A pox on both your houses

I seem to be fixated on the Laken Riley bill, recently passed by Congress and awaiting President Trump’s signature.

Named for a nursing student in Georgia who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant, this legislation authorizes the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of even low-level crimes like shoplifting. Not necessarily convicted, just being accused is sufficient for detention. I’m certainly not condoning shoplifting, but to have a consequence of detention and presumably deportation with no opportunity for redress or review seems just a tad extreme.

This bill mandates detention with no consideration of extenuating circumstances or the possibility that an accusation might be without merit. It also ignores the fact that undocumented immigrants awaiting a determination of their requests for asylum are in this country legally. Failure to protect this class and other longtime immigrant residents from the dictates of this bill is unnecessarily callous. Such people typically have families, contribute to their communities, and pay taxes.

It was galling to hear the supporters of this bill characterize it as “common sense” legislation. There’s nothing common sense about violating basic American principles like the presumption of innocence and due process. It’s disgraceful. I’ve come to expect this sort of thing from the cult-like Republicans who’ve demonstrated their willingness to turn a blind eye toward Trump’s crimes, lies, and ethical transgressions. I’ve become inured to the practice of Republicans endorsing whatever whim Trump might be floating, irrespective of any prospective, ill-considered consequences. I don’t expect these paragons of courage to be champions of American traditions, but I do expect that from the Democrats.

This is my second blog on this subject. The first was posted immediately after the House vote but before the Senate had a chance to deal with it. As disturbed as I was by the House vote on this bill, I held out hope that the Democrats would either kill the bill or at least amend it to make it less draconian. The rationale for the Democratic aye votes for this bill in its current form has been explained to me this way: Republicans didn’t really want the bill to be passed. Rather, they wanted it to fail so they could demonize Democrats as welcomers of murderers, rapists, and thieves into our country. Democrats who saw that coming, however, chose not to fall into that trap. They opted instead to sign on to this legislation to avoid being tarred by this charge in coming elections, principles be damned.

This bill is so wrong-headed. Were they just going after criminals, these people would already be incarcerated or else their debt to society would already have been paid. In any case, legislation intending to round ’em up would be totally unnecessary. We don’t need more ICE agents and concentration camps (excuse me, “detention centers”). The real intent of this bill is to sow fear and chaos in the immigrant community, which we certainly don’t need. What we do need, on the other hand, is more immigration judges to speed up the process for resolving asylum applications and a path to citizenship for dreamers. The Laken Riley bill is a distraction, designed to keep hate alive rather than serving as any meaningful or appropriate solution to the immigration situation.

In my prior blog entry on this topic, I posted the names of 48 Democratic House members who crossed the aisle to support this legislation. Here are the Democrats from the Senate who later joined their accessories from the House and ultimately got this legislation over the finish line:

What it says to me is that we can no longer count on Democrats to stand up in unison for basic American principles, such as the right to due process and the presumption of innocence. I had expected better from them. They could have buried this bill, and they should have. Its provisions will cause undue suffering for thousands of undocumented immigrants who would otherwise be waiting for their day in court. It’s Family Separation 2.0. Totally avoidable.

A good friend of mine reminded me: The Democrats tried to run in the latest election on a position of “principle” in connection with standing up for democracy, and where did that get them? I’d like to think principles and due process still matter, but apparently not for the minority of Democrats who, with their Republican colleagues, have casted cherished principles aside. Shame on them all.