Texas representative on immigration and military involvement in law enforcement
(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation on Sunday about immigration in the United States.
U.S. border agents have been directed to stop deporting migrants under President Donald Trump's ban on asylum claims, following a federal court order that said the measure could not be used to completely suspend humanitarian protections for asylum-seekers, two Department of Homeland Security officials told CBS News.
The move effectively lifts a sweeping policy that had closed the American asylum system to those entering the U.S. illegally or without proper documents. It's a measure the second Trump administration has credited for a steep drop in illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, where officials last month reported the lowest monthly level of migrant apprehensions on record.
President Trump's asylum crackdown was unprecedented in scope. The proclamation underpinning it, issued just hours after he returned to the White House in January, gave U.S. border officials the power to summarily deport migrants without allowing them to request asylum, a right enshrined in American law for decades.
Trump said the extraordinary action was necessary due to what he called an "invasion" of migrants under the Biden administration, which faced record levels of illegal crossings at the southern border until it too restricted asylum last year.
Brennan brought up her previous interview with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, where the latter described "the frustration he experienced and the personal stories he witnessed in these ICE detention facilities," prompting her to ask Rep. Gonzales if he had similar concerns, to which he said:
"While I appreciate Senator Kelly's service, the part that he's getting wrong with ICE is for every sad story of someone being deported, there's 10 sad stories of Americans that have had their lives turned upside down because of the illegal immigration. And to be demonizing ICE agents is not right. Right now...ICE agents have a 1,000% increase on attacks, yet they're seeing a huge increase in amount of people that want to serve. There's currently 10,000 vacancies, and they have nearly 100,000 applications. I do think there's a balance where we need to go after these convicted criminals, the worst of the worst, and be able to tackle some of that, but we should be encouraging this enforcement of law, not the sanctuary cities that allow the lawlessness to take place."
However, Brennan said Gonzales raised concerns about those being mass deported were not necessarily "the worst of the worst and violent offenders," with the data showing the most convictions of those deported were for traffic or immigration offenses while less than 1% of the convictions of those deported were for homicide and 1.2% were for sexual assault.
"Immigration is a very emotional conversation. And it's where we have to get it right. You have to separate those that may be in a different situation than the worst of the worst. What I am encouraged to see...I am encouraged that after we have passed the one big, beautiful bill and have given DHS $45 billion that there are now creating these task forces and going after very strategic operations that take out the pedophiles, the murderers. Numbers matter, but more specifically, who is being detained. Traffic violations don't excite me as much, and I don't think keep communities as safe as taking out, you know, murderers and convicted criminals that are danger to all communities."
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX)
During the interview, Brennan and Gonzales talked about Fort Bliss, an Army base in Gonzales' district, trying to turn into a place "with soft-sided tents" to hold 1,000 people under ICE custody.
When asked if blurring the lines between law enforcement and the military gets us into uncomfortable territory, Gonzales said:
"It could. But let me give you some of the details on that facility. In particular. One that the soft side facility is located right next door to the current ICE facility in El Paso. So while it's on Fort Bliss, it really, in many cases, is managed by ICE. The other...some other details, there's already over 100,000 illegal aliens in that facility by the end of the week, I expect that number will raise up to over 1000 and then in the coming weeks, it will raise to several 1000. Now, the price tag, $1.2 billion. I'm a little concerned that the initial cost is 230 million that the Department of Defense is paying for. And so, that's where I don't...Fort Bliss is the Swiss Army knife of the of the Army, they do a fantastic job of whatever mission gets sent their way. But I don't want to see Department of Defense get stuck with the bill, if you will. This is where the details matter. We just passed this $45 billion for border security. I'm hoping some of those funds reimburse Department of Defense for their efforts."
Brennan followed up by asking the congressman if mixing the military and law enforcement makes him uncomfortable, to which Gonzales said:
"Yeah, it does...well, you have to get it right. You know if it's on base, and you know if there's collaboration. The fact is, it makes it a streamlined process because of how close it is to the airfield...Briggs Airfield, so that, in turn, makes a safety issue and it makes it just a cleaner effort. So there's a balance there. But I don't want it long term. I don't want to see soldiers operating in space. I don't think they want to be doing that, but the fact that they're in there now...it's a seamless transition right now."
To watch more of Brennan's interview with Gonzales, click here.
