As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Management, Investigations and Oversight, I submitted a hearing request on Friday to find out more about the department’s ideas for addressing illegal immigration.

Two recent memos have shed light on DHS immigration proposals. First, a memo from Citizenship and Immigration Services highlighted ways to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants without any kind of legislative action (I wrote a letter to Secretary Janet Napolitano asking for answers about this plan). And a second memo - produced August 20 - from Immigration and Customs Enforcement details plans to dismiss 17,000 deportation cases.

As I wrote in my request to Rep. Chris Carney, Chairman of the Subcommittee, I am greatly concerned about the separation of powers issue raised by the policies in these memos. The Subcommittee should immediately fulfill its oversight responsibility and hold a hearing to ensure that DHS and its components are complying with, and enforcing, our nation’s immigration laws.

Hopefully, this hearing request will be approved so the American people can learn more about these concerning memos. DHS needs to focus more on enforcing immigration laws and protecting our borders than rewarding those who have come here illegally.