{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mikejohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2883", "Speaker Johnson: There is Not a Single Democrat Who Believes Border Security or Immigration Enforcement Should Exist", "2026-05-13", "2026", "2026-05", "Republican", "House", "LA", "Mike Johnson", "J000299", "mikejohnson.house.gov", "mikejohnson", "https://mikejohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 This morning, at the House Republican Leadership press conference, Speaker Johnson addressed Republicans\u2019 reconciliation bill to fund border security and immigration enforcement and discussed Democrats\u2019 failed scheme to gerrymander along racial lines. Speaker Johnson also highlighted House Republicans\u2019 honoring fallen law enforcement officers during National Police Week.\n\n\u201cLook at the California Governor\u2019s race. Nearly all those Democrats, including a former House Democrat and a Biden Cabinet Secretary, proudly said \u2018yes\u2019 when they were asked if they supported providing healthcare to illegal aliens. We\u2019re supposed to believe this is a serious political party?\u201d Speaker Johnson asked. \u201cDemocrats are chomping at the bit to regain power, reopen our borders, and allow violent, criminal illegal aliens to continue to roam our streets. And we\u2019re not going to let them. So, we\u2019re eager to quickly finish this reconciliation process and get this bill to President Trump\u2019s desk.\u201d\n\nWatch Speaker Johnson\u2019s remarks here.\n\nOn Republicans\u2019 reconciliation bill to fund ICE/CBP:\n\nBefore Republicans returned to work in our districts last week, we ended the majority of the shameful record-long Democrat Department of Homeland Security shutdown. And I'm happy to report that we are right on schedule to finish the process and get our reconciliation bill to the President's desk by the June 1 deadline. We will fully fund both border security and immigration enforcement for the balance of President Trump's term, and we're going to do this for two reasons. Number one, obviously maintaining border security and deporting dangerous criminal legal aliens is the baseline that the American people demand and deserve. They told us that in the last election cycle, and they say it all the time, every day since. We do not have a country, if we do not have borders, that's just the bottom line. I'm grateful every day that America once again has a President who understands that.\n\nThe second reason is it's very sad and shocking fact. And, it's almost unbelievable to say this, but there's not a single Democrat in Congress, House or Senate, who believes that border security and immigration enforcement should exist. They do not believe that we should fund those at the federal level. It's a stunning statement, but it is true. And it's proven time and time again by their word and by their votes, they prove to you what they're about. I think everybody needs to keep that in mind.\n\nLook at the California's Governor's race. I mean, what a spectacle. Nearly all the Democrats, including a former House Democrat and a Biden Cabinet Secretary proudly said \u2018yes\u2019 when they were asked the simple question if they support providing healthcare to illegal aliens. We're supposed to believe this is a serious political party right now? I mean, Democrats are chomping at the bit to regain power and reopen our borders and allow violent, criminal illegal aliens to continue to roam our streets. These are facts. This is not political talking points. This is what they are and what they're about. And we're not going to let them do that. So we're eager to quickly finish this reconciliation process and get this bill to the President's desk.\n\nOn National Police Week:\n\nAmericans are honoring the courage and the dedication and the sacrifice of law enforcement officers, and they well deserve that sadly. We mourn the men and women who have lost their lives in a line of duty for the safety and protection of our neighbors. And we owe our law enforcement officers everything because they sacrifice everything to stand guard against evil and protect in all these communities around our great country. When law enforcement officers put on their uniform and they lace up their boots every morning, they just don't have a guarantee that they're going to return after that last shift.\n\nAs I mentioned, we had 111 [fallen officers] for this year alone, and it's something that we have to keep in mind all the time. One law enforcement death is too many, but we've received welcome news this year. This is one bright spot: the amount of law enforcement deaths in the line of duty dropped 25% from 2024 to 2025. And that's the lowest number of law enforcement line of duty deaths since 1943. So we're very thankful for that. And it matters who's in charge. Elections have consequences, and if you have elected officials, legislatures, and a Congress that supports those in law enforcement, then it assists with these statistics. That's an objective fact and it's a direct correlation to public policy. Republicans are going continue to pursue legislation that makes officers safer and will also continue to advance transformational policies like No Tax on Overtime, as you heard, which tens of thousands of law enforcement officers and their families have already benefited from and they\u2019re telling us about it when we go home.\n\nOn the Democrats\u2019 failed scheme to gerrymander along racial lines:\n\nIn the Callais case at the US Supreme Court, the court restored a simple but profound truth. Yes, the Constitution protects every American equally. And that's a very important concept for us to maintain. This is another fact. Democrats spent decades trying to engineer electoral maps that divided Americans. And this decision from the Supreme Court hopefully ends that terrible practice once and for all. We find it amusing that Democrats are suddenly concerned about fair Congressional representation, they say. And I challenge those Democrats to raise those concerns with the Republican Congressmen from Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island. They\u2019ll have a hard time doing that, of course, because Democrats have gerrymandered Republicans completely out of those states.\n\nAnd in Virginia last week, the Virginia Supreme Court, of course, affirmed what Republicans believed from the very beginning. We fought hard to win that ballot initiative and we invested there. But ultimately, we knew that was a hastily drawn gerrymandered that was unconstitutional. It\u2019s a power grab. And thankfully the courts restoring and upholding the rule of law, did the right thing there. Democrats, by the way, put all their chips in the middle on that one. You saw it. And they burned through countless goodwill with the people of the state of Virginia and elsewhere. Democrats nationwide, they spent more than $65 million and they even had Barack Obama cutting ads and robocall, and it wasn't enough because it was such a crazy overreach. And it was all in pursuit of an unconstitutional scheme to dilute the power of Republicans of Virginia. And fortunately, the plan failed spectacularly. They got a lot to answer for. Their press conference this week ought to be interesting. Look, this decision doesn't change our posture for one minute. Republicans are laser focused. We don\u2019t look to the right or the left, we charge straight forward.\n\n###", 1, "2026-05-14T06:11:37Z", "2026-05-14T06:12:56Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mikejohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2883"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7482948713004589, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}