Cornyn Named Top Republican On Immigration, Border Security Panel
Cornyn Named Top Republican On Immigration, Border Security Panel
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn was officially named the top Republican on the Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee on Thursday during Judiciary Committee approval of subcommittee leaders and members. In addition, Sen. Cornyn was selected to serve as a member of the following three subcommittees: The Constitution; Human Rights and the Law; Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security.
"These subcommittees will allow me to continue working on several of the top challenges of our day, including securing our border and homeland, implementing comprehensive immigration reform and fighting and winning the war on terror," Sen. Cornyn said. "Securing the border and fixing our broken immigration system is one of the most pressing domestic issues facing Texas and our nation and we must work together to address it."
In the previous Congress, Sens. Cornyn and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) introduced the Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act to dramatically bolster border security, strengthen interior enforcement and implement broader reforms of our immigration laws.
Sen. Cornyn said the newly formed Human Rights subcommittee will "provide the opportunity to ensure we continue taking steps to end the atrocity of sex slavery and international human trafficking and smuggling."
Sen. Cornyn led a bipartisan effort in the last Congress to combat sex trafficking, a crime that disproportionately victimizes women and children. He introduced legislation to target and reduce demand of trafficking as well as increase penalties for human smuggling. In addition, he has worked with federal, state and local officials to establish task forces in several Texas cities to combat human trafficking and slavery.
Regarding the Terrorism subcommittee, Sen. Cornyn said, "We must build on last year's efforts to provide the necessary tools to fight and win the war on terror, including the ability to detect, deter and disrupt terrorist attacks."
--Below is more information about Sen. Cornyn's Judiciary Committee subcommittees--
Immigration, Refugees and Border Security
Jurisdiction: (1) Immigration, citizenship, and refugee laws; (2) Oversight of the immigration functions of the Department of Homeland Security, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Ombudsman Citizenship and Immigration Services; (3) Oversight of the immigration-related functions of the Department of Justice, the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement, and the Department of Labor; (4) Oversight of international migration, internally displaced persons, and refugee laws and policy; and (5) Private immigration relief bills.
The Constitution
Jurisdiction: (1) Constitutional amendments; (2) Enforcement and protection of constitutional rights; (3) Statutory guarantees of civil rights and civil liberties; (4) Separation of powers; (5) Federal-State relations; and (6) Interstate compacts.
Human Rights and the Law
Jurisdiction: (1) Human rights laws and policies; (2) Enforcement and implementation of human rights laws; (3) Judicial proceedings regarding human rights laws; and (4) Judicial and executive branch interpretations of human rights laws.
Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
Jurisdiction: (1) Oversight of anti-terrorism enforcement and policy; (2) Oversight of Department of Homeland Security functions as they relate to anti-terrorism enforcement and policy; (3) Oversight of State Department consular operations as they relate to anti-terrorism enforcement and policy; (4) Oversight of laws related to government information policy, electronic privacy and security of computer information, Freedom of Information Act, and Privacy Act; (5) Oversight of encryption policies and export licensing; and (6) Oversight of espionage laws and their enforcement.
http://cornyn.senate.gov/index.asp?f=record&lid=1&yid=1&rid=237294&pg=1