WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Kay Granger (TX-12) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives voted to defund in its entirety President Obama’s recent immigration executive orders and fund the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of fiscal year 2015.
“Today, the House responded to the unprecedented and unconstitutional actions President Obama took in November to change our country’s immigration laws without the consent of Congress. By fully defunding the executive orders the House has taken an important step in stopping President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration from being implemented. The president’s egregious executive orders on immigration have only created more loopholes in an already complicated immigration system, which is why the president shouldn’t be legislating via executive action.
“In addition to taking steps to stop President Obama’s immigration executive actions, the House fully funded the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year. This bipartisan bill includes critical funding for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as agencies dedicated to counterterrorism. The recent terrorist attacks in Paris are a reminder that we must remain vigilant against the threat of terrorist acts on American soil, which is why this bill makes important investments to keep our country safe.
“The bill provides for the largest operational force in history with 21,370 Border Patrol agents and 23,775 Customs and Border Protection officers to fully support efforts to protect our borders. It is the fundamental responsibility of the federal government to protect the homeland and that includes a robust effort to secure our borders.”