1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

Please vote NO (against) the Laken Riley Act, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed on Tuesday. It’s headed to the Senate Friday. Please also ask all Democratic Senators to vote against it. It targets undocumented immigrants for deportation for even been charged with nonviolent crimes such as shoplifting. Many people are arrested for crimes they didn’t do. This bill encourages police to make racially biased arrests to get people they think may be undocumented deported when they are innocent of even minor nonviolent crimes. The proposal also allows state attorneys general to sue the federal government if federal authorities release an immigrant who entered the U.S. illegally and later goes on to commit other crimes. This is an anti-immigrant proposal disguised as a public safety measure. I am disgusted 48 Democratic Representatives in the House voted for it. Kerri Talbot, co-executive director of the Immigration Hub (a national organization that advocates for fair immigration policies states), “This is political gamesmanship at its worst, planting a trap for lawmakers by exploiting a tragedy. This bill weaponizes the justice system to incarcerate immigrants for minor infractions, empowers extremists to rewrite immigration policy, and tears apart families who have long called this country home.” Immigration has needed reform for decades but Congress has not passed it. Don’t support this unjust reform - the Laken Riley Act. Please vote no and encourage all Democratic Senators to vote no.