Congress has responded to Trump’s call for better immigration procedures by passing a Bill late Saturday night.
The Hill:
The House passed legislation on Wednesday that would allow the State Department to revoke passports for people involved with foreign terrorist groups.
Passage of the measure, by voice vote, came a day after a man drove a truck into a school bus in New York City.
This bill was authored by Rep. Ted Poe and has some semblance of Bipartisan support
The bill authored by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) to refuse passports to people who assist or are members of foreign terrorist organizations had already been scheduled for consideration before Tuesday’s attack in New York City.
But lawmakers said the attack showed the need for legislation to address foreign terrorist threats.
“The terrorist attack in New York City comes as a devastating reminder that the enemies of liberty will not cease,” Poe said. “The terrorist last night was an immigrant from Uzbekistan. But we know even that within our midst, there are Americans who sympathize with those who seek to destroy our freedom.”
Rep. Eliot Engel (N.Y.), the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, acknowledged that the changes proposed by the bill would not have prevented Tuesday’s attack in New York City. But he said that it is “a piece of a larger strategy.”
“We don’t want known threats crossing our borders or slipping from country to country anywhere in the world,” Engel said.
According to reports, this bill would not go as far as to take citizenship away from an American citizen accused of this and they would be able to request a hearing within 60 days of the passport being revoked.
This bill looks like a great start in what should be the groundwork for meaningful immigration reform. I understand this applies to people already here but the treatment of our immigrants is certainly a necessary piece in true immigration reform. We must make sure we aren’t letting those who wish to do harm to our country in and keep a watchful eye on the ones who are communicating with dangerous people in and outside of our country.
