House Committee Establishes a Task Force on Denying Terrorist Entry into the United States
Monday, February 27, 2017
 Mike Gallagher | House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) last week announced the creation of a new Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry into the United States. The panel will be comprised of five Republican and three Democratic Committee Members. According to Chairman McCaul, the panel will begin its work in March and will provide a final report with its findings later this year. |
The Committee says that “The Task Force will examine all pathways by which extremists might infiltrate the homeland and will seek to identify gaps in U.S. government information sharing and vetting procedures.” The Committee added, “Fixing potential weaknesses in these systems will go a long way towards improving America’s defenses against terrorism.”
In a statement released by McCaul upon announcing the Task Force, the Chairman said, “In the current threat environment, stopping terrorists will continue to be a top Committee priority. Closing gaps in our counterterrorism screening and vetting procedures is especially important in the face of continuing global instability and the desire of ISIS and other terrorist groups to strike the West. The Task Force Members have a difficult mission ahead of them, but the threat is real and we must act in close coordination with the Administration to best protect Americans from those who wish us harm.”
In a statement released by McCaul upon announcing the Task Force, the Chairman said, “In the current threat environment, stopping terrorists will continue to be a top Committee priority. Closing gaps in our counterterrorism screening and vetting procedures is especially important in the face of continuing global instability and the desire of ISIS and other terrorist groups to strike the West. The Task Force Members have a difficult mission ahead of them, but the threat is real and we must act in close coordination with the Administration to best protect Americans from those who wish us harm.”
The Task force will be chaired by freshman Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI). Other Republicans on the panel include Representative Clay Higgins (R-LA), John Rutherford (R-FL), Thomas A. Garrett, Jr. (R-VA), and Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA). Serving as an ex officio advisor to the Task Force will be Representative John M. Katko (R-NY). At the time of this writing, Democrats had not yet announced the Democratic members of the Task Force.
Chairman Gallagher. Newly named Task Force Chairman, Representative Mike Gallagher (R-WI), was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016, winning the open seat of Representative Reid Ribble (R-WI), who retired from the House at the end of the 114th Congress. His district is located in northeastern Wisconsin, including Green Bay, Appleton, all of Brown, Calumet, Door, Kewaunee, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano, and Waupaca Counties; and part of Winnebago County. It is wholly located in the Diocese of Green Bay. Gallagher is a Roman Catholic.
The Wisconsin freshman is a former aide to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, working under Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN). An Arabic speaker, he also is a former intelligence officer who served in Iraq and worked in the past with the DEA on the U.S. border with Mexico.
Gallagher’s House predecessor, Representative Ribble, never once supported the position of the pro-immigrant or pro-refugee advocacy communities on a key, contested, immigration- or refugee-related House floor that he cast during his House tenure. Early indications are that Gallagher feels similarly on those issues.
During his 2016 House campaign, Gallagher said immigration is a very difficult issue hinging on national security and national sovereignty. “First and foremost, I believe we need to secure the border,” he said, contending that doing so and fixing our broken immigration system is nee in order to "protect our citizens, our economy, and our sovereignty."
Gallagher said he has witnessed first-hand the “porous border” between the U.S. and Mexico and emphasized the importance of enforcing immigration laws, and he listed three steps he believes are needed to handle the situation: Secure the border, enforce the law, and fix the broken immigration system.
Gallagher was endorsed by the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association, which makes great use of immigrant workers. Perhaps in response to the industry's demands, Gallagher said during his 2016 House campaign that “We need a state-based immigration worker program."
Gallagher indicated during his 2016 House campaign that he opposes providing a path the citizenship to undocumented aliens currently living in the United States, saying, "That is amnesty by another term of. We need to enforce the law. We don't have the resources to instantly deport all 11 million people. I think first and foremost, if we don't secure the southern border, and we deport everybody, and the border is still leaking, they can come back. We need to secure the southern border. By implementing mandatory entry and exit traffic systems, by tracking down on these overstays -- the majority of the people in here did not just cross the Rio Grande and the dead of night. They overstay their visas. We don't have a system that is effective for tracking that right now. I believe we can tackle this issue. It will take longer, but that's a more effective and efficient way to do it."
Gallagher expressed support during his 2016 House campaign for building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. However, he suggested "It's not going to be a 20 foot wall high wall in all nine sectors of the border. There are some areas where technology sensors allow us to do it. We have the technology, we just lack the will power the courage to get the job done."
Gallagher’s House predecessor, Representative Ribble, never once supported the position of the pro-immigrant or pro-refugee advocacy communities on a key, contested, immigration- or refugee-related House floor that he cast during his House tenure. Early indications are that Gallagher feels similarly on those issues.
During his 2016 House campaign, Gallagher said immigration is a very difficult issue hinging on national security and national sovereignty. “First and foremost, I believe we need to secure the border,” he said, contending that doing so and fixing our broken immigration system is nee in order to "protect our citizens, our economy, and our sovereignty."
Gallagher said he has witnessed first-hand the “porous border” between the U.S. and Mexico and emphasized the importance of enforcing immigration laws, and he listed three steps he believes are needed to handle the situation: Secure the border, enforce the law, and fix the broken immigration system.
Gallagher was endorsed by the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association, which makes great use of immigrant workers. Perhaps in response to the industry's demands, Gallagher said during his 2016 House campaign that “We need a state-based immigration worker program."
Gallagher indicated during his 2016 House campaign that he opposes providing a path the citizenship to undocumented aliens currently living in the United States, saying, "That is amnesty by another term of. We need to enforce the law. We don't have the resources to instantly deport all 11 million people. I think first and foremost, if we don't secure the southern border, and we deport everybody, and the border is still leaking, they can come back. We need to secure the southern border. By implementing mandatory entry and exit traffic systems, by tracking down on these overstays -- the majority of the people in here did not just cross the Rio Grande and the dead of night. They overstay their visas. We don't have a system that is effective for tracking that right now. I believe we can tackle this issue. It will take longer, but that's a more effective and efficient way to do it."
Gallagher expressed support during his 2016 House campaign for building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. However, he suggested "It's not going to be a 20 foot wall high wall in all nine sectors of the border. There are some areas where technology sensors allow us to do it. We have the technology, we just lack the will power the courage to get the job done."