Leahy Plans To Rush Gang’s Immigration Bill To Floor Without Hearings

March 27, 2013

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Stephen Miller, 202.224.4124

Leahy Plans To Rush Gang’s Immigration Bill To Floor Without Hearings

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement today after Chairman Patrick Leahy replied to a letter from Judiciary Committee Republicans in which they cautioned against a rush to pass an amnesty bill that “could be the most dramatic and consequential alteration of our immigration system in nearly thirty years”:

“Last week, Ranking Member Grassley, Senator Hatch, Senator Cornyn, Senator Lee, Senator Cruz, and myself sent a letter to Chairman Leahy warning against a rush to pass an amnesty bill before the American people know what’s in it. In his reply to our letter, Chairman Leahy effectively informed Committee members that he has every intention of moving on a rushed timetable that would make it impossible for lawmakers or the public to properly assess a bill of this magnitude.

Specifically, it seems the Chairman is arguing we can put a bill on the floor two weeks after the Gang of Eight potentially produces legislation in early April. The Chairman’s suggestion that we don’t need hearings on this new proposal because we have held immigration hearings in the past misses the entire point: the massive proposal being cobbled together by a group of Senators in secret must be independently judged and reviewed by the Judiciary Committee in the full light of day. That will take months—not two weeks—and will require hearings on every aspect of this issue: protecting American workers and wages, protecting our public benefit programs and ensuring enforcement of the public charge law, evaluating the size, scope, and impact of any guest worker program, tracking visa overstays, etc.

No member of Congress who believes in democratic procedure can acquiesce to the ramming through of a thousand-page bill that will dramatically and directly impact the taxes, wages, and security of our constituents.”

[NOTE: The original letter, sent to Chairman Leahy from Ranking Member Grassley, Republican Whip John Cornyn, and Senators Sessions, Lee, and Cruz, can be found here. To view Leahy’s reply to the Ranking Member and panel Republicans, please here. Following the Senators’ letter, Chris Crane, president of the union representing the nation’s 7,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, issued a statement applauding them for “demanding an open and transparent process where our voice, and the voices of all American citizens, can be heard.”]

U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) serves on four Senate committees: Armed Services, Judiciary, Environment and Public Works, and as Ranking Member of the Budget Committee. Visit Sessions online at his website or via YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Note: Please do not reply to this email. For further information, contact Sen. Sessions’ Press Office at (202) 224-4124.