U.S. House Bill Passed Requiring Deportation of Illegal Immigrants with History of Sex Offense
- Milton Quintanilla Crosswalk Headlines Contributor
- Updated Sep 23, 2024
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would require the federal government to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal history involving domestic violence and sex offenses. The bill, titled The Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, was introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and passed the lower chamber 266 to 158, with 51 Democrats joining all Republicans to advance the measure, The Washington Examiner reported.
If signed into law, the legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act so that “aliens” convicted of or who have committed sex offenses or domestic violence are “inadmissible and deportable.”
In an op-ed to the South Carolina-based Post and Courier last week, Mace said that she had “enough of weak-kneed politicians pointing at dubious data and making excuses for illegal immigrants who come into our country and rape and murder women and children.”
“H.R.7909 is about common sense — a trait sorely lacking in Washington these days,” Mace, who has been outspoken against her party’s treatment of women, wrote. “This bill ensures predators who pose a threat and have been previously convicted of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other heinous crimes are turned away or immediately deported.”
“The legislation makes sure those who pose a threat are kicked out before they can cause more harm,” the congresswoman continued. “It’s time to stop coddling criminals and start standing up for the innocent victims who deserve justice and families who deserve peace of mind.”
During the GOP conference’s weekly press conference on Wednesday, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) criticized arresting illegal immigrants for murder but not for other crimes against women.
“Everybody on the House floor should vote for that bill,” Scalise said. “But if any Democrat there vote against it, they’re going to have to explain to people back home who are watching this be carried out in every community in America why they would rather stand with illegals than women in their own districts that they represent.”
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) also denounced Democrats for talking about the “war on women” when it comes to abortion, “but it seems they couldn’t care less about allowing into our country a flood of sexual offenders, domestic violence offenders, and child abusers.”
“The Democrats say this duplicative of existing law,” McClintock said. “Well, if that’s true, why do they oppose it? The Democrats say it’s unnecessary, but tell that to the growing number of families who are paying the butcher’s bill for these open border policies.”
On the other hand, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler (D-NY) called the legislation a Republican attempt to “scapegoat and fearmonger about immigrants.”
“Sexual offenses and domestic violence are serious crimes, and if this bill fixed some gap in current law, I would have no problem supporting this legislation,” Nadler said during the debate. “But that is not the case here. In reality, the redundancies in this bill all but assure that no additional dangerous individuals would face immigration consequences if it were to become law.”
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Win McNamee/Staff
