Goodlatte Urges DOJ and DHS to Take Steps to Quell the Border Crisis

Washington, D.C.  – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today sent letters to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson urging them to send the message that our laws will be enforced to the surge of minors and families making the dangerous journey to the United States. Earlier this month, Secretary Johnson announced that the Department of Homeland Security had arrested 121 unlawful immigrants who have been ordered removed and came to the U.S. during the ongoing border surge. Although Secretary Johnson stated that these unlawful immigrants have exhausted all legal remedies to avoid removal from the U.S., a lone member of the Board of Immigration Appeals halted the deportation of 12 people arrested in the sweep. In the letters, Chairman Goodlatte calls on DHS Secretary Johnson to use his legal authority to refer these cases to the Attorney General for review, and requests that Attorney General Lynch use her authority to review and overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals’ improper decisions. The text of the letter to Attorney General Lynch can be found here and the letter to DHS Secretary Johnson can be found here. Additional Background: Over the past several years, hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied alien minors and family units have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking to live in the United States. The House Judiciary Committee obtained a document from a source that shows the Obama Administration’s lax immigration policies are fueling the crisis at our borders. From July 7, 2015 – September 30, 2015, Customs and Border Protection agents interviewed 345 family units apprehended at the border. Of those interviewed, nearly 70% said that they heard that if they came to the U.S. they would be released and/or receive some sort of immigration relief, such as asylum. Additionally, nearly 60% said it was the U.S. immigration policies that influenced their decision to come here.   The House Judiciary Committee has approved several pieces of legislation that address the root causes of the border surge:

• The “Protection of Children Act of 2015,” authored by Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), ensures unaccompanied alien minors who make the dangerous journey to the United States are safely returned home. For those who stay with a sponsor in the United States while awaiting their immigration hearing, the bill provides for greater transparency and safety of these minors to ensure they are not inadvertently delivered into the hands of criminals or abusers.
• The “Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2015,” authored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), closes loopholes in current law that encourage illegal immigration, such as weak standards for asylum claims that enable the Obama Administration’s rubberstamping of fraudulent applications and policies, and effectively ends “catch and release.”
• The “Michael Davis, Jr. and Danny Oliver in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act,” authored by Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), ensures that the President of the United States can’t shut down immigration enforcement unilaterally by granting states and localities specific congressional authorization to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law. Additionally, sanctuary cities will be prohibited from receiving law enforcement grants.  It also strengthens national security and protects American communities by improving visa security, facilitating the removal of dangerous criminal aliens, and barring terrorists from entering and remaining in the United States.

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