Wisconsin Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) called on Congress to take action regarding the influx of illegal immigration occurring at the Untied States southern border. Gallagher called it a “failure” of the Biden Administration.
Rep. Gallagher’s statement on the Biden Administration's failure to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border. pic.twitter.com/1Mb2TKb5ui
— Rep. Gallagher Press Office (@RepGallagher) September 25, 2021
A press release from Gallagher said that the immigration court system is not equipped to handle the “thousands of Hatian illegal immigrants” that were released into the country.
Gallagher said that illegal immigrants who come to the United States “are given a court date that could be years away since the system is backlogged, and often do not show up because our judges cannot enforce discipline in the system.”
Gallagher said that he is introducing a bill that would give immigration court judges contempt authority. According to the Heritage Foundation, Gallagher’s bill “would fix a long-standing weakness of the immigration courts by giving immigration judges the power to hold lawyers and litigants in contempt if they disobey court orders or ignore deadlines.”
The Heritage Foundation said, “House Bill 5708 would amend the 1996 law to eliminate the Justice Department’s authority to promulgate contempt-authority regulations, and to simply give immigration judges the same contempt authority that federal district court judges have.”
Gallagher said, “Congress must take significant action to address this crisis. Giving immigration judges this basic authority is an obvious place to start.”
According to Gallagher’s release, giving immigration court judges contempt authority “is not a partisan issue.” He explained that 22 years ago Congress “overwhelmingly voted to give [the judges] that authority.”
Gallagher believes that the crisis at the southern border needs to be addressed and that the Biden Administration has failed to do so. He hopes that legislature giving immigration judges contempt authority will help in some small way to lessen the “enormous caseloads.”
– – –
Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and The Wisconsin Daily Star | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
