Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Friday he is "very pleased" that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is standing up for the "right thing" and following up on leads that result in arrests of people engaged in potentially illegal activity, especially those involving children.
On "Newsline," Sessions discussed a Thursday raid on a Southern California farm that grows marijuana and reportedly employed eight children who are in the U.S. without legal permission.
The lawmaker said that Americans understand "the same thing that Joe Biden did when he was vice president and president" — that the drug cartels controlled the southern border and the business of "bringing people in."
"People who work in these drug cartel-owned marijuana farms, the federal government has an obligation not only to follow down these leads, but where you've got children who are involved, who are working in the drug trade, we will stay after it," Sessions said.
Shortly after the marijuana farm raid, California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X, describing the reactions of children who he said were "running from tear gas" and "crying on the phone" because their mother was allegedly "taken from the fields" by ICE agents.
While Sessions said he thinks "Gavin Newsom is wrong," he also said he thinks the governor, a Democrat, "understands that the American people do not want this dangerous product of THC [the main psychoactive compound in marijuana] … to be distributed."
"So, I'm very pleased with what ICE is doing to take down these, not just illegal activities that are going on with children, but to stand up for the right thing," he said.
He also commented on the recovery operation in central Texas after flooding last week killed more than 100 people and President Donald Trump's decision to go to the Lone Star State to see the devastation in person.
"The issues at hand are that there was terrible devastation," Sessions said. "There's loss of life. There is recovery going on, as you had mentioned, finding the bodies. But underneath that, there is a lot of coordination, coordination that's taking place not just with the state of Texas from the federal agencies, but a lot of positive things to say that they are working well.
"The president coming here is a big plus for us, but let's not forget that there is extensive damage here," he said. "[Transportation] Secretary [Sean] Duffy has been involved. The FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] has been involved, the Department of Transportation. We've seen FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] involved.
"And this is all as a part of coordination. Immediately, as soon as it occurred, there had to be helicopters, drones that were brought in, that traffic between major areas like Austin and San Antonio, that traffic in the air. This has been coordinated very well. I'm very pleased."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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