Civil rights groups warn Laken Riley bill could open the door to Trump's mass deportations

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Independent

Thursday 09 January 2025 22:51 GMT


Immigration attorneys and civil rights groups warn that the first immigration bill of the new Congress is opening the door to Donald Trump’s planned “mass deportation operation” — his pledge to invoke a national emergency, deploy military assets and send state and local law enforcement into immigrant communities across the country within his first days in office.

The Senate voted 84-9 on Thursday to begin debate on the Laken Riley Act, with only nine Democratic senators voting against it and five not voting at all. The House passed the bill by a vote of 264-159 on Tuesday, with 48 Democrats voting for it.

Republicans, led by Trump, have consistently hammered Democrats on the US-Mexico border, often using dehumanizing language that the United States was being “invaded.” The bill was named after Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student killed by Jose Ibarra, who was in the country illegally from Venezuela.

In a letter to Congress, the ACLU called the legislation a “slippery slope” to Trump’s anti-immigration agenda that exploits Riley’s death “to escalate a consistently xenophobic and false narrative about immigrants.” “It is also a serious threat to civil liberties that would inflict damage on an already taxed immigration system, invite racial profiling of longtime residents, and violate bedrock constitutional principles,” the letter said.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/laken-riley-mass-deportations-democrats-trump-b2676882.html

[Clouds Passing]

1. Dumbass Ds that voted for it!

[people]

2. The Laken Riley bill is a horrible leap backwards for civil rights.

According to CNN the only senators who did not vote to advance this bill were Democratic Sens. Cory Booker, Mazie Hirono, Andy Kim, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Brian Schatz, Tina Smith and Elizabeth Warren and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.

You can read about the bill in this editorial:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/01/09/laken-riley-bill-immigration-senate/

[LeftInTX]

6. We do need a way to track immigrants if they have been arrested for a misdemeanor.

Many are transient and we can't track them after they make bail etc. Other than that, the bill sucks.
There are also limitations on background checks. Maybe a supervised release after bail would be the best option.

[Polybius]

3. I'm almost certain that the final bill will be filibustered

But I still think it will get over 60 votes. Fetterman is the cosponsor.

[LeftInTX]

5. I think this was the fillibuster vote. Eight Dems said they are going to vote for the bill "in it's current form"

Fetterman and Gallegos are cosponsors.
Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) all also indicated they would vote for the bill in its current form.

[awesomerwb1]

4. This bill is incredibly bad. Why so little attention so far?

Dems need to find their spine and oppose this.

[Frank D. Lincoln]

8. I don't think it's a question of spine.

The bills that Repubs are pushing are the beginning steps of implementing Project 2025. These bills are paving the way. Our Democratic politicians are perfectly aware of this. They warned the electorate of the danger of Project 2025 when they were campaigning.

If Dems now roll over and willingly aid the Project 2025 agenda when they could have stopped it, then that would prove conclusively that Dems and Repubs are really on the same team. There's no point in sugar-coating it.

[Initech]

7. This entire exercise was a loyalty test to see who falls in line with the MAGA / Murdoch agenda.