Mark Krikorian - Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies Joins Houston's Morning News

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You know, as frustrating as it is. By the way,
good morning once again, Bob Franz, sitting in for Jimmy Barrett.
As frustrating as it is to hear that Harris County
has spent one point one million dollars in taxpayer funds
during fiscal year twenty twenty five to provide legal services
for aliens. It's even worse when you look at last
year in twenty twenty four, Harris County spent two million,

(00:21):
seventy one thousand dollars on similar legal services for illegals. Obviously,
fewer illegals thanks to the Trump administration led to that
to climb, But boy, that's an awful lot of money
just when you consider the grand total. Mark Koryan, executive
director CIS Center for Immigration Studies, to help us out
understanding all of this.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Good morning, Mark, Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
So why do taxpayers have to actually provide the legal
services and defense for people who break our laws come
into this country in the first place.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, they don't have to because unless they're involved in
a criminal trial, because everybody you know knows from TV shows,
you get it and a warning if you're arrested for
a criminal matter. Even if you're an illegal alien, even
if you're a tourist and you can the government can
provide you a lawyer for free if you can't afford one.

(01:12):
But deportation matters are not criminal matters. They're civil matters. Basically,
it's not punishment. It's deciding which country you're supposed to
live in and then acting on it. It's like a
bankruptcy court or you know, custody disputes that kind of thing.
It's the civil matter. Americans don't get taxpayer funded lawyers

(01:34):
in bankruptcy court. Why on earth would illegal aliens get
them in immigration court. It really doesn't matter. I mean,
it really doesn't make sense. But you know, the Harris
County has the right to do it. The question is
to the citizens of Harris County think that's a good idea.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, well that's exactly right. And that's why they need
to choose their leaders wisely and those who are going
to make these kinds of decisions. Mark, let's talk about
the deportation forces. Though I was quoting a little bit
earlier on cis IS numbers, one of your experts testified
before the US Senate Immigration Subcommittee nearly three hundred thousand
interior arrests so far under the Trump administration, seventy percent

(02:13):
of them have involved individuals with criminal records. That's literally
targeting the worst first, right.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Absolutely, But you know it can't be one hundred percent
because it's not like a drug dealer goes around with
a hat on his head saying, Hi, I'm a drug dealer.
Arrest me. So you're going to find regular aliens who
aren't criminals as well, and you know, what do you
where do you do? Let them go? They're still illegal immigrant,
they're deportable. But the fact is, even my point is,

(02:44):
even if you focus mainly on criminals, you're going to
get a lot of regular illegal aliens. And that's okay
because they need to be deported as well.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
You one hundred percent they do. And what's really interesting
about that mark is, you know, I'm Holman, who is
of course leading the deportation forces and as the borders are,
has made this very very clear to sanctuary cities if
you want to just limit it to those with whom
are those that we are targeting, and if you've got
an opportunity to hold them for us, we'll come and
get them in the jails. Peacefully. If we've got to

(03:16):
go to work sites, if we've got to go to
public areas to look for those individuals and we encounter
other illegals at the time and take them, that's on you.
That's something you could assist. And if you would just
stop obstructing us and hold these people for us, this
would go a lot easier for everybody.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah, it really is kind of ironic because sanctuary cities
are keeping ice out of their jails. But if Ice
were in the jails, they would have no time to
do anything else other than taken to custody. The illegal
immigrants who were arrested for regular crimes, drunk drivings, beating

(03:57):
up their girlfriends, selling drugs, all.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
Of that stuff.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Ice would be like Lucy in the chocolate factory. There'd
be so many of them, they'd be lucky to get
all of them. They wouldn't have any time to go
to the home depot. Now I'm not against doing enforcement
at home depots necessarily, I'm not even saying that's a
bad thing, but just from the perspective of the sanctuary city,

(04:20):
it just makes more sense to let ice in your jail,
have them take people that you aren't otherwise going to prosecute,
because if you're going to send them to prison, well
then ICE will wait and when their sentence is done,
then they'll take them. It just seems like an irrational
move by sanctuary cities to keep ICE out of their jails.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
It is completely irrational. But then again, they don't they're
not thinking rationally. They're thinking emotionally and politically. That's what's
most important to them. And here's the best part about
it is they don't even have a read on the
public when it comes to the political side of this.
Twenty twenty July so current Harvard Harris Pole found that
seventy five percent of Americans support the efforts to deport

(05:04):
illegal aliens. So they are all in. It's one of
the reasons why they elected Donald Trump in the first place.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Mark G.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
Recory and executive director of CIS Center for Immigration Studies. Mark,
thanks for the time and the work you do.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
Thank you.