Congresswoman Hageman visits Rawlins

Congresswoman Harriet Hageman met with her constituents for a town hall meeting at the Jeffrey Memorial Community Center in Rawlins on April 23.

Hageman addressed her constituents on some bills she voted against and a bill she introduced related to wasteful speeding and mismanagement by the Federal bureaucracy. She also spoke to the audience about the issues concerning the border crisis and the lack of accountability by the Biden Administration. The topic of border security appeared to be a concern to people who attended the Town Hall meeting.

On that issue, Hageman addressed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas being dismissed on his impeachment charges by the United States Senate. She said on April 16, she and her colleagues in the impeachment committee were denied by the Senate to present evidence or make an opening statement.

"I had the immense honor of delivering articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Mayorkas to the U.S Senate," Hageman said. "I was one of eleven impeachment managers and, unfortunately, the Senate broke with 230 years of American history and they dismissed the articles before trial by refusing to allow us to make an opening statement or present any evidence we have,"

Hagman said she had a three-ring binder notebook which had some strong evidence against Mayorkas. She explains that there were reports made by DHS in the notebook.

"I have a thick notebook, a three-ring binder, and there are five reports of an investigation that a DHS committee did over the last year in exposing Mayorkas for the things that he has done," Hageman said. "I can assure you it was a legitimate impeachment in the House of Representatives and if there was any Integrity by the Senate he would have been convicted and be removed from office".

According to Hageman, 11 million illegal immigrants have come into our country in the last three years. Hageman said she has spoken with the Inspector General of DHS as it relates to an investigation on Mayorkas and the mismanagement of the southern border.

"The Inspector General for the DHS, an independent investigator, reached out to me," Hageman said. "He has given me some important information on what the DHS has done. I asked him why he was contacting me."

According to Hageman, she asked the Inspector General for the DHS if he would be reaching out to other members of Congress.

"His response was, 'No, I am only contacting a couple of you because there are only a couple of you who are willing to expose it and fight this,'" said Hageman. "It is that bad."

Hageman said, according to a report that was given to her, the DHS has lost over 85,000 children in the last three years and the DHS is unable to identify or locate where they are.

"What we know is these children are working in meat packing plants and working in New York City, " Hageman said. "We also discovered these traffickers are engaging children in human and sex trafficking."

Hageman said the issue of abducted children has gotten worse. She said DHS is not doing any DNA testing on the children and allowing traffickers to take the children without any Identification.

"One of the issues these traffickers are engaging in is that they are giving 10 to 15 children at a time, " Hageman said. "There are people who are showing up where they keep the children right where DHS and Border Patrol is located where they first take the children when they are coming across the border. They are having people come in vans and they are giving them the children. DHS is no longer DNA testing the children and they are not requiring them to say they are family members. So your Federal government is covering the most unbelievable crises on the southern border and is engaging in child trafficking at this point."

Hageman also discussed the CBP app which DHS has used to help immigrants seek asylum without any legal process. Hageman said this app is used for anyone living outside of the United States to apply for asylum through the point of entry.

"The other thing the Inspector General told me that I find fascinating and shocking is that when you hear about the app on the phone, if you want to apply for asylum you can fill out the information on the phone, "Hageman said. "There is an app that the DHS has sent out to all those folks so they can apply for asylum."

Hageman said the Inspector General told her the app is similar to an open table app where you can make restaurant reservations or order food. According to Hageman, the Inspector General concluded that seeking asylum on a CBP app (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) that is sent by DHS is just as easy as an open table app.

According to the National Immigration Reform, The CBP is used to schedule appointments to enter the United States. It is also used to request authorization for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to fly to the U.S. as part of the Biden administration's parole processes. It is also used for checking wait times at ports of entry along the border (https://immigrationforum.org/article/cbp-one-fact-sheet-and-resources-directory).

During the Town Hall meeting, Hageman also talked about House Bills that she voted against such as the second Minibus Spending Bill which was passed by the House of Representatives. Hageman also said the minibus was written behind closed doors and did not go through the rules committee or allow for any amendments (https://hageman.house.gov/).

Hageman voted against this bill because she said it had irresponsible spending adding she believed $34 trillion is unsustainable.

"I opposed this bill because we are spending money that we do not have and spending money on policy that we do not want," Hageman said. "This is engaging in bad government and we need to change the trajectory of this country."

Hagman also talks about how Indigenous American tribes are only limited to leasing their property up to 25 years. Hagman says that she has fought for their rights to unlimited leasing.

"When I first got into Congress I found out our tribes are only limited to 25 years in lease land," Hageman said. "Those of you who own a real property you have the right entirely into long-term leasing arrangements. The issue is the refusal to recognize their autonomy but most importantly they are responsible for themselves. I believe the key to prosperity to our country and our forefathers also believe it as well is the ownership and control of real property."

Hageman said limiting tribes to only a 25-year leasing term on their land prevents them from economic development. She said she introduced a bill which will increase Indigenous tribes to 99-year leasing in their land. This bill, she said, is beneficial in helping Indigenous tribes create job growth and get their economic chain running.

"There have been circumstances where a tribe can go to the Secretary of Interior and seek special permission on a particular contract," Hageman said. "One of the tribes that came to testify in front of the house had two pending petitions in front of the Secretary of Interior to increase the 25-year lease limit on two particular lands they own. One of the petitions was pending for 14 years and the other one was pending for 22 years."

Hageman called the tribes across America's limited leasing rights a disaster from the mismanaged bureaucracy that is uncalled for and changes need to be made.

Hageman also brought to the attention of her constituents the issue of FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act). Hageman said she voted against the FISA Reauthorization Act because it is unconstitutional and violates due process.

"Our intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies have been using FISA to spy on American citizens where they use over 3 million illegal searches," Hageman said. "I am a strong constitutionalist and our constitution says what it means and means what it says when it comes to the 4th amendment. The federal government has no right to spy on you and if they want information on you then they need to get a warrant through the legal system.

Under the 4th amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,

After the Town Hall Meeting, Hageman was asked about the upcoming election where constituents have concerns of a repeat of the 2020 election. Hageman said it is up to the states to hold a fair election because elections should not be federalized.

"I believe that elections are a state issue," Hageman said. "We must be careful not to federalize elections. I do believe that would be appropriate in the Federal election you must have I.D. to vote and that is an important issue."

Hageman said organizations are working to make sure that this year's elections will be as fair as possible. She encourages Wyoming voters not to be discouraged or intimidated by the 2020 elections.

"I also know that there are other organizations that are working hard to make sure that the laws in these various states are going to be enforced," Hageman said. "States such as Pennsylvania are making good decisions to help assure a fair election. Wisconsin has voted on some constitutional provisions to protect election integrity and I believe that the state of Wyoming is working to protect our election integrity."

Hageman was also asked about her thoughts on the ATF alleged abuse of power (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) She said she believes the ATF is a rogue agency that needs to be dismantled and that the ATF has made laws that have not been approved by Congress.

"The ATF is one of those rogue agencies that needs to be reigned in," Hageman said. "We had the head of the ATF come before our judiciary committee and I had the opportunity to grill him"

Hageman also responded to the ATF lawsuits that could limit their power where they are forced to comply with the laws that are approved by Congress.

"Right now there are two lawsuits that are pending that I think will restrain the ATF's power," Hageman said. "One of them is that they tried to declare bump stocks as machine guns and I think it will be overturned by the United States Supreme Court and the other is the pistol braces. Again, I do not believe the ATF has the authority to regulate things the way that they have on those pieces of equipment and the courts are going to restrain the ATF and when we get back into power we will keep the ATF in check."