House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy, Congressman Lamar Smith, Congressman Jason Chaffetz, and Congressman John Carter have unveiled four pieces of legislation to strengthen the interior enforcement of our immigration laws, remove the ability of the President to unilaterally shut down immigration enforcement, ensure jobs are preserved for legal workers, reform the United States’ asylum laws, and make sure unaccompanied alien minors who make the dangerous trek to the United States are safely returned home.
Science, Space, and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the Legal Workforce Act to ensure jobs are preserved for Americans and legal workers. This bill requires all U.S. employers to use E-Verify, a web-based system that checks the Social Security numbers of newly hired employees against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records to help ensure that they are genuinely eligible to work in the U.S.
Chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee John Carter (R-Texas) is the author of the Protection of Children Act to ensure 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.
Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, is author of the Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act. This bill 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 is authored by Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.). This legislation 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. 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.
“The primary function of government is the safety and security of the American people.”