Sixty-One House Democrats Voted For Anti-Immigrant Bill
The Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act attempts to codify that which is already the law
Considering the level of misinformation we have seen over decades about immigration, it’s no wonder why Republicans are trying to pass legislation to deport people for crimes that are already deportable. It’s worth noting that all violent crimes are deportable offenses. That has been the law for decades. However, Republicans who’ve been steamrolling bigoted legislation through the House felt it important to send a message to their bloodthirsty base of xenophobes.
A few days ago, I published an article about Trump’s pre-inauguration rally and how the cause for concern is his expected Latinophobic rhetoric. Currently, his administration is already feeling the heat from its core white nationalist base over comments made by Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk regarding Indian immigrants and H-1B visas. Because of that backlash, Trump needs to put some red meat out there to appease and solidify that base.
That’s precisely what House Republicans are doing.
So here we are again. Not unlike the blatantly racist nature of the Laken Riley Act and the white male Christian nationalist nature of the Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act attempts to hide the bigotry behind it by pretending it is about protecting women and not hate for nonwhite non-cis-male groups. The idea that Republicans are trying to pass laws that are already law speaks for itself.
That 61 Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of the bill is a slap in the face to progress.
The Debate
On Thursday, Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) opened the debate session on the House floor. She began her speech by repeating the false claim that migrants aren’t vetted or screened before being released into the country. It’s a lie that every legacy media outlet allowed people to parrot without any pushback. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had to release a video debunking various myths and mainstream news never once referred to any of the facts in it.
Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) jumped into the debate and continued with the disinformation about the current law that prohibits migrants from entering the country if they have violent crimes on their records. He also suggests that somehow Democrats are standing in the way of what is already law in suggesting violent crimes aren't deportable offenses.
If anyone commits a crime they are required to go through the legal system based on the laws in the U.S. Constitution. If someone is subject to deportation, they are required to be processed through that system and serve their time. Only then can they be deported. This is how it has always worked and for Republicans to suggest otherwise shows a gross lack of knowledge about an issue they constantly scream about. Then again, that's how bigotry works.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) took to the House floor and spent over six minutes excoriating Republicans about their ignorance of existing law and their hypocrisy about protecting women and girls. In her speech, she brought to light many issues the bill would create in criminalizing victims due to how poorly the bill is written.
That Republicans are using victims as shields to villainize millions of innocent people speaks to the same racism this country has endured since day one. Their ignoring the constant violent crimes against women committed by U.S. citizens every single day also speaks to how the Republican Party isn't serious about protecting women. If they were, they would never have let the Violence Against Women Act expire or supported laws restricting women's rights.
And yet, here they are pretending to care about women.
Rep Ben Cline (R-VA) admonished Democrats for supposedly not protecting women while using anti-trans and anti-abortion language. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who led the Senate for Democrats clapped back and called out Republicans for ignoring the reality of the damage their poorly written bill does. Raskin refused to allow the narrative that Democrats aren’t protecting women from domestic violence abusers to go unchallenged.
Rep. Luis Correa (D-CA) spoke out about the lunacy of suggesting anyone wants to protect sexual predators while highlighting how the legislation Republicans are attempting to pass is already law. Correa also spoke about how the bill would be a setback for women across the country and put them at risk.
Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA) had some choice words during the debate
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) isn’t one to let Republicans slide too easily.
Conclusion
To continue saying people voted for Trump because of economic anxiety at this point is to be willfully ignorant. Over the last two years, even so-called “liberal” media began employing a Latinophobic tone. While many will argue that it was plain old xenophobia, it’s easy to see how the focus was on Latinos when acknowledging that immigration is always spoken about in the context of Latin America and not Europe or elsewhere.
At a time when many voters feel jilted by Democrats for shifting to the right on myriad issues – as noted in the lower voter turnout in the last election – for so many of them to ignore the debate points made by members of their own party and vote with Republicans on the second of likely many more anti-immigrant bills is telling and worrisome.
While most Democrats appear to still be on the right side of history on this and other bills so far in the 119th Congress, it seems that dozens are buying into the idea that they need to approach politics from a more conservative, centrist position. It’s a position that will unlikely bode well for women, the LGBTQ community, Black people, and countless communities of color.
The bill passed the House in a 274-145 vote and now heads to the Senate.
Read the Full Bill
I’m a freelance journalist. Find my work at Latino Rebels, Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, and more. I’m also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp.
Seeing that much difference in votes on this bill is heartbreaking ... what the hell is going on seriously 😳 I just can't think that it's all incompetency, there must be something else going on here ...