In one of his final acts, Elijah Cummings signed subpoenas for immigration agencies

Elijah Cummings.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The late House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) was working right until the end, signing two subpoenas for documents related to an immigration policy change hours before he died.

The subpoenas are for documents connected to the Trump administration's decision to end the medical deferred action program, which protects immigrants with severe illnesses from deportation while they receive treatment. In September, a House Oversight subcommittee held a hearing on the matter, with recipients sharing their stories; one 16-year-old boy from Honduras said he would die if he had to go back, as the country does not offer medical treatment for his cystic fibrosis.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.