The House passed a bill to deport immigrants convicted of violence against women

The Senate passed a bill on Thursday to order the deportation and bar entry into the United States of unsecured-status immigrants who have been convicted of or have pleaded guilty to sex crimes or domestic violence, as the majority of both parties approved the final part of the next step. repression imposed by the Republicans.

GOP leaders on Capitol Hill clashed over the issue of tougher immigration enforcement on the first day of the new Congress as a way to show how they will use their governing trifecta in Washington when President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office. They are also testing how far they can push Democrats to the right on issues after they lose the 2024 election.

So far, the strategy appears to be working. A bill targeting immigrants convicted of violent crimes against women passed by a vote of 274 to 145 on Thursday, with 61 Democrats joining Republicans. all to support the law. Last year, 51 Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

This is the case even though the bill was approved on Thursday in many ways, it violates existing laws. Immigrants with contested legal status who are found guilty of rape, sexual assault or domestic violence are already eligible for removal under current law, which requires the deportation of those who commit “criminal offenses moral chaos”.

The legislation is one of a series of narrow-minded immigration bills that passed the House in the last Congress but died in the Democratic-led Senate, including measures to deport suspected immigrants. to commit a felony, require proof of citizenship to vote, and deny city grants. which limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies.

House Republicans began the year by releasing a bill requiring the detention of immigrants accused of theft and possible deportation, which received bipartisan support. It then heads to the Senate, which looks poised to pass it in the coming days, just as Mr. Trump returns to the White House.

It is unclear how the Trump administration will implement the tough immigration agenda that Republicans have put in place. While the measures are far more limited than the comprehensive crackdown on border security that Republicans have promised to continue, critics have raised concerns about the constitutionality and cost of some of the measures. So far, however, Republicans are putting off such practical challenges until later, as they focus on lining up bills to deliver on the party’s promise to reduce illegal immigration. .

“Preventing violence against women by illegal aliens is one of several bills proposed by Republicans that would help close the immigration loophole, reverse the policies of the administration of Biden-Harris and implement President Trump’s agenda,” Representative Laurel Lee, Republican of Florida, said on the floor.

The law mandates deportation or denial of entry to the United States for any undocumented immigrant or foreign national who has been convicted of or pleads guilty to a sex crime, domestic violence, or child abuse. , or violation of a protective order. It adopts the definition of domestic violence used by the Violence Against Women Act, which established a funding program to reduce domestic violence by addressing various forms of abuse. types, but not all of them are considered crimes.

Proponents of the measure argued that the new law, which has a broader definition of domestic violence than the current law, is needed to ensure that people who might commit such acts are kept out of the country or be removed immediately.

“The current definition is not very broad,” said Representative Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina and author of the bill. “A vote against this bill is a vote against the deportation of illegal aliens who rape and abuse women and children.”

Many Democrats have argued that the provision could harm immigrants who are victims of domestic crimes. There are only those who fight in self-defense against their abusers, or are accused of violence themselves, according to the current law. Many domestic violence advocacy groups also opposed the law on these grounds.

“There is no longer an exception for victims of domestic violence who have committed minor crimes in the context of violent abuse,” Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, told the country, adding: “This bill will only make immigration laws tougher on victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and rape, who contrary to what should be we will.”

The measure comes on the heels of another effort to make it easier to detain and deport undocumented immigrants accused of crimes. Last week, the House passed the Laken Riley Act, a bill that would require the jailing and deportation of immigrants accused of stealing or stealing. The bill would also give state attorneys general the right to sue the U.S. attorney general or the secretary of homeland security if an illegal immigrant enters the country and causes harm to the state or its inhabitants.

The measure is named after a Georgia nursing student who was killed last year by an immigrant who crossed into the United States illegally and was arrested for shoplifting, but was not detained.

Forty-eight House Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the legislation last week. A few days later, a majority of Senate Democrats voted to take up a similar bill in the upper chamber.

Last Wednesday, 70 senators – including 21 Democrats – voted in favor of adding “assault on a law enforcement officer” to the list of crimes that would allow illegal immigrants to be deported if charged. those.

If approved, such changes would create significant funding challenges, which would greatly increase the number of undocumented immigrants who are detained in US government facilities and deported. According to estimates by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would need to detain up to 800,000 people a year to enforce the measure. Laken Riley, which requires a large investment of beds and detention facilities – about 118,500. more than the federal government currently has.

Paying for that space, additional law enforcement forces, and deportation flights could cost Customs and Customs Enforcement about $26 billion in the first year, and $83 billion The Department of Homeland Security will spend more than $100 million in the first three years, according to estimates.

Catie Edmondson SY Hamed Aleaziz contributed to the report.