GLENN: We have Mayor Van Duyne on the phone. She is the Irving mayor.
Beth, are you there? Ms. Mayor.
BETH: I am. How are you doing?
GLENN: I'm very good. I saw something come out this morning that the Dallas County Commission has come out and said they support the sanctuary cities. How are you feeling about that?
BETH: Well, Dallas County Commissioners Court had a vote last Tuesday, and they basically called it a welcoming to all immigrants. But one of the things that was in there -- well, several things in there that was very disconcerting.
But one of the things in there, in particular for cities, was the -- the notion that our local police agencies should stop all, quote, nonessential communications and cooperations with immigrations and customs enforcement.
And there was no -- there was no purpose of that resolution honestly. And for the county to direct our local law enforcement to do anything without even discussing it with the cities, I thought was ridiculous.
But they're putting our citizens at risk, and for no reason other than just political gain.
GLENN: You know, what is happening to Texas? In case people don't know, Irving is a suburb of Dallas. It's a very large and diverse city. I think the most diverse city in the nation.
STU: ZIP code in America, I think is the --
BETH: Yep. Yep. We have 240,000 people, 92nd largest city in the country, and we've got the most diverse ZIP code in the nation.
GLENN: Yeah. So it is a juggling act to keep everything running the way it does, so well, and everybody lives peacefully. But we have -- because we have real diversity, you have had some -- what I would call Sharia law advocates.
BETH: Yes.
GLENN: Come to -- come to town and do a number on you and the city. Are you prepared with what's going to happen now with the sanctuary city lovers?
BETH: Look. If I was concerned about doing -- not saying the right thing because I was concerned about getting critics, I'm in the wrong business. But sure. I know that we're going to have -- and the other mayors, of course, we're going to be criticized. But it shouldn't stop us from doing it.
And our point in doing it was Dallas County Commissioners Court does not speak for all Dallas county cities. And the fact is, is that we believe in the rule of law. We believe in the Constitution. And we believe that when we pledged to take that oath, that we would defend the Constitution and state laws of Texas. We're taking it seriously.
And for political gain to just say, "Well, you know what, we're just going to ignore these laws because they're inconvenient to us," is not the way to represent your people.
GLENN: How do you think this ends for cities like Dallas?
BETH: Huh?
I believe that right now, you've got a very conservative state legislature. I mean, Governor Abbott has been extraordinarily vocal in his opposition to sanctuary city policies and has pledged that he will do everything that he can to stop putting our citizens at risk, including sanctuary city policies.
Look, it's natural that we should work with our federal government. It is natural that we should work with our state government. And if we've got the resources, I'm not going to sit here and say, "Well, that's your job. That's your job. That's your job." We all need to work together. Our focus -- our main concern is the safety of people who live in our cities and our state and our country. And we all need to work together and just, "Well, that's your job. That's your job." It doesn't work like that. It's a waste of resources and tax dollars.
GLENN: Mayor, always good to talk to you. Thanks.
BETH: Great to talk to you. Thank you very much. You have a great week.
GLENN: God bless. You bet.
She is a remarkable mayor.
PAT: She's pretty brave.
GLENN: And one of the bravest people I know. I mean, she has not backed -- have you seen her back down on anything?
PAT: I don't think so.
GLENN: And she has gone against the Obama administration. She's gone against CAIR.
STU: Well, she's backed -- I've tried to contact her many times in an effort to deport Jeffy from Irving. And so far, she's done nothing. Nothing on that.
GLENN: Wow.
STU: I mean, this is the most obvious case. No one wants him here. Build a wall around Irving to keep him out if you must, but get him out of here. And she won't respond.
GLENN: Now, this -- really, to keep him out, you don't need a wall. Speed bumps are really...
(laughter)