Civil rights and immigrant organizations criticized the Ley Laken Rileyapproved on Tuesday, January 7, by the Lower House of the new Congress of USA.
This law was the subject of comments because will make it easier he mass deportation plan of the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trumpand will eliminate due process for those accused of non-violent crimes. Below, we share more information about this law
The initiative, if approved by the Senate this Friday, January 10, will strengthen the position of Trumpto trigger mass deportations and will allow the racial discrimination when it comes to punishing non-violent crimes, he stressed this Wednesday the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
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The bill orders immigration authorities to detain immigrants undocumented immigrants accused of committing robberies and other non-violent crimes for their deportation.
The Immigration Coalition of New York He stressed that the law eliminates due process for these people and would allow the deportation of undocumented immigrants “accused of non-violent crimes” who have not been found guilty, including shoplifting.
Immigrants who are involved in this law, “without even having been convicted of a crime, they could be permanently separated from their families before having the opportunity to defend themselves in a court of law”he lamented Murad Awawdehpresident of the coalition.
The ACLU said in a statement that the law poses “a serious threat to civil liberties and violates fundamental constitutional principles.”
“It will force immigration authorities to detain people charged with non-violent theft crimes, such as shoplifting, whether or not law enforcement considers them a threat,” he said. Sarah MehtaACLU board. “It would lead to a significant increase in racial discrimination“he added.
The ACLU detailed that the law would expand mandatory detention, which could land thousands of people in jails and detention centers, even when an immigration judge or immigration agent does not believe they pose a threat to the community or a flight risk. .
This first immigration bill of the new Congress, with a Republican majority, is named after Laken Rileya nursing student murdered in Georgia in 2024, a crime for which Venezuelan José Ibarra was found guilty.
For Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, from United We Dream Actionthe law seeks to “exploit the Laken Riley tragedy as justification for its criminalization of immigrant communities.”
The Laken Riley Act had 264 votes in favor and 159 against.
Macedo considered it disappointing that some Democrats in the Lower House voted in favor instead of “defending what the vast majority of Americans really want: a humane, fair and efficient immigration system“.
The law also empowers state attorneys general who believe their state or its residents have been harmed by immigration policies to sue the Department of Homeland Security (DHS, in English).
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