For years, I’ve been an advocate for securing our borders and reforming our agricultural guest worker visa program. This week, Congress voted on a bill that would have achieved both of those goals- The Securing America’s Future Act, sponsored by Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte. I was a cosponsor of the bill. Unfortunately, the measure failed the House by a vote of 193-231, but the House will vote on a bill next week that should have broader support. The bill will provide for border security, and I am pressing House leadership to include agricultural visa reforms.

Without a doubt, the most visible immigration issue from this past week has been the Trump Administration’s “Zero-Tolerance” policy towards immigration enforcement and the separation of parents from their children when they are arrested for unlawfully entering the country. While I support enforcing immigration laws, I do not support separating children from their parents. As a father, I can imagine nothing more horrifying than having my children taken away from me.   

While I was glad to see President Trump reverse the separations through executive order, a legislative solution is needed- which is why I introduced H.R. 6181. The bill requires that the Department of Homeland Security keep families together after verifying that they are in fact related. My bill will keep families together, while preventing child trafficking or other forms of child abuse. It also authorizes expanding family detention centers, hires more immigration court judges, and requires that the Governor and Congressional delegation from the state and district of a proposed detention site approve before a new site is constructed, giving you a voice in whether or nor a detention center is built near you.

“Those who carry the goods and agriculture products we rely on every day should not be hindered by nonsensical regulations,” Crawford said. “The HOURS Act seeks narrow relief from requirements that have rendered our drivers’ operations less efficient. I look forward to working with my colleagues, the administration and the trucking industry to create an environment that enables the effective movement of goods while keeping our roads safe.”

Fox 31
Arkansas VA pathologist fired for being ‘impaired;’ nearly 20,000 veterans may be at risk

Boozman, Womack, Westerman and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford later released a joint written statement Monday regarding the pathologist.

“This alleged gross negligence by a physician charged with caring for our veterans is a disturbing revelation and a clear failure to uphold the Department of Veterans Affairs mission to the men and women who served our nation in uniform. The errors and reckless actions of this former VA pathologist put the health of our veterans at risk and will not be tolerated.

KATV
HHS confirms Arkansas sites could be used for housing unaccompanied immigrant children

On Friday, Congressman Rick Crawford, who spoke out about the Kelso site on Twitter, stated, "We should all be willing to play a role in national security, but I question the wisdom of placing a population of unvetted immigrants in a tent city on a floodplain with no basic infrastructure far removed from their lawful port of entry. Not only would this displace the immigrants in question, it could create untold complications for the citizens in the region of the proposed site. At the very least, leaders from every level of government and relevant stakeholders should first be consulted for guidance and input. I don’t believe this proposal is a good one. Someone should have looked a little closer at the historical context of this site. It’s literally within sight of another internment camp dating back to 1942 involving Japanese-Americans. That proposal wasn’t a good idea either."