Hearings

Hearings

Final Immigration Hearings of 2014 Preview More Gridlock in 114th Congress

Final Immigration Hearings of 2014 Preview More Gridlock in 114th Congress

When the 113th Congress kicked off nearly two years ago, hopes were high that this would be the Congress to pass lasting immigration reform. “I think a comprehensive approach is long overdue, and I’m confident that the president, myself, others, can find the common ground to take care of this… Read More

Committee Fails to Question Legality of President's Immigration Executive Action

Committee Fails to Question Legality of President’s Immigration Executive Action

The House Judiciary Committee held a held a hearing Tuesday on President Obama’s recent Immigration Accountability Executive Action, focusing on the administration’s executive action that defers deportation for the parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Known as the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, this… Read More

Homeland Security Secretary Makes the Case for Immigration Actions in House Hearing

Homeland Security Secretary Makes the Case for Immigration Actions in House Hearing

There are two competing and politically charged narratives about President Obama’s executive actions on immigration and what they mean for U.S. security and the U.S. economy. One of these narratives maintains that the President’s decision to defer deportations of many unauthorized parents of U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents… Read More

Congress and Obama Plan Their Next Moves on Immigration

Congress and Obama Plan Their Next Moves on Immigration

Although Congressional Republicans will not take control of both chambers of Congress until next year, the new power structure is leading to more aggressive attacks against President Obama’s plan for executive action.  President Obama has said he will offer a temporary fix to help some undocumented immigrants remain in the… Read More

Central American Children’s Testimony Humanizes Debate Around Unaccompanied Minors

Central American Children’s Testimony Humanizes Debate Around Unaccompanied Minors

Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus convened a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to add another dimension to the the ongoing debate around unaccompanied children from Central America arriving in large numbers at our southern border. Three children, who were once unaccompanied minors from Honduras, Guatemala,… Read More

House Hearing Exploits Children’s Misery, Highlights Ideological Differences

House Hearing Exploits Children’s Misery, Highlights Ideological Differences

In the last week before the August recess, House and Senate members are trying to finalize vastly different bills that would provide additional funding to address the government agency needs associated with the influx of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The House’s $659 million bill falls short… Read More

Senate Hearing Debates Enforcement-Focused Solution to Humanitarian Challenge

Senate Hearing Debates Enforcement-Focused Solution to Humanitarian Challenge

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the Administration’s emergency request for $3.7 billion to address the humanitarian situation as children and families flee violence in Central America. While the committee nominally addressed only the funding request, the president’s stated intention to ask… Read More

Congress Needs Reminding of Unaccompanied Migrant Children’s Plight

Congress Needs Reminding of Unaccompanied Migrant Children’s Plight

The House Judiciary Committee’s June 25 hearing was supposed to be about the recent surge in the numbers of unaccompanied child migrants from Central America who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. Had this really been the subject of the hearing, the topic of escalating gang violence… Read More

Not All Members of Congress Recognize the Nation’s Role in Protecting Unaccompanied Minors

Not All Members of Congress Recognize the Nation’s Role in Protecting Unaccompanied Minors

The House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing today entitled, “Dangerous Passage: The Growing Problem of Unaccompanied Children Crossing the Border.” Committee members questioned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson on the growing humanitarian crisis at our southern border. Thousands of children from Central America… Read More

Shake up at Customs and Border Protection Continues

Shake up at Customs and Border Protection Continues

News outlets are reporting the removal of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) head of internal affairs, James Tomscheck—who has been temporarily replaced by a director of inspections from the Federal Bureau of Investigations. This was a follow-up to last week’s release of the enforcement agency’s new use-of-force… Read More

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