Elton Gallegly

Meet Elton Gallegly, The Chair Of The Immigration Committee

Rachel Slajda | January 12, 2011, 11:52AM

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) and Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

We told you last week that Rep. Steve King (R-IA) was passed over as chair of the House immigration subcommittee. King is prone to outrageous statements about immigration and a range of other subjects, and it seemed like a signal that the new Republican leadership wanted to take a more moderate tack -- at least on immigration.

But the person assigned to the subcommittee, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), is just about as far-right as King -- he's just quieter about it.

Gallegly has been trying to strip birthright citizenship from the children of illegal immigrants since 1991, when he introduced his first bill to do so. His proposals to change the 14th Amendment have failed repeatedly for 20 years. But now, as changing the birthright citizenship laws becomes increasingly mainstream, it looks as if Gallegly may finally have a chance.

Gallegly -- whose southern California district, like King's, is about 15% Hispanic -- supports amending the Constitution itself to change who counts as a citizen.

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Immigration

Judiciary Chair Passes Over Far-Right King For Immigration Subcommittee

Rachel Slajda | January 7, 2011, 2:38PM

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) and Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

The new chair of the House Judiciary Committee has passed over Rep. Steve King (R-IA), the super-conservative hard-line immigration foe, for chairman of the immigration subcommittee.

King was the ranking member of the subcommittee and was expected to take the chair. But the committee chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), chose Rep. Elton Gallegly of California instead.

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