Thread: Barletta lauds opening of office to aid victims of illegal immigration

April 29, 2017
By Bill O’Boyle

WILKES-BARRE — U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta this week applauded the launch of an office within the Department of Homeland Security, which will provide services to people who have been victims of crimes committed by people in the country illegally.

The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office, which will also be know as VOICE, was established by President Donald J. Trump’s executive order of Jan. 25, which dealt with enforcing immigration laws in the country. That executive order included provisions cutting off certain federal grant funding to sanctuary cities, or jurisdictions which refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials or obey immigration law.

“One of the main reasons I ran for Congress was my frustration with the federal government’s refusal to enforce our existing immigration laws,” Barletta said. “When I was mayor, Hazleton was overrun by illegal immigrants who brought with them gangs, drugs, identify theft, fraud and other crimes.”

Barletta said he “always heard” that compassion should be shown for people who come to America illegally.

“But no one speaks up for the victims of these crimes,” he said. “I had to sit with people who lost loved ones who were victims, and I have compassion for them. I commend the Trump Administration for opening the VOICE office and standing up for victims and their families.”

The VOICE office will be housed under the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Barletta said VOICE seeks to use a victim-centered approach to support victims and their families, promote awareness of available services to crime victims, and build collaborative partnerships with community stakeholders assisting victims.

He said ICE has established a toll-free hotline to triage calls and provide victims with support. The number is 1-855-48-VOICE or 1-855-488-6423.

Barletta said another section of the same executive order cut off federal grants to sanctuary cities — an issue long championed by the congressman. A federal district court judge in San Francisco recently issued a ruling temporarily blocking this portion of the executive order. However, Barletta said the ruling does not affect the administration’s ability to enforce existing laws, including those that withhold certain federal grant funding to sanctuary cities, nor does it impact the government’s ability to designate jurisdictions as “sanctuaries” or develop regulations governing such jurisdictions.

Barletta said he has authored legislation that would go even farther than the president’s executive orders — the Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act, H.R. 83, which would stop all federal funds from flowing to states or localities that resist or ban enforcement of federal immigration laws, or flatly refuse to cooperate with immigration officials.

“Sanctuary cities are dangerous to public safety and we should stop supporting them with federal tax dollars,” Barletta said.

http://timesleader.com/opinion/colum...al-immigration

Love you Lou Barletta!! Yes, all this nonsense must grind to a halt. And giving VOICE to its victims is a wonderful way this President is spreading the truth about the real heartbreak of illegal immigration in the United States.

community stakeholders

While I'm glad to see someone on the surface doing something for the victims of illegal alien crimes, I'm very concerned about two things...

1. "community stakeholders" both of these words... this language is the language the globalists, socialists, and CFR types use in their plans to force America to transform into an open-borders dissolved nation. They don't use the words Americans they use the word "stakeholders" as if they are including people that have come into America and put down stakes just like miners and gold panners of the old west.

2. Besides a pat on the back and increased visibility, what is VOICE going to do for these victims? These families should be forming a class action lawsuit against the federal government and every elected official that brought doom upon their loved ones via failed policies and betrayals of the law.

I know we are all so very thankful to Rep. Lou Barletta for his decade-long diligence on these issues.

Here I am in this video at a rally to support Mayor Barletta when he took on the illegal immigration backers in Hazelton, PA




W

Barletta said he has authored legislation that would go even farther than the president’s executive orders — the Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act, H.R. 83, which would stop all federal funds from flowing to states or localities that resist or ban enforcement of federal immigration laws, or flatly refuse to cooperate with immigration officials.

“Sanctuary cities are dangerous to public safety and we should stop supporting them with federal tax dollars,” Barletta said.

Yes, thank you Lou Barletta. This legislation is very much needed to end this sanctuary city BS.

Something finally for the actual citizens of this country! Been a long time coming!