U.S. senators in Washington are debating the Laken Riley Act this week. The legislation passed with bipartisan support in the U.S. House and would require Homeland Security to detain immigrants arrested on low-level charges like shoplifting.
It's named after a nursing student who was killed last year by a Venezuelan immigrant who officials said was in the U.S. illegally.
“My heart goes out for the family of Laken Riley, and I just think it’s just a tragedy what happened to her. And at the same time, I think it’s very dangerous to politicize this,” said Phoenix DACA recipient Reyna Montoya, the CEO of the immigrant advocacy group Aliento.
The bill makes no carve-outs for minors or other immigrant groups — like DACA recipients or those of Temporary Protected Status — and it's also not yet clear how it would be funded.
Still, it's already gained traction among Democrats, including Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), who co-sponsored the Senate version of the bill.
Montoya says she worries the bill could eliminate due process and clear a path for deportation for longtime U.S. residents like DACA recipients and other young immigrants.
“Even if they are seen as innocent and it’s declared, ‘hey, you actually didn’t commit any crime, there’s no evidence of that,’ they’re being held in detention,” she said. “Could that then mean the first step of their deportation?"
A host of studies in the last decade have shown undocumented immigrants consistently commit fewer crimes than U.S. natives.
Migrant Insider reports senators are considering several amendments, including one that would provide protection to Dreamers and minors.
Montoya says she’s hopeful to see the possibility of change, but she’s holding off judgment until she knows more details.
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