If a bill passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday becomes law, undocumented immigrants arrested for non-violent crimes would be targeted for deportation.
The bill is named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered in Georgia last year by an undocumented immigrant. He was arrested and charged with shoplifting, but was not detained. It passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday by a margin of 264 to 159, with every Republican voting in favor.
They were joined by 48 Democrats, despite the fact that the bill does not require a conviction or charge, just an arrest, to target an undocumented immigrant. These Democrats appear to support the Republican Party’s rhetoric that demonizes all undocumented immigrants and seeks to punish them simply because they are suspected of a crime.
With Donald Trump’s promised mass deportations likely to take place shortly after his inauguration, less than two weeks away, the 48 Democrats who voted for the Laken Riley Act appear to be surrendering prematurely. Seven of them even voted against the bill in March, only to vote for it on Tuesday. Here’s the list of all 48 Democrats, with the seven who changed their votes bold:
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Brendan Boyle —Pennsylvania
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Nikki Budzinski-Illinois
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Joe Courtney – Connecticut
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Angie Craig – Minnesota
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Sharice Davids-Kansas
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Don Davis-North Carolina
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April McClain-Delaney-Maryland
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Chris Deluzio – Pennsylvania
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Shomari Figures – Alabama
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Laura Gillen-New York
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Marie Gluesenkamp Perez-Washington
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Vicente Gonzalez-Texas
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Maggie Goodlander – New Hampshire
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Josh Harder – California
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Jahana Hayes – Connecticut
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Steven Horsford Nevada
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Mike Levin – California
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Stephen F. Lynch – Massachusetts
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John Mannion-New York
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Kristen McDonald Rivet – Michigan
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Joseph Morelle – New York
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Jared Moscowwitz -Florida
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Frank J. Mrvan – Indiana
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Chris Pappas-New Hampshire
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Hillary J. Scholten – Michigan
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Kim Schrier Washington
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Terri A. Sewell –Alabama
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Eric Sorensen-Illinois
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Suhas Subramanyam—Virginia
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Ritchie Torres – New York
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Derek Tran – California
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George Whitesides-California
