[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2478-S2479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Tillis, and Mr. Burr):
  S. 1120. A bill to make aliens associated with a criminal gang 
inadmissable, deportable, and ineligible for various forms of relief; 
to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to discuss a bill I am 
introducing today with my colleagues from North Carolina, Senators 
Tillis and Burr, related to criminal gangs. Our bill would reform our 
immigration laws to protect the homeland and the public's safety by 
ensuring that criminal gang members are not eligible for deportation 
relief and are swiftly removed from the country.
  Under current immigration laws, alien gang members are generally not 
deportable or inadmissible based on their gang membership, and they are 
eligible for various benefits and forms of relief.
  Just this month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, 
admitted it erred in granting deferred deportation to a known gang 
member who is now charged with four counts of 1st degree murder in 
North Carolina. In response to a letter Senator Tillis and I sent them, 
USCIS stated that Emmanuel Jesus Rangel-Hernandez's request for 
deferred deportation under President Obama's Deferred Action for 
Childhood Arrivals, DACA, executive order ``should not have been 
approved'' based on its procedures and protocols. This individual was 
placed in the removal process in March 2012, following drug charges, 
but was shielded from removal by USCIS even though the agency knew of 
his gang membership. After having received DACA, Mr. Rangel-Hernandez 
allegedly murdered four people.
  Secretary Johnson testified today before the Senate Judiciary 
Committee and said, ``If you are a member of a gang, a known member of 
a criminal gang, you should not receive DACA. You should be considered 
priority for removal.'' The Secretary said that Rangel-Hernandez should 
not have been approved for DACA, and that there was a lapse in the 
background checks for this applicant.
  The Rangel-Hernandez case shows that USCIS is not doing a thorough 
job reviewing the individuals who it allows

[[Page S2479]]

to stay in this country under the President's deferred action program. 
It remains unclear whether USCIS has a zero tolerance policy for 
criminals and criminal gang members applying for DACA, or any other 
immigration benefit or form of relief from removal. It is unclear how 
many individuals have received DACA that shouldn't have. So far, since 
2013, 282 individuals who are known gang members or criminals have had 
their DACA benefit terminated. The review of all cases, as ordered by 
Secretary Johnson, is ongoing, so that number could climb.
  In April 2015, nearly 1,000 gang members and associates from 239 
different gangs were arrested in 282 cities across the U.S. during 
Project Wildfire, a 6-week operation led by U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement's, ICE, Homeland Security Investigations. Of those 
arrested, 199 were foreign nationals from 18 countries in South and 
Central America, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.
  The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director expressed concern 
about criminal gangs and said, ``Criminal gangs inflict violence and 
fear upon our communities, and without the attention of law 
enforcement, these groups can spread like a cancer.''
  Despite the concern about violent criminal gangs, ICE arrests are 
down. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, ``arrests peaked 
in 2012, then dropped by more than 25 percent in 2013, and continued to 
decline in 2014.''
  Furthermore, under the Fourth Circuit's decision in Holder v. 
Martinez, former gang members may argue that their status as a former 
gang member similarly entitles them to remain in the United States. 
This ruling has opened the door to violent gang members renouncing 
their membership as a ruse to stay in the country. Unfortunately, the 
Department of Justice didn't appeal the ruling, signaling support for 
gang members to remain in the country.
  The Grassley-Tillis-Burr bill seeks to ensure that alien gang members 
are not provided a safe haven in the United States. It defines a 
criminal alien gang, renders them inadmissible and deportable, and 
requires the government to detain them while awaiting deportation. The 
bill also prohibits criminal alien gang members from gaining U.S. 
immigration benefits such as asylum, Temporary Protected Status, 
Special Immigrant Juvenile visas, deferred action or parole, with 
limited exceptions for law enforcement purposes. Lastly, the bill 
provides an expedited removal process for terrorists, criminal aliens 
and gang members.
  I hope my colleagues will agree that our immigration laws, and the 
administration's policies, must be reformed so that those who pose a 
threat to the public are not allowed to remain in the United States and 
take advantage of the benefits we provide.
                                 ______