Press Releases

Goodlatte to Secretary Johnson: Changes Needed to Reduce Fraud in Immigration System

March 19, 2015

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson expressing outrage over rampant fraud in the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program. A recent investigative report, conducted by News 4 in New York, uncovered an orchestrated scam where people – up to twenty years of age – are fraudulently claiming that their parents abandoned, abused, or neglected them in order to be placed on a fast-track to a green card. In the letter, Chairman Goodlatte demands the Department of Homeland Securi

House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Reform Asylum Laws

March 18, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a vote of 21-12 the Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act (H.R. 1153). This bill, authored by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), strengthens asylum standards to prevent the Obama Administration’s rubberstamping of fraudulent claims, effectively ends “catch and release,” and prevents American taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for unlawful immigrants’ lawyers.

House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill to Strengthen the Enforcement of Immigration Law

March 18, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The House Judiciary Committee today approved legislation by a vote of 17-13 to remove the ability of the President to unilaterally shut down immigration enforcement and strengthen the security of our country and communities. The Michael Davis, Jr. and Danny Oliver in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act (H.R.

Goodlatte, Smith, Cornyn, Cruz File Brief Supporting Halt of President’s Unilateral Immigration Actions

March 18, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) – in conjunction with the American Center for Law and Justice – today filed an amicus brief with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the federal district court’s decision to halt President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration in Texas vs. the United States.

Goodlatte, Gowdy, Labrador Applaud Action to Keep Seasonal Guestworker Program Operating

March 17, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), and Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Vice Chairman Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) today applauded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor’s (DOL) decision to continue processing H-2B applications while they finalize interim regulations for the seasonal guestworker program.

Goodlatte Statement on Meeting with Secret Service Director Clancy

March 17, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement after meeting with U.S. Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy and other lawmakers to discuss a recent incident where two Secret Service officers suspected of driving under the influence disrupted an active bomb investigation at the White House complex:

Crime Subcommittee to Examine Issues Surrounding Child Exploitation Restitution

March 17, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 10:00 a.m., the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “Child Exploitation Restitution Following the Paroline v. United States Decision.”

Goodlatte, Marino, Farenthold Applaud FTC’s Decision to Streamline Antitrust Laws

March 13, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.), and Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Vice-Chairman Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) applaud the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) action today to adopt a reform contained in the Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act (SMARTER Act) that ensures fairness for all businesses by streamlining the standards for mergers and acquisitions. Specifically, the F

Goodlatte: Secret Service Agents’ Poor Judgement Endangers White House Complex

March 12, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement after a press report that two Secret Service agents suspected of driving under the influence and striking a White House security barricade also disrupted an active bomb investigation and may have driven over the suspicious package itself.

Goodlatte: Witness Security Program Gives Cloak of Anonymity to Sex Offenders

March 11, 2015

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General today issued a scathing report identifying significant concerns with the Department’s handling of sex offenders in the Witness Security Program and the threat they pose after being terminated from the program. As of July 2014, the Inspector General found that a total of 58 sex offenders at one point were in the Witness Security Program, including 10 individuals who were convicted of sex offenses prior to admittance to the program, 10 individuals who were convicted of a sex offense while in the program, and 38 individuals who were convicted of a sex offe