Amid negotiations between President Trump and Democrats over the status of Dreamers, Republican lawmakers passed legislation that could lead to wholesale crackdowns on immigrant communities.
The House on Thursday advanced a bill hinged on the principal of guilt-by-association, marking for deportation of non-US citizens merely suspected of knowing those engaged in a wide list of activities.
The “Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act” passed in a 233-175 vote largely along party lines, with 11 Democrats supporting the measure, and Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) opposing it.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said that if the bill becomes law, foreign nationals would become targets for forcible removal and banned from the US simply because of suspicion of a “rather broad” list of offenses–defined as the hallmarks of “criminal gang” activity under the legislation.
“There’s no need for a conviction or even an arrest,” Lofgren said. The Department of Homeland Security would only need “a belief” that foreigners have engaged in activities, she explained, such as smoking cannabis and assisting undocumented immigrants.
“This is not just unreasonable, it’s probably unconstitutional,” she added, remarking that this could see people deported and banned from the country based on the color of their shirt or through the association of family members.
If passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Trump, the bill would change immigration law on “inadmissability” and “deportability,” revising it to include foreigners suspected of “promoting, furthering, aiding, or supporting the illegal activity of a criminal gang,” as defined under the law.
The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General would have the authority to designate five or more people as a “gang” if they committed felony drug offenses, violent crimes, fraud, racketeering, or if they are merely engaged in “harboring certain aliens.”
“In one fell swoop, it could turn nuns into gang members,” Lofgren said in her speech, noting the FBI has a history of infiltrating church groups that assist undocumented immigrants.
The House passage of the bill comes amid negotiations between President Trump and Congressional Democrats over the status of Dreamers—children brought to the US by their parents who received temporary protection from deportation under President Obama.
On September 5, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that Obama’s Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) from 2012 would expire in six months, leaving 800,000 Dreamers in the lurch.
“No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent Would be subject to vote,” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the House and Senate Democratic leaders, said that negotiations did not include Trump’s call for a wall on the US-Mexico border.
“The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built,” Trump also tweeted Thursday morning.
In other immigration matters, Democrats are unhappy with reports that the Trump administration is seeking to slash refugee admissions to a maximum of 50,000—down from the 110,000 person target set this fiscal year by President Obama.
“By any measure, Donald Trump’s reported consideration of a refugee ceiling of 50,000 or lower is extreme,” Lofgren said Wednesday, in a joint statement with Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) “But it is particularly reprehensible given the current global refugee and humanitarian crisis.”
