, unaware of the rape charges, agreed and ordered Vallejo immediately deported back to Mexico. But before Vallejo could pull off this legalized jail break from Illinois, he was rearrested to stand charges on the rape case.

Federal authorities should not order illegals like Vallejo deported until they have been tried and served prison time for their crimes in State criminal courts; then they should be deported, otherwise more illegals will agree to be deported before their criminal trials and try to fraudulently avoid U.S. justice and the consequences of their crimes by hiding in their own homeland.

And that's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about immigration chaos that is occurring in this country.

There has been a lot of talk about immigration, border security and all of the problems that are occurring. But let's talk about one that has maybe slipped through the cracks and we don't hear too much about.

We have people in this country that have come from foreign nations that are illegally in the United States. Some of those people are criminals. They have gone to penitentiaries throughout this country. Our Federal Government then captures those individuals, takes them to an immigration judge. They are ordered deported back to their nations, and here is what happens: eight of those nations refuse to take back lawfully deported aliens. They won't take back their own citizens. Remember, all of these people are illegally in the United States, many are criminals.

How many people are we talking about? Well, we are talking about 136,000 individuals. The cost to the taxpayers to incarcerate those individuals while they are waiting deportation hearings is $83 million. Who are those nations? Well, seven of the eight, Vietnam, China, India, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos, and Jamaica. They get a permanent get-out-of- jail-free card in the United States because we cannot permanently detain these people in jail after they have been ordered deported and their country of origin refuses to take them.

So what do we do about it? Well, I think that these countries, any nation that refuses to take back lawfully deported individuals, should not receive foreign aid from the United States. But many of these seven or eight that I have mentioned do not receive foreign aid. So why don't we make sure that these people take back their aliens? Well, we already have a law on the books that says under section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, upon notification by Homeland Security that a country is not accepting or unreasonably delays repatriation of their citizens, the Secretary of State must discontinue granting immigrant or nonimmigrant visas to those citizens of that country until Homeland Security informs the Secretary of State the alien has been repatriated.

That sounds good, but the problem is Homeland Security doesn't enforce the rule of law; and the reason they don't enforce the rule of law, according to a letter we have received from Homeland Security, is that there are other sanctions that they must use because we have foreign policy issues specifically with the Chinese. So apparently Homeland Security is not even notifying our own Secretary of State to deport these individuals.

Mr. Speaker, this ought not to be. If a person is supposed to be lawfully deported back to their native country, even China, Homeland Security has the obligation to follow the law and tell the Secretary of State so these people can be shipped back to where they belong.

It is simple, if you come to America illegally, you go home after you are lawfully deported. If your own nation doesn't want you, then you don't get foreign aid, or you don't get any visas for any purpose.

These people that these countries will not take, 136,000, have become our problem because their nations don't even want their own citizens. Our government needs to be more concerned about the rule of law, the cost to the American taxpayer than it is about hurting the feelings of the Chinese on some foreign policy issue.

So, Mr. Speaker, we urge that Homeland Security follow the law and if you are ordered deported and these nations won't take them, then they shouldn't receive any visas to come to this country for any purpose.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, Saturday, January 27, 2007, is not an ordinary day for the community of Kingwood, Texas. Before many people get out of bed, residents will be up armed with trash bags waging a war against litter.

The ``Travis McCormick Kleenwood Day'' is an annual event where people of all ages volunteer to clean up their neighborhoods. They don't do it because they have to; they do it because they have pride in their community.

This year will mark the fourth annual Kleenwood Day. This effort is spearheaded by Kingwood Chamber of Commerce President Sparky Nolan. Because of Sparky's determination and enthusiasm, the number of volunteers continues to grow exponentially.

This year, beginning at their neighborhood pools, residents will pick up thousands of pounds of litter near sidewalks, greenbelt trails and curbs.

These volunteer efforts are commendable and an inspiration for others to show pride in their communities.

I am proud to have Kingwood, Texas, in my district.

That's just the way it is.

Mr. Speaker, Justin Thurber was a deviant that liked to secretly sneak, slither around, and follow women who rebuffed him. He tracked them like one would track an animal for prey. He did not like being told no.

For the young women in a small Kansas college town of Arkansas City, Thurber's predatory actions were well

known. He was the town stalker, the town weirdo. Jodi Sanderholm was one of his victims. When Jodi disappeared, her college friends knew who was responsible.

On January 5 of this year, Thurber had enough of being ignored by Jodi. He kidnapped her; he drove her to a remote, lonely, desolate area in the county. He raped her; he strangled her to death. He covered up his dastardly murder by hiding her body in the remoteness of the woods and he dumped her car in the lake. Jodi died, and the last person on Earth she saw was not her family, but the town stalker.

Mr. Speaker, nearly 1.4 million people are stalked each year, and most of them women. Intimidating a woman by following her around and showing up outside her home, work, and school is not romantic, it is a perverted crime. Hopefully the good people of Kansas will put this stalker in the ground.

And that's just the way it is.

Madam Speaker, the American soldier has always protected this Nation from those seeking to destroy our freedoms. U.S. soldiers go to the vast plains of combat. These troops forge onward into the fires of battle. They ensure generations of Americans that our interests will be protected around the world. Our volunteers expect their government to support them.

Now some Members of Congress talk of cutting funding to the American soldiers engaged in the desert battles of Iraq, and they want to pull our soldiers out a few at a time. This ill-advised political decision will leave U.S. soldiers abandoned and at the mercy of an enemy that will exploit this weakness.

But this action by Congress is not new. A previous Congress did not like the way a war was going and tried to change the policy and tried to change the plan. That Congress even complained about funds for the war and wanted a new leader.

Good thing that commander pressed on and won the war. He said to those skeptics and cynics in Congress, ``We should never despair. Our situation before has been unpromising, and has changed for the better. So it will again.'' The war was the War for Independence, and the Commander in Chief was George Washington.

And that's just the way it is.