NILC Opposes the Laken Riley Act

Heidi Altman for the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) highlights reasons to oppose the Laken Riley Act, which Kit Johnson blogged about yesterday.  She begins:

“The Laken Riley Act is a manifestation of cynical politics. The majority is manipulating a personal tragedy to scapegoat immigrants. In reality, there is no correlation between immigration status and criminality. This bill is not a public safety measure, but rather an attack on established constitutional protections that would do nothing to keep communities safe if enacted into law.”

1.   The bill would hobble the executive branch’s ability to make immigration policy, whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House. 

2.  The bill is a recipe for chaos in the federal courts – chaos the Constitution intended to avoid.

3.  The bill is duplicative – the federal government already has the authority to detain all people facing deportation proceedings. 

4.  Requiring no-bond detention solely on the basis of a charge or arrest raises serious due process concerns.

5.  The bill would significantly disrupt prosecutors’ ability to proceed with criminal charges. 

Click the link above for details.

KJ