Democrats serving on the House Committee on Homeland Security recently appointed its members to the committee’s Task Force on Denying Terrorists Entry into the United States.
Democratic members on the temporary panel include U.S. Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), vice ranking member of the committee, Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), and Nanette Barragán (D-CA).
The Democratic members will join fellow committee members from the Republican caucus including U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Clay Higgins (R-LA), John H. Rutherford (R-FL), Thomas A. Garrett, Jr. (R-VA), Brian K. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and John Katko (R-NY) on the task force.
“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,” Watson Coleman said. “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.”
During the task force’s launch, the committee said it will aim to examine all pathways by which extremists might infiltrate the country and will seek to identify gaps in U.S. government information sharing and vetting procedures.