Trey Gowdy Statement on Illegal Immigrant Children

As the House seeks to pass immigration reform as the Senate did, one of the most vexing problems it faces is how to deal with the issue of children brought to the use illegally. 

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-4), is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. He spoke to that issue today and released the statement below:

When Chairman Goodlatte had the first immigration hearing months ago, I said we were looking for a remedy that would last a lifetime - a real remedy, not a political or electoral remedy, but a real remedy - that is best for our country. And I said I thought we could find a synthesis, a harmony, between the compassion that defines us as a people and the respect for the rule of law that defines us as a republic.

The House Judiciary Committee has since held nearly a dozen hearings on different aspects of our immigration system and passed four bills, including legislation to strengthen interior enforcement and ensure the laws we pass are actually enforced. We know border security and interior enforcement are the only guarantee we will not repeat the mistakes of the past.

The issue of how to treat children brought to this country is not new. Congress has considered it since at least 2001. But it is a new issue for this Congress and several members of this Subcommittee. 

We all view children as a special, protected class. We have all witnessed acts of heroism where total strangers risk and sacrifice their lives for other people’s children. We admire teachers and other professionals who dedicate their lives to teaching and helping other people’s children. Children and the issues that impact their lives unite us like nothing else. And because children are a special class, the law treats children differently in almost every regard.

When children wander into neighborhood yards, we don’t call that trespassing.  When children cry and yell and scream at restaurants or on airplanes, we don’t call that a violation of the noise ordinance.  When children eat a grape at the grocery store or eat a piece of candy waiting in line before mom or dad pays for it we don’t have them arrested for petty larceny. Children can’t sign contracts, vote, purchase certain items, or even work in some instances because the law treats children differently. Even when children do get in trouble legally the system is completely different – even the purpose of the system is different.  The purpose of the adult justice system is to punish.  The purpose of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate and restore.

The law treats children differently for a variety of reasons including the fact that children cannot form the intent necessary to violate the law and intent is a necessary element of every criminal offense. Simply put, children who were brought here haven’t committed a crime, misdemeanor or otherwise. The adults may have, but the children have not – and that is not an expression of compassion, that is the execution and the application of the law.

There are an estimated 1.35 million undocumented children under the age of 18 and an estimated 1.6 million between the ages of 18 and 24 in this country. In recent months I have heard from many organizations and individuals regarding legislation aimed at granting a legal status for this subset of undocumented immigrants. Children from South Carolina and children as far away from South Carolina as California, when my good friend Jeff Denham was gracious enough to let me visit him in his district. Jeff, I remember a young lady at your town hall coming up to us afterward. For virtually all of her life, this young lady grew up thinking she was an American citizen. She never knew any differently. She has led a virtuous life with good grades, hard work, community involvement, active in her church, loves her family – exactly the kind of person we want to be our fellow citizen. She was polite and persuasive. She just had one question:  “what country am I supposed to go back to?” “This is the only country I have ever known.”

So while there is obvious openness with respect to children who have done nothing wrong, those same equities do not apply in the same regard to the remainder of the 11 million undocumented immigrants. They may or may not have other equities to argue but let me say this as plainly as I can: attempts to group the entire 11 million into one homogenous group in an effort to secure a political remedy will only wind up hurting the most vulnerable. And to earn the trust, respect and support of our fellow citizens we must ensure there are sufficient anti-fraud measures and sufficient screening mechanisms so those who seek to benefit unjustly and without a factual basis are identified. 

In conclusion, let me say this: We are a nation of laws because law provides order, structure, predictability, peace, equality and justice. Compassion is good. But it can ebb and flow with the vicissitudes of life and the perspective of the individual. The law remains, sturdy and strong as the foundation upon which we live.

I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;  I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;  I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; 

That is not an oath for Congress. That is the oath of citizenship. That is the pledge and the promise each made, hand on heart to their soon-to-be fellow citizens. Five distinct references to the law in just a single paragraph of the oath. If we expect people to support, defend, and live by the law after they become citizens, what possible explanation can exist for not applying the law during the process of becoming a citizen? 

The equities are on the side of these children in my judgment, but equities can be debated. The law is also on the side of these children. Law stands above opinion. America is different. We are compassionate and free, but most of all we are a nation of laws. I presume that is one reason people so desperately want to come here in the first place.