Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lamented that 61 Democrats voted to pass legislation authored by House Republicans that would deport undocumented immigrants convicted of sex crimes.
On Thursday, the House passed HR 30, also known as the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, which Republican Nancy Mace of South Carolina sponsored. The law would make it so that any non-U.S. citizens who are convicted of or admitted to committing sex crimes would be deportable and unable to come back to the United States.
U.S. law already stipulates that migrants can be deported if they commit sex crimes, and the bill’s critics have charged that it could make victims of domestic abuse afraid of reporting crimes against their abusers.
“This bill is going to deport victims of domestic violence,” she told The Independent. “Overwhelmingly women who are being abused and battered are going to be targeted by this, and it is really sad.”
When asked if she was disappointed by fellow Democrats who voted in favor of the bill, Ocasio-Cortez replied, “Of course.”
The vote comes after 48 House Democrats joined with Republicans to pass the Laken Riley Act, which would allow states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for “failures related to immigration enforcement.” The bill also passed a key vote in the Senate last week, with 32 Democrats voting to allow for debate to move forward.
Veronica Escobar of Texas, who represents El Paso, told The Independent it was “disapppointing” to see so many of her Democratic colleagues voting for Mace’s bill.
“I understand how hard it is to take the time to explain all of the unintended consequences,” Escobar said of Mace. “I'm going to give her grace and say that there are unintended consequences to legislation like this, you know, but I also respect my colleagues’ decisions.”
In addition to the many moderates who voted for the legislation, progressives like Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Sarah McBride of Delaware backed Mace’s bill.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, a Democrat and an immigrant, expressed disappointment as well.
“I think that people are going to take their own votes so I'm not gonna judge others,” he told The Independent. “I think, personally, we have to be much more stronger on rights for immigrants. I think it's really been fortunate that bill like this are proposed by Republicans. And so I think we've got to be very tough in our messaging and be a lot stronger.”
Republicans, led by Donald Trump, aggressively attacked Democrats on the influx of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border during Joe Biden’s presidency, flipping many majority-Hispanic counties in the Southwest.
Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, said she understood why voters turned away from their party, but believes they were mislead.
“I think that we've got to do a better job of messaging, because there are definitely Democrats that felt as if we lost because of trans folk or we lost because of immigration,” she told The Independent. “I don't even think that they necessarily believe the votes that they cast it. I think that they are concerned about what the people in their districts believe.”
Crockett blamed Republicans for their messaging about immigration, saying “we know that [Republicans] are very good at lying, but we also know that they are going to be put into a precarious situation.”
Republicans in the House and Senate hope to beef up spending on security at the border shortly after Trump takes the oath of office next week. But Crockett warned that it will not be easy to fix problems at the border.
“They’re saying that they're going to solve all issues as it relates to immigration,” she told The Independent. “Well, good freaking luck you have a Trump trifecta, you don't need the Democrats, so good luck get it done, and let’s see what happens and I can guarantee you that ain’t s*** gonna happen.”
