On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) spoke out in support of recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Alabama.
Citing ICE detaining 40 illegal immigrants at multiple Mexican restaurants across Alabama, including Cesar Campos Reyes, who was wanted for four counts of bank fraud and four counts of wire fraud and money laundering for paycheck protection program loans he received for some of his restaurants, Tuberville emphasized the importance of getting the "bad hombres," a reference to a 2016 Donald Trump quote about illegal immigration.
"[T]he problem is we are spending on each illegal, $70,000-$90,000 a year," Tuberville said in an interview on "Bannon's War Room." "We can't afford that. We can't afford it in our hospitals. We can't afford it in our education system. We are a sinking ship, and the American people are looking around, going, 'What do we do?' We've got to start dipping water out of the lifeboat because we are going to sink along with everybody else, and that's exactly what's going to happen if we don't get these people out. ... It's upwards of 50 million people."
"We have got to get the bad hombres, number one, but if people are there around ICE, we can't pass them up. We've got to deport them, send them home," he added.
RELATED: Downtown Foley restaurant raided by Homeland Security as part of years-long investigation
Tuberville called on those illegal immigrants who are defrauding the system and operating illegally to be jailed or deported.
"We cannot continue to put up with this nonsense," he declared.
At the Capitol on Wednesday, Tuberville was asked about U.S. citizens getting detained in ICE raids and urged them not to be in a situation where that would happen.
"Well, first of all, don't put yourself in a situation where that happens," Alabama's senior U.S. Senator replied. "And I'm sure with all the illegals we have in this country, you're gonna probably have some mistakes happen. That's gonna happen. But again, as long as we take care of it the right way, understand they are our system, let them go. But again, if you're gonna be hanging around people that are not citizens of this country, some things like that are gonna probably happen."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
