Paul Gosar

Congressman (R-AZ 4th District)

See Members of Congress Past & Present
Paul Gosar

Connections

Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) NumbersUSA Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) Steve King Louie Gohmert Andy Biggs

Congressman Paul Gosar is a strong ally of the organized anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim movements in the United States. He frequently cites anti-immigrant sources when discussing immigration issues. Ahead of President Trump’s state of the union address in January 2018, Gosar called for any Dreamers attending the event to be arrested and deported: “Of all the places where the Rule of Law needs to be enforced, it should be in the hallowed halls of Congress. Any illegal aliens attempting to go through security, under any pretext of invitation or otherwise, should be arrested and deported.”

  • Rep. Gosar represents the 4th District of Arizona. He associates with some of the most far-right congressional members and their allies in the anti-immigrant lobby, who advocate for harsh attrition through enforcement policies, deporting Dreamers, radical reductions to overall immigration levels, ending birthright citizenship and barring individuals based on religion.
  • Rep. Gosar frequently cites CIS, FAIR and NumbersUSA in his public statements on immigration, and often touts their endorsement of legislation he sponsors. He has hosted a Facebook Live event with NumbersUSA.
  • Included on Gosar’s ‘Awards and Recognitions’ page on his website, are his high marks from anti-immigrant groups NumbersUSA and FAIR, including a career “A+”  from NumbersUSA and a career 100% from FAIR. Gosar attended FAIR’s Hold Their Feet to the Fire event in 2016.
  • The Arizona congressman supports revoking the 14th Amendment and cosponsored Rep. King’s H.R.140, the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2019, which would eliminate granting automatic citizenship to the U.S.-born children of undocumented parents. He also supported the elimination in 2011, 2015 and 2017.
  • Congressman Gosar is a strong supporter of Arizona’s draconian “show me your papers” bill SB 1070, and has expressed his admiration for the legislation on multiple occasions: “I have been an avid supporter of the Arizona immigration law… Arizona was forced to fend for itself and enforce the laws already on the books because the Federal Government refused to.”
  • In January 2018, Gosar incorrectly cited debunked statistics on “DACA-aged” immigrants on his Facebook page. Gosar falsely posted “DACA-aged illegals account for nearly 30 percent of all kidnappings in Arizona.”
  • On June 2018, during a floor speech before a House vote on the Dream and Promise Act, Congressman Gosar characterized Dreamers as “lawbreakers” and stated, “this legislation grants smugglers and gang members with green cards and a path to citizenship.”
  • In 2018, Gosar teamed up with Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) and five other Members of Congress, including Representatives Steve King, Andy Biggs, Louie Gohmert, Thomas Massie and Ralph Norman, to file an amicus brief in support of the state of Texas for its lawsuit seeking to eliminate DACA. IRLI filed the brief on behalf of the Congressmen.
  • In February 2019, on behalf of Gosar and Rep. King, IRLI filed an additional brief.
  • Congressman Gosar has sought to prohibit DACA recipients from joining the military, and introduced amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for  FY17, FY18 and FY19, that would have limited the government’s authority to enlist DACA recipients.
  • Gosar introduced the same amendment in the 114th Congress and it was rejected in a recorded vote with 30 Republicans voting against it.
  • The Arizona Congressman has introduced a measure which would prohibit undocumented immigrants from accessing in-state tuition, and has sought to terminate the Optional Practical Training or OPT program. H.R. 3564, which would eliminate OPT, was introduced on June 27, 2019. The same month Gosar wrote a letter to President Trump calling for an end to the program through executive action: “Mr. President, American educated professionals and graduates need your support, protection and leadership. We encourage you to end OPT by Executive Order and put Americans first.”

Members of Congress Past & Present

Paul Gosar
Steve King Lou Barletta Mo Brooks Marsha Blackburn Louie Gohmert Ted Cruz Tom Cotton Andy Biggs

Connections

Paul Gosar
Federation for American Immigration Reform NumbersUSA Immigration Reform Law Institute Steve King Louie Gohmert Andy Biggs