Monday the House Committee on Homeland Security Democrats announced the Democratic membership of the Committee’s Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry into the United States.
This temporary panel will begin work in March and will complete its work in September. Full Committee Vice Ranking Member Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) will serve as the Task Force Ranking Member. Ranking Member Watson Coleman, along with the Democratic Task Force members, also sent a letter to Task Force Chairman Mike Gallagher outlining priorities and requesting more detailed information on Task Force policies.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Ranking Member of the Task Force, released the following statement on the announcement:
“Keeping our country safe is a bipartisan concern. Congresswoman Jackson Lee, Congresswoman Barragán, and I are committed to working to advance policies to help prevent terrorism, including keeping dangerous individuals who pose a threat from traveling to the United States. Reviewing the current and future Trump Administration Executive Orders regarding travel to the United States will be our top priority for this Task Force. It is imperative that we ensure that the robust security measures put in place by previous Administrations are neither weakened by nor exploited by terrorists.”
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the full Committee on Homeland Security, added the following:
“In the past, terrorists have exploited legitimate channels of travel to the United States from countries around the globe with the intention of harming our country. It is imperative that we work together in a bipartisan way to ensure the American people that we have the right policies in place to prevent terrorist travel. With new national security Executive Orders put in place without robust Congressional oversight, we must be honest about the effectiveness of these policies and their real world implications.”
