House Passes Bill To Deport Immigrants Convicted of Violence Against Women

I did not anticipate this!

Democrats are so traumatized from their defeat in the 2024 election, which they rightly attribute to their position on immigration, that they aren’t putting up a fight to stop GOP immigration bills. The Lakey Riley Act has already overcome the filibuster in the Senate and is set to pass.

New York Times:

“The House passed a bill on Thursday to mandate deportation and block entry into the United States for immigrants with uncertain status who are convicted of or admit to sex crimes or domestic violence, as a bipartisan majority approved the latest piece of a step-by-step crackdown being imposed by Republicans.

G.O.P. leaders on Capitol Hill have been hammering at the issue of stricter immigration enforcement in the first days 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 on Monday. They are also testing how far they can push Democrats to the right on the issue after their defeats in the 2024 election.

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

That was the case even though the bill approved on Thursday in many ways duplicates existing law. Immigrants with contested legal status who are found guilty of rape, sexual assault or domestic violence can already be removed under current law, which calls for deportations for those committing “crimes involving moral turpitude.” …”

Politico:

“More than 60 House Democrats backed a GOP bill that would make sexual and domestic violence deportable offenses, marking the second bipartisan immigration bill to pass the chamber this Congress.

The bill, led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), earned 10 more Democratic votes than the 51 who backed it in the last Congress. Many Democrats who supported it were from purple districts, but some in solidly blue seats also voted for it, including Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). …”

The Senate is the graveyard of legislation.

The fact that this seems to be changing on immigration is a huge white pill.

Normally, the House passes all kinds of bills to throw red meat to the base which the opposing the party predictably kills in the Senate with the filibuster. The gridlock in the Senate due to partisan polarization is why nothing ever gets done except for huge budget reconciliation bills. Neither Obama, Trump or Biden have been able to overcome this obstacle and pass most of their agendas.