More than 140 Democrats voted against a House bill to deport illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes on Thursday.
The legislation passed along bipartisan lines by a vote of 274 to 145. All Republicans in attendance supported the bill, while the opposition was all made up of Democratic lawmakers.
The bill was first introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in the 118th Congress, but was not taken up by the previously Democratic-controlled Senate. at that time, 158 Democrats voted Against the draft law.
“Our country has been ravaged by the terror of illegal immigrants… who have violently raped American women and girls,” Mace said during the bill’s debate. “I know the scars of life, the irreparable scars, that these heinous crimes left behind.”
Elon Musk was among the bill's most ardent supporters, even calling on lawmakers who voted against it to lose their seats in the House of Representatives.
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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries was among the Democrats who voted against the bill. (Getty Images)
“There is no excuse. Please publish the list of people who opposed this law and want to keep illegal immigrants and convicted sex offenders in America.” Musk wrote on X in response to a conservative influencer discussing the bill. “They all need to be voted out of office. Every single one of them.”
In addition to deporting immigrants convicted of sex crimes, the legislation also considers Illegal immigrants Those who admit to—or are convicted of—domestic violence or sex-related charges are inadmissible into the United States
But Democrats said the bill would harm victims of domestic violence who resist their partners, and expand the definition to include domestic violence at the expense of survivors.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., first introduced the bill in the 118th Congress (Jamal Countess/Getty Images for the Congressional Integrity Project)
During debate on the bill Thursday morning, progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the bill “does absolutely nothing to meet the needs of the American people” and “expands the highway to Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.”
Jayapal said this would “create a chilling effect for reporting future crimes” and “empower predators to go after migrant women and children.”
“The left's justification for why it opposes deportation of felons, porn lovers, and traffickers who are here illegally never ceases to amaze me,” Mace wrote on X while discussing the bill.
Elon Musk supported the bill last year (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in the House, also criticized Democrats who voted against the bill.
“House Democrats’ votes against Bill 30 should be viewed for what they are: prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants over the safety and well-being of their constituents. It is unconscionable that we would have to pass legislation like this, let alone have members oppose it.” Emmer told Fox News Digital.
Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, one of the Republicans who voted for the bill, said the Biden administration's border policies made the bill necessary, and said the legislation “will ensure that any illegal immigrant who commits a sex crime or domestic violence crime will be prosecuted.” He will be arrested and deported quickly.”
