WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) released the following statement regarding her opposition to four hateful anti-immigrant bills:

“Once again, my colleagues have chosen to waste our time inciting racism that puts our immigrant neighbors at risk and makes our communities less safe. These four bills have one common theme: dehumanizing our immigrant neighbors. These are racist, fear-mongering bills that do nothing to fix our outdated and inhumane immigration system. 

H.R. 6678 would violate fundamental due process protections by adding new grounds of exclusion and deportation based on mere allegations, not convictions, of Social Security fraud. No one should be separated from their communities and their family due to an unproven allegation.

H.R. 6976 would mean that our immigrant neighbors who came here lawfully and who have resided in our communities for decades could be deported and ripped from their families due to one misdemeanor DUI conviction, creating a separate and unequal system of justice.

H.R. 5585 would create a new federal criminal offense for evading Border Patrol, despite the fact that this offense already exists in nearly identical form in federal law. Since this is already illegal, it’s clear that the point of this bill is simply to demonize migrants and asylum seekers.

H.R. 6679 is unnecessary because it is redundant with already existing federal law. It’s just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe.

I made a promise to my residents when they sent me to Congress that I would take meaningful actions to end hateful Trump-era immigration policies, reunite families, welcome migrants and asylum seekers, and reform our immigration system. I reaffirm that commitment today, and will always speak truth to power in the face of disgusting attempts by my colleagues to dehumanize our immigrant neighbors.”

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