House Passes Bill to Deport Immigrants Convicted of Violence Against Women [View all]

Source: New York Times

Scores of Democrats joined Republicans in approving the measure, even though existing law already allows immigrants with contested legal status who are convicted of sex crimes to be deported.

The House passed a bill on Thursday to mandate deportation and block entry into the United States for immigrants with uncertain status who are convicted of or admit to sex crimes or domestic violence, as a bipartisan majority approved the latest piece of a step-by-step crackdown being imposed by Republicans.

G.O.P. leaders on Capitol Hill have been hammering at the issue of stricter immigration enforcement in the first days of the new Congress as a way to show how they will use their governing trifecta in Washington when President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office on Monday. They are also testing how far they can push Democrats to the right on the issue after their defeats in the 2024 election.

So far, the strategy appears to be working. The bill targeting immigrants convicted of violent crimes against women passed on Thursday by a vote of 274 to 145, with 61 Democrats joining all Republicans in backing the legislation. Last year, 51 Democrats voted to back the bill.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/us/house-bill-deport-immigrants.html