Prior to Paul Ryan’s election to House Speaker, American victims of illegal alien crime warned conservatives against supporting Ryan’s Speakership, given his two-decade-long history of pushing for open borders.
At an October press conference just days before Ryan’s election as Speaker, the American victims expressed concern that if Paul Ryan were made Speaker, Congress would advance immigration policies that put innocent American lives in danger.
The American victims’ concerns now seem confirmed by Wednesday morning’s unveiling of Paul Ryan’s $1.1 trillion, 2,000-page spending bill, which will reward lawless Sanctuary Cities with federal funding grants. Division B Title II of Ryan’s omnibus funds various grant programs for the Department of Justice (pages 167, 168, and 169) and contains no language that would restrict the provision of such grants to sanctuary jurisdictions.
Yet the American victims’ repeated warnings seemed to fall upon deaf ears in Congress—as many of the members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus helped propel Ryan into the Speaker’s position.
“We don’t want Paul Ryan whatsoever. He’s worse than Boehner. We’ve seen what he will do [if he’s elected Speaker]” the Remembrance Project’s founder, Maria Espinoza, told Breitbart News at the time.
“All of us have been calling [our representatives],” Mary Ann Mendoza said. “We’re telling them: ‘No Paul Ryan.’ He’s been for amnesty for years. He will take this country in the very direction we’ve been fighting against.” Mendoza’s thirty-two-year-old son Sergeant Brandon Mendoza was murdered by a previously-convicted criminal illegal alien, who was driving the wrong way down a freeway with a blood alcohol level that was three-times the legal limit.
Although their press conference was held a mere ten-minute drive away from Paul Ryan’s office on Capitol Hill, Ryan did not attend the event. Instead, the only member of Congress present to listen to the victims’ stories was Brian Babin, who recently introduced a popular proposal for immigration curbs—a proposal which Paul Ryan rejected from inclusion in House legislation.
When Breitbart News met with House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan prior to the Speaker’s election, Breitbart asked Jordan specifically about the American victims’ concerns:
Breitbart News: “At a press event for the families of the victims of illegal alien crime… they said that they felt they [would get] better representation under John Boehner versus Paul Ryan. They said Paul Ryan has been completely open borders, he’s had a two decade long history of pushing for open borders policies, of derailing Civil Rights leader—”
Jim Jordan quickly dismissed their fears: “Julia, do you actually think that the House Freedom Caucus with Dave Brat as one of our key members is really not going to hold our leadership accountable to doing the right thing and not being for open borders? I mean, I know the makeup of our group and we are not going to tolerate that kind of approach and that’s why Paul was asked the question [about whether he would move immigration legislation under President Obama] and that’s why he understands where we’re at and, more broadly, where the majority of the Republican conference is today.”
However, it should be noted that while Jordan cited Dave Brat as proof that the House Freedom Caucus would hold Ryan accountable on immigration, Dave Brat voted against Paul Ryan for Speaker of the House. By contrast, Jim Jordan voted for Paul Ryan.
The nine founding members of the House Freedom Caucus include Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Rep. John Fleming (R-LA), Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID).
All nine of them voted for Paul Ryan and were instrumental in Ryan’s election as Speaker.
As Breitbart News explained at the time:
Following his endorsement by Mick Mulvaney, founder of the House Freedom Caucus, Ryan is effectively ensured the Speakership. That will put him in an even more powerful position than the Vice Presidency, potentially able to complete his widely-documented two-decade push for amnesty and unlimited migration… Conservatives worry that with Ryan wielding the Speaker’s gavel— a man whom longtime immigration fighter Roy Beck described as “the heart and soul of crony capitalism” and whose open borders ideology “seeps out of every pore of his being”— many of the popular enforcement bills championed by conservative members such as Reps. Brian Babin, Steve King, Dave Brat, and Mo Brooks will never see the light of day.
Earlier this year, Kate Steinle’s father testified in front of Congress. Kate Steinle was gunned down in broad daylight by a five-time deported illegal criminal alien whose presence in the country was the direct result of San Francisco’s deadly sanctuary city policies. Kate Steinle’s father told members of Congress:
The day she was killed, we were walking arm in arm on Pier 14 in San Francisco, enjoying a wonderful day together. Suddenly a shot rang out, Kate fell, and looked at me and said “Help me, Dad.” Those are the last words I will ever hear from my daughter.
Following the release of his omnibus spending package, Paul Ryan’s office put out a statement saying, “Omnibus Bill Advances Republican Priorities.”
In a Thursday press conference, Paul Ryan said, “I feel very good about where we’re going.”
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