During Thursday's town hall, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) answered constituent questions about Trump's deportations and arrests of students.
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00:00Congressman, where is Mr. Tomlin? There he is. There's a mic right behind him, Mr. Tomlin.
00:10Congressman.
00:11It's obvious that the Trump administration has no use for the Constitution whatsoever.
00:18And today's news reports brought forth the fact that the Immigration Department is now sending letters to national-born citizens of the United States telling them to leave the country.
00:36What can Congress do to put a stop to this kind of nonsense coming out of the White House?
00:48Thank you very much for that question.
00:51Let me tell you, I don't know if there's anything that has bothered me more than the instability that's taking place today.
01:06I think all of us know we want everybody coming here to come legally.
01:13We want that.
01:14We also know that we have a Constitution.
01:22And I want to put up, Zach, do you have that, see the paper that's got the Constitution, the 14th Amendment on it?
01:31Let me read to you what the 14th Amendment says.
01:42Maybe I didn't give it to you that.
01:43The Constitution in the 14th Amendment says all persons born or naturalized in the United States and substitute the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States
02:00and of the state within which they reside.
02:08No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the citizens of the United States.
02:16But here is the biggie.
02:18Nor shall any state deprive any person, not citizen, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
02:43That's what the Constitution says.
02:46And what it says is simply that even if you are not a citizen, if you are a person in the United States, your freedom, nor your life, nor your property can be taken away from you without due process.
03:10That's what it says.
03:12That's what it says.
03:13That's what it says.
03:17So what can we do?
03:20We can continue.
03:22And I understand that Bernie Sanders and what's the name, AOC, had 36,000 people out of the meeting a couple of days ago.
03:37Because I'm going to put you all up against that 36 sound.
03:44They were not in a so-called blue state.
03:49People are concerned today like they've never been before.
03:53So I've been called upon my friends in the Congress to continue to meet with people.
04:02I'm here with you tonight at the heart of my district.
04:06But next week, I think I saw, Crystal, where am I going next week?
04:13I'm going to Spartanburg.
04:15Nobody in Spartanburg votes for me.
04:19And where else?
04:20Buford.
04:21Buford.
04:22Buford.
04:23And I'm going down to Buford.
04:24Because I think that people need to get in touch with what it is that we are up against.
04:34And I'm going to give you a good example.
04:36we're in the right place with us.
04:40When Mrs. Braves and Harriet and the rest of the people who signed that petition right here in Somerton,
04:48that was the first of five cases that got to the United States Supreme Court.
04:55When the case got to the United States Supreme Court, Earl Warren,
05:00who had been a Republican governor of California,
05:05was sitting there, he was the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
05:10When the case got up to them, the case was 9-0 in favor of the people of Clarendon County.
05:22Let's just suppose, sitting in the White House at the time was President Eisenhower.
05:29He had been elected in 1952.
05:33He was sitting there as the President of the United States when that 9-0 petition got up to him.
05:41It went against every moray in South Carolina.
05:49And Eisenhower enforced the law.
05:58Suppose Eisenhower would say that irrespective of this 9-0 decision,
06:03I don't know what Eisenhower felt about it,
06:06but as President of the United States,
06:09he had the responsibility to enforce the law.
06:12A 9-0 decision was rendered by the Supreme Court
06:18in favor of that gentleman
06:21that's sitting in El Salvador in that prison.
06:30And what this White House said,
06:32I'm not going forced to law.
06:35So Congress has got to do what I'm doing.
06:42We've got to go over to this country and talk to people like the people in this room
06:46and say to everybody,
06:49we have got to speak out.
06:51Because no matter what we do in the Congress,
06:55you've got to have 218 votes to get anything through the House,
06:59and you've got to get 60 votes to get anything on the docket of the Senate.
07:03And then you only need 51 votes to pass it.
07:08So all we can do is share with you what we're doing
07:13and ask for your prayers
07:17that this country will not allow itself
07:24to go the way of Germany
07:27in the 1930s
07:30when people stood by.
07:34I want you to put this other thing up for me.
07:38Who's got it?
07:39Is it B?
07:41I want y'all to see this.
07:44I think it's important
07:45to answer that question.
07:49It's in the handout.
07:52We'll just put it up there.
07:53In Germany, first they came.
08:05So I can see.
08:07Y'all got this in your handout?
08:09I want y'all just to look that and read that.
08:13What happened
08:13when Germany came to this?
08:17Same question
08:18that was just asked.
08:19And what they said first
08:21they came for the communists
08:24and I did not speak out
08:27because I was not a communist.
08:32Then they came
08:34for the socialists
08:36and I did not speak out
08:39because I was not
08:42a socialist.
08:43then they came
08:46this thing is hard for me to see
08:47for the trade unionists
08:50and I did not speak out
08:53because I was not a member
08:55of a union.
08:59Then they came
09:00for the Jews
09:02and I did not speak out
09:05because I was not a Jew.
09:08Then they came
09:11for me
09:12and by that time
09:15there was no one left
09:17to speak out.
09:20And we remember
09:21what happened
09:21to the Jews.
09:25So we're going to have
09:26to speak out.
09:28We've got to break
09:29our silence.
09:31And this is not about
09:32Democrats and Republicans.
09:35My parents
09:36were Republicans.
09:39My mother and father
09:41were Republicans.
09:43I love them.
09:45I don't hate Republicans.
09:48I do hate liars.
09:56I love my parents.
10:01And so that's
10:01the difference.
10:03People are going to have
10:04to speak out
10:04because we don't have
10:06218 votes
10:07in the House.
10:10We need 218.
10:11We don't have 60 votes
10:12in the Senate.
10:13We need 60 votes.