Federal H.R. 4731 Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act of 2016

March 16, 2016.  The House Judiciary Committee had a markup and hearing on this important bill.  Reform of the Chevron Doctrine was discussed. (The term Chevron doctrine comes from the case Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). Basically, it states that if Congress has not addressed a matter, an administrative agency may interpret any regulation of statute it administers to suit its agenda.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k0B0mmwm1I&feature=youtu.be

Click here to GovTrak this bill

Read Text here
Last Updated: Mar 14, 2016
Length: 12 pages

7 cosponsors 

Collins, Doug [R-GA9]

(joined Mar 14, 2016)

Goodlatte, Bob [R-VA6]

(joined Mar 14, 2016)

https://judiciary.house.gov/press-release/chairman-goodlatte-statement-markup-refugee-program-integrity-restoration-act-2016/

Gowdy, Trey [R-SC4]

(joined Mar 14, 2016)

Smith, Lamar [R-TX21]

(joined Mar 14, 2016)

Chaffetz, Jason [R-UT3]

(joined Mar 15, 2016)

Sensenbrenner, James [R-WI5]

(joined Mar 15, 2016)

Sessions, Pete [R-TX32]

(joined Mar 15, 2016)

Unfortunately, the news story below is not an isolated incident.  It happens daily.  Due to bureaucratic red tape, our police forces are unable to effectively fight this type of crime.

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have pressed the Obama Administration for answers about how a previously-deported criminal known to authorities went on to murder five people.

Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino, an unlawful immigrant, allegedly murdered five people last week in Kansas City, Kansas and Montgomery County, Missouri. According to information provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), not only did Serrano-Vitorino illegally enter and reenter the United States after being removed, he also has a long history of violent criminal activity, including several assault-related arrests and a conviction based on his threat to kill his wife with a rifle for which he spent two years in prison. On at least two occasions, ICE was notified of Serrano-Vitorino’s arrests, but for various reasons, did not take custody of him, which allowed him to evade deportation by taking advantage of at least one sanctuary jurisdiction and weak immigration enforcement policies.

In their letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Goodlatte and Grassley request information about Serrano-Vitorino’s immigration history, encounters with law enforcement, and if he benefited from President Obama’s executive amnesty program.

Below is the text of the Chairmen’s letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. 

March 14, 2016

The Honorable Jeh Johnson
Secretary
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Johnson:

Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino, an alien illegally present in the United States, allegedly murdered five people on or about March 8, 2016, in Kansas City, Kansas and Montgomery County, Missouri.  According to information provided to our committees by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Serrano-Vitorino entered the country illegally in 1993, committed a series of crimes, and was removed in April 2004.  The same month he was removed, he illegally reentered, but was voluntarily returned by the Border Patrol.  Serrano-Vitorino illegally reentered the United States again sometime before June 2007 and resumed his criminal activity.

According to ICE, Serrano-Vitorino has been arrested and charged with numerous crimes, including: communicating a threat with intent to terrorize; battery of a spouse; several driving without a license offenses; a subsequent a felony conviction for communicating a threat with intent to terrorize, reportedly based on his threat to kill his wife with a rifle, for which he was sentenced to incarceration for two years; two arrests for driving under the influence, which resulted in one conviction; and a conviction for domestic battery.

On at least two occasions, ICE was notified of Serrano-Vitorino’s arrests, but for various reasons, did not take custody of him.  It appears that there was a systemic failure to effectively communicate between ICE and local law enforcement entities, allowing Serrano-Vitorino to evade removal by taking advantage of at least one sanctuary jurisdiction and weak immigration enforcement policies. As a result, five people in Missouri and Kansas were murdered, allegedly by Serrano-Vitorino, an alien who had illegally entered the United States on multiple occasions and consistently demonstrated his utter disregard for our laws.

For a more thorough understanding of how this violent offender evaded immigration authorities and removal from the United States for many years and was allowed to allegedly murder five people in two states, please provide the following information not later than March 28, 2016:

The alien registration number for Serrano-Vitorino, his complete alien file (A-file), and all reports or notifications generated by DHS or in its possession about him, whether currently in written or electronic form, including, but not limited to, the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Executive Summary, criminal history, immigration history, immigration benefits applications, detainers or requests for notification, I-213(s), and Notice(s) to Appear or other charging documents created to seek his removal from the United States.

Please identify each and every date on which Serrano-Vitorino was encountered by a law enforcement agency in the United States, to include criminal and civil arrests, the nature of the charge, the jurisdiction where the arrest occurred, the disposition of that charge, the date(s) on which he was released released from the custody of that law enforcement agency, and the reason(s) for the release.  Please provide the arrest and disposition documentation for each encounter.

How and when did Serrano-Vitorino enter the United States? Was he ever issued a Notice to Appear? Please explain.

Did Serrano-Vitorino ever apply for any immigration benefits, including deferred action?  If so, was any application approved?  Please provide copies of any applications that he may have submitted.

How many times has Serrano-Vitorino been removed previously?  When?

When and to whom did ICE issue a detainer on Serrano-Vitorino, or request that it be notified of his release from custody?  Please explain.

Was Serrano-Vitorino a member of, or associated with any criminal gang?  Please explain.

If Serrano-Vitorino had been encountered by DHS enforcement officials prior to his arrest in connection with the murders on March 8, would he have met the requirements to be considered a priority for removal under the Administration’s new Priority Enforcement Program?  If so, please provide the exact reason for such consideration.  If not, why not?

As you know, the Privacy Act authorizes disclosure of information to Committees of Congress. If you cannot fully respond to each and every request for documents or information set forth above, please identify the specific item requested to which you cannot fully respond and explain why you cannot respond.

Should you have any questions, please contact Tracy Short at (202) 225-3926 or Kathy Nuebel Kovarik at (202) 224-5225.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Bob Goodlatte                                                   Charles E. Grassley
Chairman                                                           Chairman
House Committee on the Judiciary                   Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Kansas House Committee Approves Refugee Resettlement Bill

This is what the Wichita Eagle printed regarding HB2612

[I have added my comments in brackets]


Measure would create a state office to oversee refugee resettlement

ACLU of Kansas says the bill is unconstitutional and discriminatory

By Edward M. Eveld
eeveld@kcstar.com

Topeka

With members worried that the federal government can’t properly vet refugees coming to the state, a Kansas House committee on Thursday narrowly approved a bill that allows a one-year moratorium on refugee resettlements.

The committee voted 12-10 to recommend passage in the Kansas House, but opponents said the bill sends the wrong — and un-Christian — message about the state’s stance on refugee resettlement.
 
[Interesting how they use the "Christian" card rather than look at facts and figures.  I would really like to know who those opponents are and who has twisted their opinion.   Money talks and our opponents' arguments have nothing to do with Christianity. They are being unduly influenced by non-profits and government agencies that are raking in thousands upon thousands of hard earned tax payer dollars, which in turn, are used against the hardworking citizens of our state.]

The ACLU of Kansas called the bill unconstitutional and discriminatory.

[Oh, so now, the ACLU calls upon the constitution to make their argument!  It is unconstitutional to allow refugees in that have not been properly screened.  It is unconstitutional for them not to earn their right to be American citizens.  It is unconstitutional for them to place their own political beliefs above that of our American system of politics.  We the people, the taxpayers are the ones who are being discriminated against.  We, the United States citizens, do not want traitors in our country which fight to thwart our Constitution to take over the USA.]

The measure creates a state office for refugees and authorizes Gov. Sam Brownback to appoint a state refugee coordinator.

The bill allows local governments to request a moratorium of up to one year on refugee resettlements if the community lacks the capacity to handle the refugees. A public hearing would be held on the moratorium request.

[YES!]

Keep pushing and fighting the good fight!!

“It opens the door for mischief that is quite concerning to me,” said Rep. Don Hineman, R-Dighton, questioning whether communities could use the moratorium to try to keep out certain refugees.
Hineman said his faith exhorts him “to welcome the stranger with kindness, compassion and Christian love.”

[Mischief?  Is this what he is worried about?  Then he better look at the crime statistics for those refugees who have entered our country in droves.  He better do his research and look into the numerous Muslim groups that have ties to terrorist cells.  While he is at it, he should read up on the history of Islam - its violent, hate-filled history.  He should also take a good look at the news from Europe and see what is happening to their compassionate embrace of refugees.  This man must be blind, deaf and stupid.]

The measure also allows the governor to direct the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to investigate crimes by or against refugees. The state refugee office and coordinator would keep data from the federal government and meet quarterly with local governments.

[This is extremely important.  There are definitely many "persons of interest" residing in Kansas refugee communities.]

Rep. Joseph Scapa, R-Wichita, said the bill codifies coordination by local and state governments with the federal government in resettling refugees and provides a way for state government to oversee the process.

[Let's make sure that such a state office and its coordinators don't get fat at the federal trough.  They need strict oversight and minimum funding]

Federal officials have acknowledged that they lack information on refugees coming from Syria, he said.

[It is absolutely insane that federal officials either cannot or will not gather necessary information on incoming refugees - including their religious beliefs.  At the same time, the federal officials have no problem doling out millions of tax payer dollars to house, feed, educate and accomodate these aliens in every way possible.  It is infuriating!]

“This is not a ban on refugees,” Scapa said. “This is a common-sense way to help us see that the federal regulations are being abided by. This is a bill that allows us to have some control.”
Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said the bill is preempted by federal law, which has sole authority over refugee resettlement. And it’s discriminatory, he said in a written statement, because it could deny public services to people living in Kansas on the basis of who they are and where they come from.

[As I understand the law - preemption of federal law by the state is allowed if the state law is more stringent than the federal law.  In this case it is.  Preemption would apply if the state law attempted to override a federal law with a more lenient law.  Why can't we deny public services to non-citizens?  We must take care of our own American citizens first.  That is common sense based on sound reasoning.  The fact is that many elected officials in our federal, state and local governments actively discriminate against the American taxpayer.]

This week, he said, a federal judge granted a request by a refugee resettlement organization in Indiana for a preliminary injunction that blocks Gov. Mike Pence from taking any action to interfere with the resettlement of Syrian refugees.

[Of course the organization did but what is more shameful is that the federal judge ruled in favor of them.  Let us hope that federal judges in Kansas are loyal to the USA and its citizens first.]

Kubic said the House should reject “this legally problematic, unconstitutional, discriminatory and hateful bill.”

[Hateful?  Do they really not understand that it is their support of Muslims over Christian Americans that is hateful?]

Several members of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee said they struggled with their vote.

[It is OK to struggle.  I did not come to my conclusions about Islam and creeping sharia overnight.  I read, I learned, I researched.  Where are the Christian refugees?  Where are the non-Muslim refugees?  Where are the Muslims who question Islam?]

Rep. Brett Hildabrand, R-Shawnee, who voted in favor of the bill, said he also is called by his faith to have compassion for refugees. If the bill banned refugees or members of an entire religion, he said, “I would be 100 percent against it. That’s not what this bill does.”

[Thank you Rep. Hildabrand.  I have compassion for all the refugees as well.  I cannot imagine all that they have endured.  Generation after generation surviving in war torn countries.  I understand why they often embrace violence and terrorism.  However, that does not mean I accept it or want it in my community.  This is our country!  You must assimilate into our culture, not the other way around.]

Rep. Stephanie Clayton, R-Overland Park, told committee members that the $1.4 million cost to implement the bill was reason enough to defeat it, given the state’s finances. In a report released Tuesday, February tax receipts were $53 million below estimates. The current budget has only $6 million in reserve.

[Where did Rep. Clayton get these figures?  As I said earlier - set up the offices first and keep their budget to the minimum.  Our state does not need yet another bloated bureaucratic agency.]

“We flat-out cannot afford to do this,” Clayton said.

[We flat-out can't afford not to!!]

Edward M. Eveld: 816-234-4442, @EEveld

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article63840202.html#storylink=cpy