The US Congress, on Thursday, passed a bill seeking the deportation of illegal immigrants found guilty of various sex crimes.
The bill was passed after a 274 to 145 vote, which saw all Republican lawmakers vote in its favour, while Democrats represented the total number of lawmakers who opposed its passage.
In addition, the bill would also stop illegal immigrants who admit to domestic violence and sex-related charges or are convicted of them from entering the US.
The bill was first introduced by the representative from South Carolina, Nancy Mace, in the 118th Congress but 158 Democrats voted against it.
She, however, reintroduced it on December 12, 2024, saying it is aimed at protecting women and children from registered sex offenders in emergency shelters during natural disasters.
The Safe Shelters Act, according to Mace, is modelled after the policy in Florida, where the government designates specific buildings or shelters for sex offenders to keep everyone else safe.
“Except to seek information on designated shelters, a covered sex offender may not enter or use the services of an undesignated shelter,” the bill stipulates”.
Under the Act, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator would be tasked with determining suitable emergency spaces for registered sex offenders.
“Our country has been ravaged by a horror of illegal immigrants… violently raping American women and girls,” Mace said during a debate on the bill.
“I know the lifelong scars, the irreversible scars, these heinous crimes leave behind,” she added.
However, Democrats argued that the bill would harm domestic abuse victims who fight back against their partners and broaden the definition of domestic violence to the detriment of survivors.
Pramila Jayapal, representing Washington’s 7th congressional district, said the bill “does absolutely nothing to address the needs of the American people” and “widens the highway to Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.”
According to her, it will “create a chilling effect for reporting future crimes” and “empower abusers to go after immigrant women and children.”
Criticism has trailed the rejection of the bill by Democrats. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, in a post on X, said such legislators should be voted out.
“There is no excuse. Please post the list of people who opposed this law and want to keep illegals who are convicted sex offenders in America,” Musk wrote in response to a conservative influencer discussing the bill.
“They all need to be voted out of office. Every one of them,” he added.
House Majority Whip, Tom Emmer, also criticised Democrats for voting against the bill, saying: “House Democrats’ votes against H.R. 30 should be seen for what they are: prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants over the safety and well-being of their constituents.
“It’s unconscionable that we have to pass legislation like this, much less have members oppose it,” he told Fox News Digital.