NILC Condemns House Approval of Anti-Immigrant Bills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2017

CONTACT
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Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

NILC Condemns House Approval of Anti-Immigrant Bills

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives today passed two anti-immigrant bills, H.R. 3003, the No Sanctuary for Criminal Act, and H.R. 3004, or “Kate’s Law,” which together promote Trump’s agenda of mass incarceration and deportation of immigrants and threaten basic constitutional rights. These bills seek to ramp up immigration enforcement, make our communities less safe, and further criminalize immigrants.

H.R. 3003 would punish communities that have policies that promote public safety by taking federal law enforcement funding away from them simply for having policies designed to make people feel safer reporting crimes. By trying to coerce local law enforcement into doing the work of federal immigration officials, this bill raises serious constitutional concerns for immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.

H.R. 3004, or Kate’s Law, would expand the government’s ability to prosecute people seeking to enter the U.S. to reunite with their families or because they are fleeing unsafe conditions. It would further criminalize immigrants by increasing the potential penalties they face and by stripping them of due process protections.

Avideh Moussavian, senior policy attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“These bills are reprehensible. They are tools to enforce mass deportation under this administration and part of a nativist, xenophobic agenda that seeks to vilify immigrants, rather than celebrating them for their great contributions.

“H.R. 3003 bullies local law enforcement into being complicit in the federal government’s unlawful activities and creates barriers between them and the communities they serve. H.R. 3004 exploits a horrendous tragedy to serve the interests of anti-immigrant hardliners and line the pockets of private prison companies motivated by the profits they make from incarcerating communities of color. Neither of these bills does anything to make our communities safer.

“Members of the U.S. Senate have an opportunity to stop these shameful attacks on immigrant communities, which would hurt all of us. Senators from every political party should reject these bills, and those who voted for them should know we are watching.”

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