Senator Schmitt Defends ICE, Deportation Operations, Previews Bill to Expand Denaturalization Process for Fraudsters, Serious Criminals

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) joined Fox Business' Kudlow to defend Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, support President Trump's mass deportation operations, and preview legislation he will introduce to expand the denaturalization process for certain individuals involved with fraud, other serious felonies, and criminal organizations.

Watch the full interview HERE

Senator Schmitt Defends ICE, Calls out Democrat Hypocrisy:

"Happy New Year to you and everybody watching. You're a great American Larry. Well look, Congress has passed immigration laws that protect the sovereignty of our country. We have a federal agency [ICE] that goes and enforces those laws. This didn't used to be controversial. Bill Clinton deported millions of people. Barack Obama used to talk about, 'if you're here illegally, you're going to be deported'. Only recently has the left, and now the Democrat Party, adopted this belief that borders don't mean anything. That they are arbitrary lines on a map and that a country doesn't get to say who comes here and how long they get to stay. Like, it's really crazy. And so, [they've] been radicalized, and it's what draws these [protesters]. Now, you would think people actually have jobs and they work, but evidently, in Minneapolis, they're professional protesters that come from all over the place. And what they're intending to do, Larry, is create chaos, to somehow persuade the American people that what the ICE agents are doing is inhumane. These guys and gals have families. They are husbands, they are fathers, they have a job to do, and they are doing it. So, the deportations are going to continue, and there's nothing the left can do to stop it. This is what the American people voted for. They were tired of the 20 million people who came here illegally, and they want enforcement of our laws."

Senator Schmitt Previews Legislation to Expand Denaturalization Process:

"That's right. So, there's three steps here. The first is, there have to be real prosecutions. Enough of the talk, we've got to find the fraudsters, and they need to be prosecuted. Secondly, there need to be greater controls - and Treasury [Department] is working on this - to make sure before any money goes out the door, you're verifying where it is going - not to some phony daycare in a strip mall with twenty other phony daycares in that same strip mall. And then, thirdly - and I'm working with the White House right now on a bill that we're going to get a vote for - is, for the first time, to say you're going to be denaturalized. And there's a look back here. If you committed fraud, or you're involved in any kind of felony, you lose the rights of an American citizen. You're going to be denaturalized, and you're going to be sent home. We have to send a very clear message that we're not going to tolerate this in this country. That we're going to actually side with the American people who've been ripped off. You know, people have great reason to not have faith in their government. They've sided with illegal immigrants for too long. We got to change that."

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