Josh Riley Votes to send immigrants to prison camp without trial
Congressman Josh Riley campaigned on the promise that he would stand up for the people living in Upstate New York. However, his vote for H.R. 29, also known as the Laken Riley Act, breaks that promise. This legislation puts the people living in Upstate New York in danger of being sent off to prison camps run by the Department of Homeland Security.
Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler warned:
“Among other things, this legislation would subject to mandatory detention any undocumented immigrants who are merely charged with committing an act of theft or shoplifting even if they are innocent. This means that someone who's merely accused of shoplifting, someone who might be innocent, who might be the victim of mistaken identity and was not had the opportunity to clear his name would be subject to mandatory detention. This bill is so bad that it would lead to the detention of people who have committed no crime and have no intention of harming anyone. That flies in the face of all notions of basic due process and reason. It's both pernicious and absurd. And because this bill is so sweeping, even Dreamers and people living here on temporary protected Status, people may have lived here in this country for decades and shortly after their birth could be subject to the bill's harsh provisions.”
The Laken Riley Act allows for the imprisonment and deportation of people accused of shoplifting without a trial or due process of law. It replaces the presumption of innocence with a presumption of guilt, and paves the way for Donald Trump's plan to deport or imprison tens of millions of U.S. residents.
Congressman Jamie Raskin explained on the floor of Congress:
“This bill would upend 28 years of mandatory immigration detention policy by requiring that any undocumented immigrant arrested for theft, larceny or shoplifting be detained even if they are never convicted or even charged with a crime. This is a radical departure from current law, which since 1996 has generally required mandatory detention only for persons who are criminally convicted or who admit to having committed certain serious crimes. That is when criminal guilt is certain and established beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In response, how did Josh Riley justify his vote for HR 29? Riley offered no explanation. He made no statement. He didn’t even issue a press release to communicate with his constituents about his vote to scapegoat immigrants and weaken fundamental freedoms.
Why didn’t Josh Riley explain himself? Was he ashamed of his vote?
Supporters of this bill argue that it keep undocumented criminals off the streets. In actuality, the Laken Riley Act makes sweeping changes to the immigration system with serious constitutional implications. In addition, there is no evidence that undocumented immigrants are committing more crimes than native-born citizens. In fact, immigrants in the United States are less likely to commit violent crimes than American citizens.
It is absurd to take Constitutional rights away from millions of people living in the United States just because of one crime committed by one person. Collective punishment of this sort has been anathema in the USA. Josh Riley is a better. He ought to know better. He does know better.
Why did Josh Riley join with MAGA Republicans to vote for this unconstitutional legislation?
To sum up, the Laken Riley Act has several concerning features:
● It targets individuals who are arrested but never charged, as well as those who are charged but never convicted. Even an individual mistakenly arrested due to a police officer’s error would be ensnared by this law. HR 29 takes away the right to a fair trial which is supposed to apply to all people in the United States, citizen and non-citizen alike.
● It applies to people who live and work legally in the United States, including Dreamers, refugees granted asylum, legal immigrants awaiting their green cards, and even minors.
● It reassigns power to states and federal courts, allowing them to overrule the executive branch’s immigration decisions. This could lead to states like Texas flooding federal courts with lawsuits against the government, urging judges to detain more immigrants.
● It allows federal courts to issue travel bans against entire countries that do not accept deportations from the U.S.. This could mean a ban on all visas from countries like China and India, which could lead to diplomatic crises, and cripple the global economy, exacerbating the trade wars already begun by Donald Trump and endangering American jobs.
By voting for the Laken Riley Act, Congressman Riley is aligning himself with Donald Trump's fascist larger agenda. The Laken Riley Act is a significant step towards the goal of placing millions of people into detention camps that are infamous for their squalid conditions.
There is nothing that HR does to make Upstate New York more safe, more prosperous, or more free. Congressman Riley should have stood up to Trump and protected the residents of Upstate New York. Josh Riley should have voted against HR 29.
Will Josh Riley continue to support this kind of extremist right wing legislation? Will he listen to his constituents in Ithaca and Tompkins County, and commit to standing up for freedom and the rule of law?
Time will tell, and Josh Riley Watch will continue to share the facts about Congressman Riley’s actions on Capitol Hill.
Josh Riley was elected by the progressive voters of Ithaca and Tompkins County, New York.