As Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee, I am
highly disappointed that this bill was rushed to the floor without any
thorough and thoughtful consideration by the Judiciary Committee. In particular, there was no markup or hearing on this legislation
that has such wide ranging and profound effect on a mass scale. This bill extends the definition of ``criminal gangs'' as defined
under 18 USC section 521, and amends the INA to now include a
definition for criminal gangs as:
An ongoing group, club, organization, or association of 5 or more
persons that has as one of its primary purposes the commission of
certain listed offenses, including:
--a felony drug offense, including felony simple possession of
marijuana (this would impact high school kids who may gather to smoke
marijuana);
--bringing in and harboring certain aliens (this would cover
sanctuary sites like churches that aid undocumented immigrants);
--identity fraud offenses (including knowingly possessing a false
identity document);
--crimes involving obstruction of justice; and burglary. A bill of this nature where the consequences are so severe to many
innocent parties, including a 13 or 14 year old juvenile, demands a
more robust dialogue with a prudent and judicious approach. As legislators on the Judiciary Committee, we argue vigorously on
behalf of the American people, as is the case in any other Committee;
and in doing so, we will sometimes disagree.
Keywords matched
undocumented immigrants