The only way to make our legal immigration laws work is by letting local law enforcement work together with the feds, Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Tuesday.
Van Duyne said on "American Agenda," "When I was a city council member and when I was a mayor of Irving, Texas, we had a great partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If we stopped somebody committing a crime and they weren't able to prove that they were in the city, in the country legally, we held them.
"ICE came and interviewed them. And then if they were found to be here illegally, they were deported."
While that policy attracted criticism from liberal newspapers and mayors of blue cities, Van Duyne said it worked out really well for Irving. She said, "Our crime decreased. We became the fifth safest city in the country and far from people leaving our city, people moved there. We saw people vote with their feet.
"We saw businesses vote with their feet because they want to live in safe communities."
She said it resulted in people feeling safe. "Those partnerships are the only way to ensure the safety and to work in an efficient and effective manner." Van Duyne added. "This administration, the Biden-Harris administration, has completely derailed them."
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Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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