More than 140 Democrats voted Thursday against a House bill to deport illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes.
The bill passed with a bipartisan vote of 274 to 145. All Republicans present supported the bill, while opposition was made up entirely of Democrats.
The bill was originally introduced by Republican Senator Nancy Mace in the 118th Congress, but was not adopted by the former Democratic-controlled Senate. then, 158 Democrats voted Oppose the bill.
“Our country has been ravaged by the fear of illegal immigration…the violent rape of American women and girls,” Mace said during debate on the bill. “I know these heinous crimes leave lifelong scars and must not be Reversal of scars.”
Elon Musk is one of the bill’s most ardent supporters, even calling for members who voted against it to lose their seats in the House.
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“No excuses. Please post a list of those who oppose this law and want convicted sex offenders to remain in the United States,” Musk wrote X responded to a conservative influencer who discussed the bill. “They all need to be voted out of office. Every single one of them.”
In addition to deporting immigrants convicted of sex crimes, the legislation would also deem illegal immigration People who plead guilty to (or have been convicted of) domestic violence or sex-related charges are not acceptable in the United States
But Democrats argued the bill would harm domestic violence victims who resist their partners and harm survivors by expanding the definition of domestic violence to include domestic violence.
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During Thursday morning’s debate on the bill, progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the bill “completely fails to meet the needs of the American people” and “broadens Donald Trump’s The Path to Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan.”
Jayapal said it would have a “chilling effect on reporting future crimes” and “enable abusers to go after immigrant women and children.”
“It never ceases to amaze me how the left defends their opposition to deporting rapists, pedophiles, and murderers who are in the country illegally,” Mace wrote on X during the bill debate.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota and the No. 3 House Republican, also criticized Democrats who voted against the bill.
“House Democrats’ vote on HR 30 should be seen for what it is: putting illegal immigrant crime before the safety and well-being of their constituents. It is unconscionable that we have to pass legislation like this, let alone that members of Congress would oppose it.” Mer told Fox Digital News.
Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, one of the Republicans who voted for the bill, argued that the Biden administration’s border policies made it necessary and said the legislation would ” “Ensure that any illegal immigrant who commits a sex crime or domestic violence offense is promptly detained and deported.”