Trey Gowdy RSS Articles

Gowdy Immigration Bill Passes House Judiciary Committee

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Today the House Judiciary Committee approved the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act, the SAFE Act, introduced by Immigration Subcommittee Chair Trey Gowdy (R-SC). The SAFE Act improves interior enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. Congressman Gowdy released this statement after the Committee voted 20-15 to approve the SAFE Act:

"Ensuring public safety and protecting national security must be the primary objective of immigration reform. Our history of selective enforcement of immigration laws has made our nation vulnerable, threating the wellbeing of every citizen."

"The SAFE Act represents a common sense approach to the enforcement of our nation’s laws. Utilizing the law enforcement infrastructure existing in every state and community across this country to support enforcement efforts increases accountability and effectiveness, while using resources wisely.

"America is a nation of laws and a democracy comprised of a people who have a deep and abiding respect for the rule of law. The open process is long and tedious but absolutely necessary for all perspectives to be heard. The passage of the SAFE Act by the House Judiciary Committee is the first step in a larger reform process."

Key Components of the SAFE Act:

· Grants States and Localities the Authority to Enforce Immigration Laws: The bill grants states and localities specific congressional authorization to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law and includes provisions to facilitate their assistance. It also allows states and localities to enact and enforce their own immigration laws as long as they are consistent with federal law. In addition, the bill withholds specific grants from sanctuary cities that defy federal immigration enforcement efforts.

· Strengthens National Security: The bill makes it more difficult for foreign terrorists and other foreign nationals who pose national security concerns to enter and remain in the United States. Of note, the bill bars foreign terrorists or removable immigrants who threaten national security from receiving immigration benefits, such as naturalization and discretionary relief from removal, among other things. The bill also requires that no immigration benefits can be provided to immigrants until all required background and security checks are completed.

· Protects American Communities from Dangerous Criminal Aliens: The bill protects the American public by facilitating and expediting the removal of criminal aliens. In the instance a dangerous criminal immigrant cannot be removed from the U.S., the bill allows the Department of Homeland Security to detain them.

· Improves Visa Security: The bill improves our nation’s first line of defense, the visa issuance process. The bill expands the Visa Security Program to additional high risk posts, strengthens the integrity of the student visa program, and authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and State Department to revoke visas to foreign nationals if in the security or foreign policy interests of the U.S., among other provisions.

· Helps ICE Officers Better Do Their Jobs: The bill assists U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in carrying out their jobs of enforcing federal immigration laws by allowing them to make arrests for immigration violations, federal felonies, federal criminal offenses for bringing in and harboring unlawful immigrants, and offenses against the U.S. The bill also allows them to carry firearms and provides them body armor.

· Strengthens Border Security: The bill prohibits the Departments of Interior and Agriculture from preventing Border Patrol agents access to federal lands within 100 miles of the border. This will better enable Border Patrol agents to secure our border and prevent illegal activity, such as illegal immigration, smuggling, and drug trafficking. It also prohibits the interference of Border Patrol activities, such as construction and maintenance of roads and barriers, use of patrol vehicles, and deployment of tactical infrastructure.

· Reviews Administration’s Abuse of Prosecutorial Discretion: The bill requires a report to Congress each year on the abuse of prosecutorial discretion by the Administration.

Gowdy Introduces Robust Interior Enforcement Bill

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) today introduced a bill to improve the interior enforcement of our immigration laws and strengthen national security. Specifically, the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act (H.R. 2278) also known as the SAFE Act, grants states and localities the authority to enforce federal immigration laws, makes it more difficult for foreign nationals who pose a national security risk to enter and remain in the U.S., improves visa security, protects American communities from dangerous criminal aliens, strengthens border security, and equips our immigration enforcement officers to better do their jobs.

The SAFE Act is one of several bills the House Judiciary Committee has introduced to help address various issues within our immigration system. Below are statements from Chairman Goodlatte, an original cosponsor, and Subcommittee Chairman Gowdy, the sponsor of the SAFE Act, on the bill’s introduction.

Subcommittee Chairman Gowdy: “Robust internal immigration enforcement, paired with border security, is our safeguard against repeating the mistakes of 1986. The SAFE Act is a critical step in our efforts to fix our broken immigration system and ensures we will not be having this conversation again in 10, 20, or 30 years.

“Government’s first duty is public safety, but under this Administration, we have seen our immigration laws go unenforced, gaps in our national security persist, and criminal aliens released on to our streets. This current state of affairs cannot continue, and Congress must establish accountability measures so the immigration laws we pass will in fact be enforced. The SAFE Act will prevent this and future Administrations from skirting responsibility and unilaterally halting enforcement of our immigration laws.”

Chairman Goodlatte: “Interior enforcement of our immigration laws is critical to the success of our immigration system. One reason why our immigration system is broken today is because past and present Administrations have largely ignored the enforcement of our immigration laws. If we want to avoid the mistakes of the past, we cannot allow the President to continue turning-off federal immigration enforcement efforts unilaterally. This legislation is a game changer.

“The SAFE Act shows how to avoid the mistakes of the past with regard to immigration law enforcement, especially the 1986 immigration law. The bill grants states and local governments the authority to enforce federal immigration laws. Local law enforcement officials are already on the ground in their communities and it makes sense to capitalize on their abilities to enforce our laws, including those pertaining to immigration. The bill also strengthens national security and protects our communities from those who wish to cause us harm. The SAFE Act provides a robust interior enforcement strategy that will maintain the integrity of our immigration system for the years to come.”

Original cosponsors of the SAFE Act include Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Randy Forbes (R-Va.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Howard Coble (R-N.C.), Ted Poe (R-Texas), Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Rob Woodall (R-Ga.), Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), and Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.).

Key Components of the SAFE Act:

· Reviews Administration’s Abuse of Prosecutorial Discretion: The bill requires a report to Congress each year on the abuse of prosecutorial discretion by the Administration.

A copy of the legislation can be found here.

"Common Cents" with Josh Kimbrell

Tue, 14 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Congressman Gowdy joined "Common Cents" with Josh Kimbrell on Christian Talk 660 Monday to discuss the Benghazi investigation. Click on the link below to listen to the interview.

"Common Cents" with Josh Kimbrell

Gowdy, Smith Introduce Keep Our Communities Safe Act

Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today introduced the Keep Our Communities Safe Act (H.R. 1901) to stop the release of dangerous criminal immigrants into American communities.

In the 2001 decision of Zadvydas v. Davis, the Supreme Court ruled that under current law immigrants who had been admitted to the U.S. and then ordered removed could not be detained for more than six months. In the 2005 case of Clark v. Martinez, the Supreme Court expanded its decision in Zadvydas to apply to illegal immigrants. The problem with both of these rulings is that not every criminal immigrant who is ordered removed can be because of the unwillingness of some countries to issue travel documents necessary for repatriation.

As a result, the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have had to release thousands of criminal immigrants into our neighborhoods. In the last four years, nearly 17,000 immigrants with orders of removal were released because their own countries refused to take them back. Justice Department officials have stated that these criminal immigrants include rapists, child molesters, murderers, and other dangerous criminals.

Chairman Gowdy: “In the wake of federal court decisions, our country is forced to let dangerous criminal immigrants back onto our streets if their countries of origin refuse to repatriate them. This law gives DHS the ability to detain criminals beyond six months, through the duration of the removal process, when necessary to protect our communities. The primary function of government is to ensure public safety. Congress should act to fix this judicially created hole in the legal system.”

Congressman Smith: “Recent federal court rulings have required the release of dangerous criminal immigrants into our communities, putting American lives at risk. Just because some criminal immigrants cannot be returned to their home country does not mean they should be allowed back on our streets. Dangerous criminal immigrants need to be detained.

“The Keep Our Communities Safe Act closes the legal loophole that allows dangerous criminal immigrants to be released into our communities. The bill authorizes DHS to detain non-deportable criminal immigrants for more than six months. Congress has a responsibility to make sure the laws of the land protect Americans rather than endanger them. This bill helps ensure that dangerous criminal immigrants do not slip through the cracks of our legal justice system.”

Summary of H.R. 1901: The bill provides a statutory basis for DHS to detain as long as necessary specified dangerous criminal immigrants under orders of removal who cannot be removed. It authorizes DHS to detain non-removable immigrants beyond six months, but only if:

· the alien will be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future;

· the alien would have been removed but for the alien’s refusal to make all reasonable efforts to comply and cooperate with the Homeland Security Secretary’s efforts to remove him;

· the alien has a highly contagious disease;

· release would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences;

· release would threaten national security; or

· release would threaten the safety of the community and the alien either is an aggravated felon or has committed a crime of violence.

Such aliens may be detained for periods of six months at a time, and the period of detention may be renewed.

Gowdy Announces Congressional Art Competition Winners

Wed, 01 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Rep. Gowdy (SC-04) announced the winners of the 2013 Congressional Art Competition for the Fourth District:

1^st Place: “Change” by Matthew Linn of JL Mann High School

2^nd Place: “Studio Session” by Ludovic Nkoth of Dorman High School

3^rd Place: “The Old Barn” by Rachel Beard of JL Mann High School

Each spring, Members of Congress sponsor the nationwide Congressional Art Competition to recognize and encourage artistic creativity among high school students. Congressman Gowdy held a ceremony to display the 101 submissions and announce the winners.

“I want to thank all of the participants of this year’s competition,” Rep. Gowdy said. “This is a great opportunity to showcase the talented and creative students in the Fourth District. I especially want to congratulate the winner, Matthew Linn. He will join winners from across the country to be honored at a reception in Washington, and his winning piece ‘Change’ will be on display in the U.S. Capitol for one year.”

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Congressional Art Competition Deadline Approaching

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Greenville, SC—Rep. Trey Gowdy (SC-04) invites high school students in South Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District to participate in the 2013 Congressional Art Competition. The winner’s artwork, selected by a panel of experts, will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year.

High school students (grades 9-12) may submit one piece of artwork. Artists should bring their submission to either office location between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 25th; Friday April 26th; or Monday, April 29th.

Offices locations:

Greenville

104 South Main St.

Greenville, SC 29601

Phone: (864) 241-0175

Spartanburg

101 West St. John St.

Spartanburg, SC 29306

Phone: (864) 583-3264

A ceremony will be held to display all submissions and announce the first, second, and third places. The event will take place from 6-7 pm on Tuesday, April 30^that the George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business at USC Upstate located in downtown Spartanburg.

Artwork must be two-dimensional and no larger than 28" × 28" × 4", including the frame. Types of artwork submitted may include the following:

• Paintings - including oil, acrylics, and watercolor

• Drawings - including pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, and markers

• Collage

• Prints - including lithographs, silkscreen, and block prints

• Mixed Media

• Computer Generated Art

• Photography

In February, our office provided district high school art teachers with information about the Congressional Art Competition. Students can also review the 2013 Art Competition Guidelines for Students and Teachers and visit the website http://www.house.gov/content/educate/art_competition/

For additional questions, students and teachers should contact Kam Turner in our Greenville office at (864) 241-0175.

ICYMI- Gowdy rails against Obama remark on criminals and sequester

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Gowdy rails against Obama remark on criminals and sequester

By Josh Gerstein 4/10/13 12:52 PM EDT

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/04/gowdy-rails-against-obama-remark-on-criminals-and-161315.html?hp=l6

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) accused President Barack Obama Wednesday of apocalyptic scare tactics on sequester budget cuts, particularly when the president claimed that criminals would run free as a result of the broad-based reductions.

Gowdy was especially steamed about Obama's comment in February that, due to the sequester, "Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go."

"Who are those criminals that the president was referring to when he was invoking the Hale-Bopp Comet apocalypse talking about sequestration? Do you have any idea who those criminals would be?" Gowdy asked a panel of witnesses including Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee Lofthus and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

In an interesting reversal of typical left-right political roles, Gowdy, a former prosecutor, also questioned Obama's word choice. "I wonder who he’s talking about, ‘those criminals’? If it’s an open case in the U.S. Attorneys office, we typically refer to those folks as defendants as opposed to criminals," the ex-prosecutor noted. (Horowitz, also a former prosecutor, agreed that "defendant" is the correct term for someone charged but not convicted.)

A White House spokesman had no immediate comment on the criticism.

Lofthus stated earlier in the session that the sequester, if carried into Fiscal 2014, would cause a reduction of DOJ staffing to 2009 levels. That prompted Gowdy to ask: "How many criminals were let go in 2009?....I think we would have heard about it if a bunch of criminals were let go due to a lack of funding."

"The resources that are provided to the Unted States Attorneys’ organization influences the staffing and the prosecutors and the paralegals we have," Lofthus replied.

"We had furloughs in South Carolina. We had to furlough prosecutors. We had to furlough victim advocates. We had to furlough administrative assistants and investigators. Not a single, solitary criminal case was closed becuas of those furloughs," Gowdy said.

"What I’m trying to get at is the irresponsibility of threatening—whether it's the attorney general saying we’re going to be less safe or the president saying we’re going to let those criminals go—because we can’t survive on 2009 funding levels," the lawmaker added.

Gowdy suggested that U.S. Attorneys' salary-funding cuts of about $100 million per year could be made up through taking on volunteer prosecutors and by cutting back on conferences, which Lofthus said cost $54 million department-wide last year.

However, Lofthus said coming up with $100 million to cover such cuts was difficult to do given the cuts applied across the department. "Our problem is we have to save $1.6 billion," he said, meaning that U.S. Attorneys would have little choice but to cut staffing levels. "

"They're going to have to look at taking cuts across the spectrum of their budget, that includes their personnel their salaries and their benefits," Lofthus said

Gowdy Seeks Answers on ICE Plans to Release Criminals

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Trey Gowdy (SC-04), Chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee, released this statement regarding the disclosure that the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) had plans to release illegal immigrants and criminal aliens due to sequestration:

“Considering the government’s primary function is public safety, it is very concerning to me that the Department of Homeland Security had plans to reduce spending by releasing thousands of illegal immigrants and criminal aliens. How could this be the most responsible way to reduce agency costs? Did DHS look to other parts of the budget? Who is being released and how was the determination made? The Administration has some explaining to do, and I look forward to getting answers at an upcoming Committee hearing.”

Background:

The House Judiciary Committee obtained an internal ICE document, revealing that the agency planned to release thousands of illegal immigrants and criminal aliens to reduce the agency’s costs. However, the document shows ICE already had around 3,000 fewer illegal immigrants in detention than the 34,000 mandated by Congress, and planned to reduce that number further to 26,000 by March 31, 2013.

We Can Do Better Than Unconstitutional

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Congressman Trey Gowdy (SC-04) released this statement on his vote on S. 47, the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act:

"Before becoming a member of the House, I spent the better part of two decades fighting for victims who suffered at the hands of violent criminals. As a member of the House, I have been a vocal, active, and ardent supporter of reauthorizing VAWA because this legislation has been critical for protecting victims of domestic violence. I supported the House amendment to S. 47, but I cannot vote for something that is constitutionally suspect."

"It isn't fair to victims who will have to re-litigate these cases years from now— because some were more interested in scoring political points than making good policy. I appreciate the work of prosecutors, law enforcement officers, victims' advocates and service providers. They deserve better, and the victims of domestic violence deserve better, than a patently unconstitutional bill."

Obama Violates the Constitution

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled the 2012 recess appointments made by President Obama are unconstitutional. Although it is unclear how this ruling will affect the appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the National Labor Relations Board appointments, the judges do define a recess appointment as “limited to intersession recesses.”

Judciary Hearing on the Constitutionality of Obama’s Recess Appointments
February 23, 2012
http://youtu.be/OT4Y0deX1GM