Great work as always by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08):
I led opposition on the House Floor today against #HR3697, a new GOP anti-immigrant bill of dubious constitutionality 1/ pic.twitter.com/9vQMsrCthI
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) September 14, 2017
Beyer Leads House Opposition To Anti-Immigrant Bill
September 14, 2017 (Washington, D.C.) – Rep. Don Beyer today offered the Democratic motion to recommit for H.R. 3697, a Republican bill which would make it easier to deport people suspected of connections to gangs without conviction or legal due process.
Beyer expressed his agreement that MS-13 is a menace which needs to be combatted, but said this bill is deeply flawed. Beyer noted both potential constitutional issues, as well as concerns expressed by religious organizations that its overly-broad language could pave the way for ICE to sweep up and potentially deport nuns and religious workers who provide shelter, help, or transportation to immigrants.
A portion of his comments follows, and video of the complete remarks is available here.
“As a Representative of Virginia, a state with a long and troubled history with race – I think we need to be very careful before we implement policies that allow for structural racism.
Before we pass this bill and start locking up nuns and priests and other religious workers, we should not continue this one dimensional conversation on immigration policy. We cannot only focus on enforcement and a mass deportation agenda. It doesn’t fix our immigration system.
We have got to work on comprehensive immigration reform. And we begin with the President’s recent decision to eliminate DACA and put Congress on the clock. We should be acting today to protect our Dreamers. 800,000 young immigrants – not members of MS-13 – their lives depend on it.”
H.R. 3697, the “Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act,” was sponsored by Rep. Barbara Comstock, and the bill’s text is available here. The text of Beyer’s motion to recommit is available here.
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