Following votes earlier this month to increase the militarization of the United States-Mexico border, Grand Rapids area Representative Vern Ehlers and Holland area Representative Pete Hoekstra recently voted for three more bills designed to further restrict immigration. The West Michigan Representatives voted in favor of HR 6094 (“The Community Protection Act of 2006”) which allows for indefinite detention, the rapid deportation of non-citizens “believed” to be gang members, and refuses to allow for political asylum sought by suspected gang members. The second bill, HR 6095 (“The Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006”), authorizes state and local police to enforce federal immigration law, expands expediated removal, and limits appeals in immigration cases. The final bill, HR 4830—co-sponsored by Michigan Representatives Candice Miller and Mike Rogers—was unanimously passed by the House and authorizes a 20-year prison sentence for anyone creating or financing the construction of a tunnel under the United States border. Two of the bills, HR 6094 and HR 6095, were introduced by Representative James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, who last year brought HR 4437—a draconian bill criminalizing both immigrants and those who aid them—to a vote in House (both Ehlers and Hoekstra voted in favor of HR 4437) and touched off a mass mobilization for immigrant rights that swept across the country in the spring of this year. The passage of these bills in the House represents an ongoing strategy by House Republicans to pass immigration legislation in piece-by-piece after the House and Senate failed to come to consensus on an immigration bill earlier this year.
Related posts:
- Ehlers, Hoekstra Vote in Favor of Bill to Increase the Militarization of the US-Mexico Border
- Ehlers, Hoekstra Vote against Iraq Withdrawal
- Michigan Representatives Ehlers and Hoekstra Split Vote on COPE Act; Both Vote against Net Neutrality
- March Planned as Part of Local Effort to Fight Anti-immigrant Legislation
- Ehlers and Hoekstra Vote against the Right of Palestinians to Defend Themselves
