E-Newsletter

Immigration Reform Update/No Amnesty

As I have said many times, I do believe our immigration system is broken.  However, my firmly cemented belief is that one of our top priorities ought to be defending America’s borders and enforcing our laws, not bending over backwards to accommodate those who break them.  I am of the view that proposals allowing illegal immigrants to simply come into the United States and stay here without consequence undermine our national security, encourage more illegal immigration, and are unfair to law-abiding legal immigrants.  In other words, I am against amnesty.

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama called on Congress to fix our broken immigration system, saying “… I know that members of both parties in the House want to do the same.”  To that end, House Republican leaders recently presented a memo of standards for immigration reform.  These were not guidelines that the Republican Conference agreed to or were united behind, but instead were intended to start conversations regarding immigration reform. 

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said last week to reporters, “The American people, including many of our members, don't trust that the reform we're talking about will be implemented as it was intended to be.  The President seems to change the health care law on a whim, whenever he likes.  Now, he is running around the country telling everyone he's going to keep acting on his own. He’s talking about his phone and his pen and he’s feeding more distrust about whether he’s committed to the rule of law. There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws.  And it’s going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes.”

I am one of those Americans that don’t trust that this President or his Administration to uphold immigration reform in the way that it would be intended if passed by Congress.  This is because President Obama delays or changes parts of Obamacare, his signature health care law, without Congressional approval; because less than 6 months before the 2012 election, without Congressional approval the Administration announced it would stop deporting undocumented immigrants under 30 who came to the United States as children; because Attorney General Eric Holder refused to comply with Congressional oversight efforts relating to the botched Fast and Furious gun-walking operation; because Administration officials such as then-Ambassador to the United Nations and now-National Security Advisor Susan Rice originally blamed a video for inciting the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi which we all now know was untrue; because Director of National Intelligence James Clapper did not give a straight answer when asked under oath if the National Security Agency collects “any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans;” etc., etc., etc.

It is difficult for Congress to conduct oversight when not given straight answers by the Executive Branch, and it is difficult for Congress to write legislation without being able to predict how or if they would be enforced by the Executive Branch. 

I am willing to work with the Administration on areas where we can find agreement, but I firmly agree with Speaker Boehner.  The President is going to have to demonstrate he can be trusted to enforce the laws as written.

House App Contest

This year marks the first Congressional Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Academic Competition, being referred to as the “House App Contest.”  Much like the annual Congressional Art Competition, the App Contest is an opportunity for high school students to display their talents and creativity.

The App Contest is a nationwide competition that allows high school students from across the country to compete by creating and exhibiting a software application (or “app”) for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.  A student or a group of up to four students eligible to attend high schools in the Ninth District of Virginia can enter. 

Our region is home to many talented and hardworking students, and I look forward to seeing the innovative apps submitted by young people interested in exploring or showcasing their STEM skills.  Additional information and resources can be found at www.morgangriffith.house.gov or by contacting one of my offices.

As always, if you have concerns or comments or wish to inquire about legislative issues, feel free to contact my offices.  You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671.  To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.

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