Congress Wednesday sent a bill to President Trump that would mandate the imprisonment of undocumented immigrants accused of non-violent crimes.
The Laken-Riley Bill is considered Trump’s first legislative victory in his second term of the presidency.
The bill attracted the support of a significant number of Democrats as the party appears split on the bill.
Civil rights groups in the Asian American community condemned the passage of Laken-Riley.
“The bill erodes any concept of due process for noncitizens, subjecting them to mandatory incarceration for even simply being accused of committing a theft-related offense,” the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund said in a statement sent to AsAmNews. “Those accused will then remain in detention even if they have never been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of any crime.”
46 Democrats joined all Republicans in passing the bill, according to NBC News.
Newsweek reports among the Democrats who supported the bill are first-year Congressmen Rep. Derek Tran (D- Garden Grove, CA), Dave Min (D- Hungtington Beach, CA), and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D- Leesburg, VA).
“This law will hurt our communities, sowing fear and division, instead of making our communities safer,” said Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Southern California. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders comprise diverse communities with varied immigration journeys and statuses. In particular, Southeast Asian immigrants and refugees are more likely to be arrested, detained, and deported than others in our community. By passing this bill, lawmakers have signaled that they are willing to scapegoat immigrant communities instead of working to improve public safety for all.”
According to the Center for Migration Studies, AAPIs make up 16% of all undocumented immigrants or about 1.7 million people.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is already warning it lacks the resources to implement the bill.
“Full implementation would be impossible for ICE to execute within existing resources,” CNN reported the agency stated in a memo.
Ice estimated it would need another 110,000 beds. It currently has 41,500.
The bill is name after Laken Riley, a woman who wanted to be a nurse and murdered while on a jog by an undocumented immigrant.
“For a young lady that wanted to dedicate her career and her life to saving lives, now her name will live on forever and it will save lives,” said Rep. Mike Collins (D-GA) to NBC.
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