Congresswoman Scanlon Slams H.R. 29 as “Legislative Clickbait”“Existing laws already provide for detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants who are convicted of serious crimes ... Rather than providing resources to strengthen immigration enforcement, H.R. 29 exploits a young woman’s tragic death to score cheap political points.”
Washington,
January 7, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) today released the following statement on H.R.29, the Laken Riley Act, and H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. “Today, House Republicans made their first priority in the 119th Congress the passage of a bill that is best characterized as ‘legislative clickbait’ - a bill designed to generate headlines and social media clicks, rather than actually solving a problem. Unsurprisingly, H.R. 29 is a continuation of a campaign strategy of stoking fear of immigrants while doing nothing to secure the border or fix our immigration system. Instead, H.R. 29 actually creates new legal problems. “Existing laws already provide for detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants who are convicted of serious crimes. H.R. 29 does nothing to fund efforts to enforce those provisions, and it does not make serious attempts to make our communities safer. “Instead, H.R. 29 creates new opportunities to undermine community safety and the rule of law. The bill requires detention of people who have been accused of crimes, without regard to their actual guilt, and does not provide funding for the massive increase in detentions this would cause. This denial of due process opens the door to coercion and misuse of our immigration laws. “H.R. 29 also encourages partisan judge shopping. The bill gives state attorneys general the ability to sue cabinet secretaries for alleged violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act - a blatant attempt to allow conservative states to find friendly courts and judges to block federal immigration laws they dislike. “Simply put, rather than providing resources to strengthen immigration enforcement, H.R. 29 exploits a young woman’s tragic death to score cheap political points. “Last fall, House Republicans forced a vote on a similarly flawed and inflammatory bill, H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. While pretending to protect women and girls, that legislation failed to add significant new protections for Americans and contained no funding, but it did open the door to misuse of immigration laws against victims of domestic violence. “I have worked my entire adult life, as a lawyer and in Congress, in service to my community, and in particular to protect women, children, and the most vulnerable members of our community. That is why I fully support the pre-existing provisions in our immigration system which provide for the detention and removal of undocumented individuals who commit serious crimes. “I will always support legitimate measures to protect members of our community and hold accountable those who commit domestic violence or sexual offenses. But I will not support legislation that harms our community just because it has a misleading title or pretend purpose. “Like every Republican effort since Trump killed the bipartisan border deal, these bills do nothing to actually solve any problems with the immigration system or the border. “As always, Democrats are ready and willing to work with Republicans to put forward legislation that actually protects women and children and makes our communities safer.” ### |
