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

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairs Statement of President Trump’s Executive Order on Suspending Immigration
April 22, 2020
Press Release

SAN ANTONIO—Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Joaquin Castro (TX-20) issued the following statement in response to President Trump's executive order on suspending immigration:

"Rather than address the lack of testing or bring together a grieving nation after over 40,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus, President Trump is instead diverting attention away from his failures by blaming immigrants and using this crisis to advance his anti-immigrant agenda.

"Donald Trump wants to alter the long-term demographics of America by reducing legal immigration. He's seizing this global pandemic as a convenient cover for his cynical political objectives.

Issues:Immigration and Border Issues
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Castro and Over 50 Democrats Call for DACA Recipients to Access ACA Benefits During COVID-19 Crisis
April 22, 2020
Press Release

WASHINGTON—Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Joaquin Castro and over 50 members of the Democratic Caucus are calling on the Trump administration to allow DACA recipients to access Affordable Care Act benefits in response to the coronavirus crisis. This action is critical for the over 200,000 DACA recipients that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security classifies as 'essential critical infrastructure workers.'

Issues:Immigration and Border IssuesHealthcare
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Demand an Independent Investigation of No-Bid Border Wall Contracts
April 18, 2020
Press Release

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), First Vice Chair Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Second Vice Chair Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Whip Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Freshman Representative Veronica Escobar (TX-16) issued the following statement after reports of a half-a-billion-dollar no-bid contract was awarded to major Republican donor for border wall construction:

"This is corruption, and it's unacceptable. As thousands of Americans die from the coronavirus pandemic and over 22 million people filed for unemployment benefits, President Trump is using hardworking taxpayer funds appropriated for real national security needs to stuff the pockets of his friends with billions of dollars of no-bid contracts to build a monument to hate."

Issues:Immigration and Border Issues
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Calls on the Trump Administration to Stop Turning Away Hundreds of Unaccompanied Children Seeking Safety at the Border
April 17, 2020
Press Release

WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Members calls on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to halt the expulsions of unaccompanied children and follow the safeguards that Congress created to protect children from exploitation and human trafficking.

Issues:Immigration and Border Issues
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Urges DHS to Remotely Process Cash Bond Payments to Help Protect Families and Personnel From Coronavirus
April 2, 2020
Press Release
WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Members called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to remotely process bond payments through an electronic bond (eBond) system so that families can follow social distancing guidance when paying for a detained loved ones’ bond. The current system, which requires family members to pay bonds in-person in cash or via mailed check, causes delays in the release of detainees and risks exposing family members and Enforcement and Removal Office (ERO) personnel to the novel coronavirus. Allowing for expedited and immediate payment of cash bonds using the existing eBonds portal will help protect public health and safely reduce ICE detention numbers
Issues:Immigration and Border Issues
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Leaders Call on the Federal Government to Protect and Support Farmworkers During COVID-19 Crisis
March 31, 2020
Press Release
WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) leaders called on Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redford to take necessary measures to protect farmworkers and their families during this public health crisis. Throughout this public health crisis, there has not been a day when these essential workers have stopped showing up to work. At the same time, farmworkers often do not have the necessary resources or information, health benefits, or direct cash assistance as other US workers. As we mark the last day of Farmworker Awareness Week and Cesar Chavez Day, our government must work to address any ongoing and emerging needs farmworkers may have and ensure that farmworkers are not left behind as they continue to work through this public health crisis in order to guarantee food reaches American grocery stores.
Issues:Immigration and Border IssuesHealthcareEconomic Development and Workforce
MEDIA ADVISORY: Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members Calls on ICE to Heed Advice of Public Health Experts and Immediately Release ICE Detainees to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreaks
March 30, 2020
Press Release
WASHINGTON — Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), CHC members, and immigration experts will discuss why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must immediately release non-priority and low-risk detainees, vulnerable immigrants, and migrant children from US custody, as federal detention facility conditions leave detainees extremely vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. ICE facilities have shown themselves to be ill-prepared to provide adequate medical care to vulnerable detainees and have had issues containing outbreaks. Further, ICE often has to rely on local medical facilities to treat ill detainees. The novel coronavirus is a significant threat on a far greater scale. ICE’s failure to reduce detention numbers and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 has a real possibility of creating a severe health crisis for detention centers and overwhelming local health care facilities.
Issues:Immigration and Border IssuesHealthcare
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Seeks Answers on Trump’s New Border Restrictions Turning Away Asylum Seekers and Some Unaccompanied Migrant Children
March 27, 2020
Press Release
WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Members called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield, MD to provide further information on the CDC’s Order that restricts the entry of migrants and asylum seekers into the United States as way to protect against the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Given the Trump Administration’s proven anti-immigrant record, many fear that DHS is using the CDC’s recent order as a way to deny our legal obligation to asylum seekers, including some unaccompanied migrant children. It is in inappropriate for the Trump Administration to use this public health crisis as a pretext to send hundreds of asylum seekers and children back to dangerous conditions, where they may face oppression, persecution and even death.
Issues:Immigration and Border IssuesHealthcare
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Statement on Third Coronavirus Response Bill and Its Impact on Latino and Immigrant Communities
March 26, 2020
Press Release
WASHINGTON— Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) issued the following statement on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act also known as the “CARES” Act, which marks the third coronavirus response bill passed by the Senate:
Issues:Immigration and Border IssuesTrade, Commerce, and ManufacturingEconomic Development and Workforce
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Demands Answers Regarding DHS Use of State Child Welfare Agencies to Separate US Citizen Children from their Asylum-Seeking Parents
March 25, 2020
Press Release
WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Members requested information from State Child Welfare Agencies to determine if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been using these agencies in border states to separate asylum-seeking mothers from their newborn infants, who are United States citizens. According to news reports, agencies have been asked to take custody of newborn babies after DHS attempted to detain their mothers or send them to Mexico under the “Remain in Mexico” policy as a deterrent to persuade other migrants to not enter the United States. In one case, a Honduran mother was almost detained and sent to Mexico while her newborn infant child continued to receive care in the intensive care unit. This troubling practice is not currently tracked as family separations by DHS. CHC’s letter to child welfare agencies is the first step in creating data and accountability for these previously unrecorded family separations.
Issues:Immigration and Border Issues