News

Washington, D.C. - The House of Representatives today voted to reauthorize an important national security law that allows intelligence officials to more quickly and effectively monitor the communications of foreign terrorists and spies operating overseas. H.R. 5949 extends the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 for five years. The bill passed by a vote of 301-118.

Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) managed the debate on the House floor and urged his colleagues to reauthorize the FISA Amendments Act to keep America safe. 

Washington, D.C. - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it has received 72,000 applications from illegal immigrants seeking deferred action and work authorization, and that it has approved some of them in just three weeks since the program began.  On August 15, DHS began accepting applications for its amnesty program that stops the deportation of certain illegal immigrants and grants them work permits.  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the approval of these amnesty applications in the statement below.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano requesting that the agency not retaliate against U.S.

Washington, D.C. - The House Judiciary Committee has obtained internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents, which show that the Obama administration is cooking the books to achieve their so-called ‘record’ deportation numbers for illegal immigrants and that removals are actually significantly down - not up - from 2009.

Washington, D.C. - Several U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents today filed a lawsuit in Texas against the Obama administration’s amnesty program.  On June 15, 2012, Obama administration officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memo instructing ICE officers to stop placing certain illegal immigrants into removal proceedings and instead take actions that encourage these illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. and apply for work permits. 

Washington, D.C. - The Department of Homeland Security tomorrow will begin accepting applications from illegal immigrants seeking to benefit from the President’s amnesty program.  On June 15, President Obama announced that his Administration will stop deporting and begin giving work permits to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized the implementation of the Obama administration’s amnesty program in the statement below.

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano expressing concern about the Department’s plan to grant deferred action and work permits to illegal immigrants, particularly with regard to how the President’s directive will be implemented without a serious plan to combat fraud and abuse.  Both Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Grassley have repeatedly asked for more information on how the De

Washington, D.C. - House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) today sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano expressing concern about the Department’s plan to grant deferred action to illegal immigrants, particularly with regard to how the plan will be funded without imposing additional taxes on American citizens. The letter also raises fiscal concerns of the new policy relating to the management of U.S.