Why vote for Norwood Amendment 65? The tragic shooting death of a newlywed Dallas police officer at the hands of a previously arrested criminal illegal alien provides prime evidence of the need for new rules taking the gloves off America's police and deputies in protecting themselves and the public from criminal illegal aliens, as called for in Norwood Amendment 65.

Dallas Police Officer Brian Jackson, 28, was shot and killed Sunday, November 13, 2005 after responding to a domestic violence call. The suspect in the shooting, 28-year old Juan Lizcano, is an illegal alien from Mexico who had been arrested and released by Dallas police on September 11 and 16. Dallas Police spokesman Sr. Cpl. Max Geron stated that his department is not allowed to enforce immigration law by federal regulation, and was forced to turn Lizcano back onto the street where he shot Officer Jackson to death.

Norwood Amendment 65 contains the major provisions of the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act (CLEAR), HR-3137, providing legal clarification, funding, information sharing, and training to assist state and local law enforcement agencies help keep criminal illegal aliens off the streets.

The bill currently has 110 co-sponsors in the U.S. House, including Texas members Kevin Brady, John Carter, John Culberson, Ralph Hall, Sam Johnson, Kenny Marchant, Mac Thornberry, Lamar Smith, Peter Sessions, Ted Poe, Ralph Neugebaur, Michael McCaul, and Michael Burgess.

"This death was totally avoidable by simple, professional law enforcement policy," says Norwood. "But too many local agencies, under pressure from governments with ‘sanctuary' policies that encourage criminal activity, are led to believe they can't do anything about illegal immigration in their jurisdictions. The CLEAR Act Amendment will permanently remove this facade, and start taking criminal illegal aliens off the streets before they can commit this kind of heinous crime in the future."