Immigration and Citizenship

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to back words with actions when dealing with state and local jurisdictions that refuse to comply with federal immigration requests.

Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, October 7, 2015 at 10:30 a.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on the security of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. President Obama has set the overall refugee ceiling at 85,000 for Fiscal Year 2016 and announced that the Administration will admit 10,000 Syrian refugees over the coming year. Below are statements from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on this hearing.

Chairman Goodlatte: Since 1920, Disabled American Veterans has been serving American veterans who were wounded in the line of duty.  It provides free assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining federal benefits and services earned through military service.  It represents the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widowed spouses and their orphans before the federal, state and local governments.  And it provides a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs. The organization received a federal charter in 1932.  DAV is seeking enactment of H.R.

Chairman Goodlatte: Many Filipinos bravely served with the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II in the Philippine Scouts. The U.S. Army writes that:

[Early in World War II, General] MacArthur had his entire Army withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula and to Corregidor Island to hold off the [Japanese Army] until the U.S. Navy could bring reinforcements and supplies. The Philippine Scouts, side-by-side with U.S. National Guard and Philippine army infantry units, defeated the Japanese army in numerous actions in the interior and on the coastlines of Bataan. Survivors of the Battle of Bataan, to a man, describe the Philippine scouts as the backbone of the American defense there.

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the statement below regarding comments made yesterday by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson on sanctuary city policies during a talk at The Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco. Chairman Goodlatte: “While I agree that sanctuary city policies are unacceptable, it’s hypocritical for Secretary Johnson to criticize sanctuary cities while at the same time refusing to take the steps necessary to end these reckless policies.

Washington, D.C.— House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today condemned the Obama Administration’s lack of enforcement of immigration laws afterreports of Victor Aureliano Martinez Ramirez, an unlawful immigrant, allegedly raped, tortured and murdered 64 year old Marilyn Pharis in Santa Maria, California in late July. According to news articles, Martinez has been in the United States illegally since at least 2009, and has avoided deportation because of local, s

Washington, D.C.— House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Secretary Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today demanding information about DHS’ contact with Juan Jimenez-Olivera before he was arrested in connection with a murder to which he pleaded guilty last week.