Thirty-two House Republicans joined Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., in a letter to the president calling on him to end the policies that have caused the surge of illegal border crossings. The letter calls on Obama to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and to forego policies that give the recent illegal border crossers or other illegal aliens special treatment under the law.
"As our country faces an unprecedented surge in the arrival of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) at our southwestern border, we call on you to immediately end the failed policies that encourage young individuals to put themselves in peril, leave their home countries, and make a long and dangerous journey to enter our country illegally,” the letter said.
The letter continues, “The Executive does not get to pick and choose which laws to enforce and which to selectively ignore…The DACA program must be immediately ended to send a clear signal to all individuals that our laws will be enforced…We request that you remove from consideration any preferential treatment for individuals who have recently crossed our borders… Your continued commitment to circumvent Congress and implement policies contrary to the intent of immigration law sends foreign nationals the false hope that administrative amnesty is possible…(W)e ask that you immediately clarify the intent of [DHS Secreatry Johnson’s administrative] review and ensure that no special treatment for any illegal alien, including [unaccompanied alien children] will be attempted through this review.”
Signatures include: Rep. Darrell Issa, Rep. Pete Sessions, Rep. Sam Graves, Rep. Lamar Smith, Rep. Blake Farenthold, Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Tim McClintock, Rep. John Duncan, Rep. Tom Cotton, Rep Jim Bridenstine, Rep. Alan Nunnelee, Rep. Gregg Harper, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, Rep. Paul Gosar, Rep. Lynn Jenkins, Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Rep. Tom Cole, Rep. Markwayne Mullin, Rep. Ken Calvert, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, Rep. Virginia Foxx, Rep. Ander Crenshaw, Rep. Phil Gingrey, Rep. Rob Wittman, Rep. Ralph Hall, Rep. Roger Williams, Rep John Campbell, Rep. Steve Stockman, Rep. Dan Benishek, Rep. David Jolly, Rep. Ted Yoho, and Rep. Tim Griffin.
The full text of the letter is here.
