Vote Explainer H.R. 30 Preventing Violence Against Women By Illegal Aliens Act

Transparency is vital to democracy. Below please find explainers for key votes I took in the 119th Congress.

Vote Explainer: H.R. 30 - Preventing Violence Against Women By Illegal Aliens Act

On Thursday, January 16, 2025, the House voted on the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act (H.R. 30).

Violence against women is horrific. We absolutely should not tolerate violence committed by anyone, including migrants.

Therefore, I understand why many reasonable people think this bill is a slam dunk: committing domestic violence should be a deportable offense. But let's be clear: committing domestic abuse or sexual violence is alreadya deportable offense.

Given the way the bill is drafted, many of my Democratic colleagues - as well as over 200 groups dedicated to serving victims of domestic violence - worry that the bill could inadvertently punish women who are victimsof domestic abuse and sexual violence and make them subject to deportation. Critics of the bill argue that because the bill does not provide waivers, or grant discretion when victimsof domestic abuse are caught up in an arrest, it could lead to scenarios where survivors who may have acted in self-defense are deported after being mistakenly accused of being an aggressor.

Abusers know no shame. Abusers manipulate their victims, and in some cases, threaten to report their romantic partners to law enforcement in order to maintain control over their victims.

With that said, I share the skepticism of many of my colleagues who find the loudest critics of the bill potentially overstating the number of people who could actually be harmed by the bill, especially given that it is already a deportable offense to be convicted of domestic violence.

Congress and President Trump MUST stop playing games with immigration policy. Instead of trying to score political points against each other, we need bipartisan immigration reform that secures our borders, treats hard-working families humanely, and keeps our communities safe and prosperous. Trump already sunk a bipartisan Senate bill that would do these things in order to play politics with our borders during the election. Since he apparently controls what all Republicans do, it's up to him to come to the table with real reforms, not messaging bills like this one. Real reform is what the American people have repeatedly asked for, and it's what we all deserve.