May 16, 2023

REP. CORREA INTRODUCES AMENDMENT TO PROTECT IMMIGRANTS’ RIGHTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Representative Lou Correa (CA-46) introduced an amendment to House Republicans’ H.R. 2494, the POLICE Act, that is slated for immediate consideration on the House floor this week—an overly broad, vaguely worded bill will do nothing to improve public safety—to protect the rights of lawful immigrants and their families. 

“I support our public safety officers and support efforts to protect them. But this is a poorly drafted bill that would render immigrants who are lawfully in the United States deportable without ever being charged, let alone convicted, of a crime,” said Rep. Correa. “As drafted, this bill would authorize the deportation of a green card holder who never even touched a law enforcement officer. It is a fundamentally unserious approach to an imaginary gap in the law—and above all, it is un-American.”

The Correa Amendment would ensure that only those individuals convicted of a crime against a public safety officer are subject to deportation, as is the case under current law. 

“If my colleagues were serious about protecting the lives of our public safety officers, they would work with Democrats to craft bipartisan, common-sense proposals that provide those who protect our communities with the resources they need to do their jobs,” Correa concluded. “Instead, they’ve chosen to needlessly inflict suffering on immigrants and their families by leaving the American belief of innocence until proven guilty behind in their pursuit of inflammatory and hateful rhetoric that puts immigrant communities at risk.”

Individuals who are convicted of serious assaults of law enforcement are already deportable. Under current law, if an individual is convicted of a “crime of violence” and sentenced to a year or more in prison, that is an aggravated felony and that person is deportable. H.R. 2494 would radically expand the ability to deport individuals from the United States who have never been charged or convicted of a crime, allowing deportation for those alleged to have committed the “essential elements” of assault.

You can download a copy of this amendment HERE.

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