Congressman Jim Langevin (LAN'-jih-vin) is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, on which he chairs the Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems Subcommittee and serves on the Subcommittees on Seapower and Projection Forces and Strategic Forces. He is a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security and serves on its Subcommittees on Intelligence & Counterterrorism and Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Innovation.
Langevin was one of four legislators appointed to serve on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission
, and he co-founded the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, which he still co-chairs, to increase awareness around the need for stronger cybersecurity. A national leader on securing our nation’s technology infrastructure against cyber threats, Langevin has authored or co-authored dozens of pieces of cybersecurity legislation, including most recently the National Cyber Director Act.
My office regularly works with constituents from the Second District who are struggling with the immigration process themselves or on behalf of a loved one, friend, or employee. If you have any questions or need help navigating the process, please contact us at (401) 732-9400.
President Trump has consistently supported policies that degrade and devalue the important contributions of immigrants to our society. On just his seventh day in office, the President issued an Executive Order freezing travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries and suspending refugee admissions. I strongly condemned this action – which was not based on any credible threat or intelligence gathering – both at the time of its issuance and during testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security. I am also a cosponsor of legislation that would rescind both the original Executive Order and its successor, issued after courts declared the original travel ban unconstitutional. Immigration policy cannot be dictated by speculative fearmongering, and I will continue to fight for equal treatment of immigrants from across the globe and for the admittance of vetted refugees fleeing dire situations.
The same day he issued the “travel ban,” the President issued two other Executive Orders: one focused on changing domestic enforcement priorities and calling for punishment for “sanctuary cities” while the other began the process of building a wall on the US-Mexico border. All of these developments are deeply disturbing. Although I firmly believe in the need for strong border security to protect the nation, a wall spanning the entire 2,000 mile border is unnecessary and ineffective, and I have opposed legislation that would fund its construction. President Obama focused enforcement on undocumented immigrants who had committed serious crimes, and changing that emphasis only serves to instill fear in immigrant communities while allowing violent offenders to slip away. Fear of law enforcement is also a fundamental problem with forcing city and state police to implement federal immigration law, which is why I have opposed legislation that would prevent grant dollars from going to so-called “sanctuary jurisdictions.”
President Trump has broken with a seventy year tradition of welcoming immigrants to our shores where they contribute economically and culturally to vibrant communities, including in Rhode Island. I look forward to continuing my work to welcome newcomers to the state and to oppose the President’s regressive policies.
Many unauthorized immigrants were brought to the United States as children, even babies. These immigrants, often known as “dreamers,” have grown up in the U.S. and often have deep cultural and lingual ties to their communities. Recognizing the unique situation these youth often found themselves in, President Obama issued the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy in 2012. DACA provides for renewable temporary work authorizations for dreamers, and over 787,000 young people have been helped thanks to the program. Unfortunately, on September 5, the Trump Administration issued a memorandum rescinding the DACA program upending dreamers’ lives and placing them at risk for deportation. I am a cosponsor of the DREAM Act, which would provide a legislative fix allowing dreamers to achieve conditional permanent resident status and, eventually, citizenship.
I am convinced that the only way to effectively deal with the immigration challenges facing our country is through comprehensive immigration reform. Comprehensive immigration reform relies on three components: strengthening border security, providing a path to citizenship for those undocumented immigrants already in country, and reforming our visa system. Unfortunately, the House has not taken a single vote on a comprehensive bill since Republicans took the majority in 2011. This is despite the fact the Senate passed a bipartisan bill in 2013 with the backing of over two thirds of the body.
It is important to note that immigration reform is not amnesty. It simply provides a mechanism for bringing undocumented immigrants into our system so we know who is here and can ensure they are following the rules. Undocumented immigrants would still face significant hurdles before earning citizenship, and, just as importantly, they would not take the place of anyone who has followed the proper steps to enter our country.
As I work to support a process for immigrants to follow legal channels toward citizenship, I am also committed to strengthening our borders, which saw 408,870 people apprehended trying to cross the southern border country illegally in Fiscal Year 2016. We need to improve border security and implement meaningful employment verification while humanizing our immigration policies through visa reform and earned legalization and integration for new immigrants. Efforts on both counts are necessary to deal with the reality and enormous scope of our broken immigration policies.