红杏视频 Responds to House Passage of H.R. 29, the Laken Riley Act

H.R. 29 exploits the tragic death of Laken Riley to escalate a false, xenophobic narrative about immigrants

January 7, 2025 7:30 pm

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WASHINGTON 鈥 The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 29, the Laken Riley Act, today despite strong objections from civil and immigrants鈥 rights organizations. As the Senate may take up the bill as soon as this week, the 红杏视频 is reiterating its warning that the bill poses a serious threat to civil liberties and violates bedrock constitutional principles.

鈥淭his is the first immigration bill of the new Congress, and if passed, it will strengthen President-elect Trump鈥檚 hand in unleashing mass deportations on our communities. It will force immigration authorities to detain individuals accused of nonviolent theft offenses like shoplifting regardless of whether or not law enforcement even deems them as a threat,鈥 said Sarah Mehta, 红杏视频 senior border policy counsel. 鈥淢andating mass detention will make us less safe, sapping resources and diverting taxpayer money away from addressing public safety needs. Detaining a mother who admits to shoplifting diapers for her baby, or elderly individuals who admit to nonviolent theft when they were teenagers, is wasteful, cruel, and unnecessary.鈥

As the 红杏视频 outlined in a recent letter to Congress, H.R. 29 is not a public safety bill. The federal government already has expansive authority to detain noncitizens in deportation proceedings. But this unprecedented and likely unconstitutional bill would result in a significant spike of racial profiling of longtime residents. Additionally, the bill would expand mandatory detention, potentially sweeping thousands of people into jails and detention centers 鈥 at enormous taxpayer expense and diverting law enforcement resources 鈥 even when an immigration judge or immigration agent doesn鈥檛 think they pose a threat to the community or flight risk.

 

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