It's Important During the Shutdown That Americans' Rights Are Not Violated: Rep. Ben Cline

and welcome back to the Capital Report. I'm Steve Lance. When the government shutdown began to impede the Second Amendment rights of Americans, Virginia Republican Congressman Ben Klene wrote to the ATF and the Department of Justice. He had a chance to speak with Entities Luis Martinez earlier about keeping Americans safe during the shutdown. Congressman Ben Klein, thank you for joining us. Let's jump right into it. The US recently took out an an eighth vessel carrying drugs from Latin America and some congressional Democrats are trying to limit Trump's power to do this. What is your response to them? Well, President Trump is trying to keep Americans safe and he knows that drugs are flowing from South and Central America into our country through waters both on the east in the Atlantic and through the Pacific. And so he has uh used all legal measures to make sure that these drugs do not make it to America and continue to um be used by American citizens and kill uh Americans by the tens hundreds of thousands. And Congressman, along with the strikes against cartels, the Trump administration is also ramping up ICE operations in many US cities. And Democratic leaders are pushing back. What do you think is their objection to law enforcement? And who are they trying to protect from federal agents enforcing the law? Well, your question is a good one because uh I can't understand why someone would object to the enforcement of federal immigration laws and the use in extenduating circumstances when they are unable to enforce those laws federally uh with the use of federal ICE agents uh to use uh other means including uh the uh state um forces that have been asked to participate. So I I think that um what we're seeing is uh a reduction in crime uh related to u illegal immigrants being in our communities in our cities uh committing acts of violence and with the use of the National Guard uh there is a a lot more peace in those communities and uh it is being done according to the law. And to follow up on these ICE operations and efforts from the White House to reduce crime nationwide, Congressman, earlier today, we heard from the White House that President Trump is holding off on sending troops to San Francisco, saying that after discussing with the mayor of the city. The mayor assured him that local authorities are making progress on crime. Does this set an example for other cities in the US? Well, I I think that you always hope that you have support from uh local elected officials uh because uh it it is not a partisan issue uh the safety in your community. You want both parties claim to want safety in their communities. Uh so for President Trump to be offering to deliver on that promise and to actually engage and help uh local law enforcement with the use of the National Guard, it it uh is surprising to me that so many localities would not only object but stand in the way of that use of that National Guard to enforce federal law. Remember, that's what this is about. It's about enforcing federal immigration law. And when ICE isn't capable of doing it because of interference on the ground, um what they are doing is involving the National Guard to keep uh ICE agents and the public at large ultimately safe. Congressman Klein now pivoting to the government shutdown. You've had a recent success. You wrote a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and they agreed to resume processing gun applications. Tell us more about this. Well, it's important that during the government shutdown, that the rights of citizens, including our Second Amendment rights, are not violated. And so, uh, when the government shutdown was having an impact on law-abiding Americans purchasing firearms and the background checks that were required, uh, we wrote to ATF and to the, uh, DOJ and and, uh, requested through the administration that, uh, this be deemed an essential function of government and that those officials who run those background checks be, uh, brought back in to keep that operation going. uh they were only too happy to comply. I think the uh administration was very understanding of our concerns and also supports the second amendment rights of citizens. So they were quick to address it. We're grateful to them and we're glad that the the rights uh of Americans to protect themselves and their families and their communities are uh still being protected by uh the Trump administration and by the officials in Washington. And staying on the shutdown, Congressman, as the shutdown continues now uh well beyond uh the second longest uh shutdown in American history, what impacts are you seeing that your constituents are feeling uh and the impact of this government shutdown on them? >> Well, it's a frustration by my constituents who are trying to contact government agencies. My offices are open, so I encourage them to contact my office and then we can make those inquiries. uh but uh you know the government is supposed to uh function and for the people and when it doesn't do that there's that level of frustration and so uh we're trying to uh inform the public about what's available and ultimately who's responsible. The fact that Democrats haven't agreed to just continue funding while we work out extraneous policy issues. uh healthc care is very important to my constituents and they want to have that conversation but uh they understand that the government needs to be operating before we have that conversation as well as conversations about um national security um about foreign affairs about all of these issues that are of concern. So, we will continue to push and hopefully Democrats will ultimately uh agree with our continuing resolution to reopen the government at existing levels and we'll start to tackle these issues for the American people. >> Congressman Ben Klene, who represents the sixth district of Virginia, thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you.