Immigration

United States Representative Gerry Connolly (VA-11) joined Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Annie Kuster (NH-02), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) and Lois Frankel (FL-21) and 172 members of Congress in introducing a House Resolution today that urgently responds to numerous reports of unnecessary medical procedures—including hysterectomies—being performed on immigrant women without their consent at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga. “An initial review of available medical ... Read more

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), and Reps. A. Donald McEachin (D-VA), Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Elaine Luria (D-VA), and Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) urging the agency to include Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Petersburg and United States Penitentiary (USP) Lee on their list of ongoing remote inspections during the COVID-19 healt... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (VA-11) joined Reps. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Judy Chu (CA-27), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Zoe Lofgen (CA-19), and 173 members of Congress today in urging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to open an immediate investigation into new whistleblower allegations of mass hysterectomies being performed on women detained at the privately-run Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga. The lawmakers demanded an urgent response as well a... Read more

Yesterday, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, sent a letter to the Acting Director of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement to request specific information on the health and safety protocols practiced at the Farmville Detention Center, and again demand the release of all detainees in ICE custody for the duration of the pandemic. Yesterday’s letter follows reports of worsening conditions in the Farmville facility, where upwards of 70% of t... Read more

U.S. Representatives Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA) and Francis Rooney (R-FL) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led the introduction of a resolution denouncing discriminatory treatment of Iranian Americans. This bicameral, bipartisan resolution comes after earlier this year, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office on the U.S.-Canada border was found to have directed its agents to detain and question Americans of Iranian origin about their faith and military service following the U.... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the House Government Operations subcommittee, released the following statement on reports that the Trump administration is considering furloughs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “I am concerned about reports that USCIS is considering furloughs due to a major funding shortfall. I am monitoring this situation closely, as some of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies have contributed directly to the agency’s current financial cri... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement calling for the release of detainees at the Farmville Detention Center. According to the Washington Post, “As of Sunday, 61 people in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had tested positive for the novel coronavirus,” and Farmville has failed to adequately put into place social distancing procedures to protect detainees. “We are in a public health crisis and these conditions are abhorrent. We all share a commo... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, led 38 Members of the House in sending a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, urging him to exclude COVID-19-related assistance from the public charge determination for immigrants seeking admission or an adjustment of status. On February 24, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule, which requires... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly, Chairman of the Government Operations subcommittee, released the following statement in advance of today’s House Oversight hearing “Reaching Hard-to-Count Communities in the 2020 Census:” Thank you, Chairwoman Maloney, for calling this important hearing. Census Day is less than three months away, and I am concerned that the Census Bureau is not prepared to conduct a complete and accurate count of our nation’s population, particularly among hard-to-count communi... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) joined Reps. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), J. Luis Correa (D-CA), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), and more than 50 House Members in calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to open an investigation into recent reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are issuing fake court notices and barring refugees from entering the United States after being granted asylum. In a letter to the DHS OIG, the congressio... Read more