Who's Shaping Immigration Policy in the 119th Congress?

A rundown of influential committee chairs and ranking members steering the debate over immigration in the House and Senate.

WASHINGTON — While much of the media's spotlight on immigration policy has been on the Executive Branch, with President Donald Trump’s deluge of unilateral actions to shape immigration policy in the federal government, it's Congress that holds the purse strings—meaning: Trump’s schemes require Congressional approval and the colossal funding for his mass detainment and deportation operations.

So it’s important to be aware and scrutinize the lawmakers that effectively control immigration policy where it really counts: the purse strings—especially in this Congress that has made immigration such a hot button issue.

The bad news for immigrants: since the anti-immigrant Republican party won a majority in the House and Senate, they hold the Chairmanships of the Committees and Subcommittees that pertain to immigration. Democrats are in the minority and thus they hold Ranking Member positions on these committees.

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Chairmanships are extraordinarily influential because they typically control the workflow of committee business, including the public hearings and markups. As it is important to hold these people accountable, we’ve attached links to each person’s name so that you can be directed to their contact page should you wish to let them know how you feel about immigration in the United States.

Besides the Leaders of the House and Senate (i.e. House Speaker Johnson and Minority House Leader Jeffries, as well as Senate Leader Thune and Senate Minority Leader Schumer), these are the lawmakers who determine the role in immigration policy in the 119th Congress —