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Restoring VOICE: Supporting Victims of Illegal-Alien Crime

Episode length: 37m

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This week's episode of Parsing Immigration Policy focuses on the re-opening of ICE’s Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office. Originally established by the Trump administration in 2017 to provide critical support to victims and families affected by crimes linked to illegal immigration, the VOICE office was shut down by the Biden administration, but has been reinstated by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
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Guest host Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, is joined by two parents who lost their children to crimes committed by illegal aliens. They share their personal stories and experiences, highlighting how the VOICE office provided them with support and resources.

  • Don Rosenberg, President of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime (AVIAC), whose son Drew was killed by an unlicensed illegal immigrant in a hit-and-run crash.
  • Tammy Nobles, mother of Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old autistic woman who was raped and murdered by an MS-13 gang member illegally present in the U.S.

Vaughan then highlights Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's warning to federal highway fund recipients: comply with federal immigration law or risk losing funding. On his list of public safety concerns: states that issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia presently issue licenses to this population.

Rosenburg, the president of AVIAC and an activist focused on unlicensed drivers and road safety, discusses his research into the impact of this policy, stating that there is no evidence that providing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens improves road safety. In fact, he shares data showing that fatal crashes rise, as do hit-and-runs, in the first few years after such a policy is implemented.

Host

Jessica Vaughan is the Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guests

Don Rosenberg, President of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime (AVIAC), whose son Drew was killed by an unlicensed illegal immigrant in a hit-and-run crash.

Tammy Nobles, mother of Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old autistic woman who was raped and murdered by an MS-13 gang member illegally present in the U.S.

Related

Victims and Their Families Finally Get a VOICE

Silencing VOICE: Despite being shuttered by Biden, the need for ICE's victim-assistance office is greater than ever

VOICE website

AVIAC: Advocates For Victims of Illegal Alien Crime

Intro Montage

Voices in the opening montage:

  • Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
  • Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
  • President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
  • Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
  • Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
  • Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
  • Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
  • Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
  • Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
  • Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".
Host:
Mark Krikorian