Immigration and Border Issues
The Immigration and Border Issues Task Force provides a national voice and leadership with regard to immigration and border issues, both within the halls of Congress and on behalf of diverse communities across the United States.
Members:
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, Co-Chair
Rep. Loretta Sanchez, Co-Chair
Rep. Joaquin Castro
Rep. Juan Vargas
Rep. Filemon Vela
Senator Robert Menendez
More on Immigration and Border Issues
March 13, 2020
WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and CHC Immigration Task Force Chairwoman Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38) called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to prepare plans for managing the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, within DHS and HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facilities. The members also called on both departments to share plans for resource management, release of detainees, and treatment of individuals exhibiting symptoms.
March 5, 2020
WASHINGTON— The Congressional Tri-Caucus – which represents over half of the Democratic Caucus and includes the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) – called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to suspend immigration enforcement activities around hospitals and medical clinics in order to prioritize public health as communities across the country are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks. The members further request that DHS suspended implementation of the public charge rule in order to protect public health and for the agency to provide timely communications about any USCIS office closures.
March 3, 2020
WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and CHC Immigration Task Force Chairwoman Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38) called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to answer for the death of an American citizen, James Paul Markowitz, while in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody. CBP and DHS have provided little information on the circumstances surrounding his death in the month since the tragedy.
February 25, 2020
WASHINGTON — On Thursday, February 27, 2020, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), CHC members, doctors and lawyers working on the US-Mexico border and affected families will discuss the impacts of the Trump Administration’s anti-asylum policies, including such policies as “Remain in Mexico”, metering at ports-of-entry, the expansion of “safe third country” agreements; and two new programs—Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) program and the Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP)—which rush asylum seekers through the credible fear process without meaningful access to legal counsel. Doctors, lawyers, and impacted individuals will provide first-hand accounts of how devastating the Trump Administration policies are on immigrants and asylum seekers.
February 25, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court 5-4 decision on Hernandez v. Mesa:
February 24, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) issued the following statement marking the implementation of President Trump’s public charge rule:
February 24, 2020
WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to meet with the Caucus to discuss his role in enacting President Trump’s agenda, including the Remain in Mexico policy, deportation of asylum seekers via “safe third country” agreements, the use of “tent courts” to conduct immigration court hearings, and the building of Trump’s border wall, among other topics. This request follows a series of meeting requests between the CHC and DHS. Last Congress, CHC met with then-Secretary of DHS John Kelly in 2017 and then-Secretary of DHS Kristjen Nielsen in 2018. DHS had confirmed a meeting with the CHC on May 23, 2019 but DHS cancelled the meeting after mass turn-over occurred in Department leadership in the spring of 2019.
February 13, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), issued the following statement in response to President Trump using transfer authority to reprogram $3.8 billion in military funding to instead fund border wall construction:
February 6, 2020
WASHINGTON—Representatives Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Joaquin Castro, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, today demanded information from the State Department on recently announced rule changes impacting non-immigrant visa applicants seeking to visit the United States. In a letter to Assistant Secretary of State Carl Risch, the lawmakers called for more information about the rationale for the rule changes, reportedly designed to curb “birth tourism,” while underscoring the potentially significant consequences of the new rules.
February 4, 2020
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, today led a group of leading Democrats in calling on the State Department’s Inspector General to immediately open an investigation into the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras. Joining Menendez and Castro in requesting the IG probe were House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (NY-16), Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Chairman Albio Sires (NJ-8), and Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship Chair Zoe Lofgren (CA-16).