By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Congressman Mike Rogers (R) from Saks warned on Wednesday, June 25 that the recent flood of unaccompanied children from Central America illegally crossing the Southwest border into our country has become an immigration crisis for America.
On Wednesday, Congressman Rogers questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on the issue during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing. Representative Rogers said, “Right now, we have a crisis and I don’t see the Administration doing anything about it – other than trying to house the children. I understand the humanitarian basis for that, but we need to send a signal to these other countries that it’s not going to work. You can’t send your children up here and let them stay.”
Rep. Rogers also sent a letter to President Barack Hussein Obama. Rep. Rogers wrote Obama, “Our great nation has been and always will be a beacon of hope and freedom for the world.
However, because of your Administration’s years-long, deliberate failure to enforce our immigration laws, our nation now faces a crisis at our Southwest border that threatens our sovereignty and adherence to the rule of law. According to the Department of Homeland Security estimates, over 60,000 children will cross our border this year, and over 127,000 children will cross in 2015. Desperate families in poverty-stricken countries in search of a better life are putting their children in physical danger in order to cross our border. The surge of unaccompanied children at the border is a direct result of the decision to circumvent Congress and implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. The administrative decision to grant special status to children brought here illegally by their parents encourages and rewards the deliberate breaking of U.S. law and is tantamount to administrative amnesty.”
In a statement after the hearing, Rep. Rogers stated, “It is simple, President Obama must enforce the laws on the books. His pro-amnesty executive actions are the root cause of this crisis and to ignore it makes matters even worse.”
President Obama throughout his presidency has worked towards a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal aliens that are living in this country and dramatically heightened levels of legal immigration despite the poor job growth during his presidency.
Republican critics say that President Obama has defied the U.S. Congress by: refusing to enforce existing immigration laws, giving work visas to illegal aliens who came here as children, and hampering border enforcement efforts. The President believes that he has acted within the scope of his powers as chief executive of the country and has urged the House to pass the Senate ‘Gang of 12’ immigration reform package. The President’s immigration reform package has the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many normally Republicans CEOs.
Some conservatives see the President’s weak border defense and open doors immigration policy as a cynical effort to remake the demographics of this country to boost his party’s performance in future elections.
Congressman Mike Rogers represents Alabama’s Third Congressional District.
