This week, the Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives, and it is now before the Senate. We urge United States Senators, especially Senators Kelly and Gallego of Arizona, to vote no on this legislation.
Billed as a border security measure, the Laken Riley Act would have devastating consequences for undocumented people throughout the United States, by subjecting immigrants to prolonged, indefinite detention without bond based on convictions or even just arrests for petty offenses like shoplifting. It would also give individual state attorneys general the ability to sue the federal government to detain and deport specific individuals, reverse humanitarian parole decisions, and stop issuing visas to people from certain countries.
“This legislation is dangerous and unprecedented,” said Laura St. John, the Legal Director at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. “For the first time in any U.S. legal system, this bill would require the government to imprison an entire class of people – in this case, undocumented immigrants – without any right to a bond hearing or individualized assessment with a judge, based on mere allegations of wrongdoing. In doing so, it abandons core American values of due process, rule of law, and fairness.
“This is not a border security bill; it does nothing to fix the backlogs of court cases and other challenges that plague our immigration system, and it would not make our communities safer. Instead, it will put immigrants, including members of our own communities, at risk of indefinite detention and deportation.”
If passed, this legislation could endanger many members of our communities, lead to unjust detention and deportation, and separate families. We strongly denounce the contents of this bill and urge U.S. Senators to vote against its passage.