The House of Representatives is expected to pass the two bills intended to crack down on undocumented immigrants. President Donald Trump backs both bills.
The House is likely to approve ‘Kate’s Law’, which will increase the penalties for undocumented immigrants who return to the US after deportation. It is named after the San Francisco woman shot dead by such an offender. The House is also likely to approve the ‘No Sanctuary for Criminal Immigrants Act’. This is intended to withhold several federal grants from localities refusing to cooperate with federal immigration officers. The bills also need to be approved by the Senate to be passed into law, but the Republican Party currently controls both chambers.
Immigrant advocates have slammed the legislation, claiming that the bills threaten civil liberties. Trump stated, during the Presidential election campaign last year that action needed to be taken against sanctuary cities. The term refers to areas in the US with laws limiting the amount of cooperation that local police are allowed to give to federal immigration authorities, offering a certain level of protection from the threat of deportation for undocumented immigrants.
Under the new bill, undocumented immigrants would be given mandatory detention if previously convicted of an expanded range of offenses, including drunk driving. There are no time limits in the bill under which detention would not be triggered by previous such convictions. Trump has called on Congress to pass the bills as fast as possible.