Rep. Elton W. Gallegly (R-CA)

Elton Gallegly has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1987 who has consistently opposed granting any rights to people in the United States without papers, and has, in fact, helped on a number of different occasions to push CIR in a rightward direction. He has consistently opposed any measures that would allow people here illegally to adjust within the United States, asserting that such measures amount to an "amnesty" no matter what conditions or stipulations are attached. Nevertheless, Gallegly is highly important because in early 2011 he was named the chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, a sort of gateway in the House of Representatives for any proposals on immigration reform to move forward.

The following include selected immigration measures Gallegly has been a party to in his long career as a member of the House of Representatives:

(1) He introduced the infamous Gallegly Amendment to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which would have denied a public education to the children of illegal immigrants or would have charged their parents tuition for putting their children in American schools.

(2) He voted for H.R. 4437, an enforcement-only bill that passed the House but helped--through its draconian approach to reform--to derail the major push in the Senate to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2006.

(3) He has repeatedly voted against the DREAM Act, most recently in December 2010.

The following include a selection--the number of xenophobic bills he has sponsored are too numerous to list--of the anti-immigration reform bills Gallegly sponsored in the last Congress:

(1) H.R.125: a bill intended to prevent any undocumented immigrants in the country from adjusting their status inside the United States, regardless of the circumstances of their illegal entry into the country.

(2) H.R.126: an unconstitutional measure that would limit citizenship to children born in this country to parents who are not U.S. citizens.

(3) H. R. 128: a bill that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase the criminal consequences for people who have entered the country illegally.

(4) H.R.142: a bill that would uses the tax returns of the undocumented workers to hunt them down and deport them, despite that they have been following the law by paying federal taxes.

(5) H.R.997, H.R.1229, & H.R.1588: bills that, in one form or another, enforce English as the sole, official language of the United States.

The following selected quotes, taken from his official website, embody Gallegly's official stance on immigration reform:

"My efforts earned me recognition in 2006 as one of the Top Ten Illegal Immigration Hawks in Congress by Human Events magazine and induction into the U.S. Border Patrol Hall of Fame."

"Today we do not face a lack of laws. We face a lack of willingness to enforce our laws."

"The answer to illegal immigration is fairly simple. First, we must enforce our laws. Second, we must remove the magnets that persuade illegal immigrants to risk their lives to come to the United States. Finally, we must remove the benefits that make it easy for them to stay."

Given Gallegly's stance on immigration it is not likely that he will support any measure that includes provisions for legalization, whether it be as minimal as the DREAM Act or a full-scale CIR bill. Nevertheless, Gallegly represents California's 24th district which has voted Democrat numerous times in the past--most recently in the presidential election of 2008--and could turn against Gallegly if the electorate were mobilized against him, particularly Hispanics since they have been hurt by his policies and continue to be hurt by his official stance on immigration reform. This fact, and his recent nomination to the chairmanship of the House subcommittee on immigration, makes Gallegly's seat a prime target for any pro-Hispanic, immigration-reform candidate who is willing to run for the seat in 2012.