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HR 29/S 5 (Passed)
Dusty Wilson
January 15, 2025
What is this bill?
HR 29, sponsored by Mike Collins (R-GA10)
Co-sponsored by
SR 5 sponsored by Katie Britt (R-AL)
Co-sponsored by
The bill, as introduced by Rep. Collins, is relatively short, but to the point. It would require any undocumented immigrant who has been arrested for charges of “burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting” that result in “financial harm of more than $100” be turned over to the Department of Homeland Security and detained in federal prison. These individuals will then be deported.
The bill also allows for state Attorneys General to sue the federal government for “decisions or alleged failures related to immigration enforcement.” One example that Collins notes would allow states to sue to block immigration from specific countries.
Why is this bill fascist?
The most notable part of the bill is that this isn’t aimed at punishing people convicted of a crime, but simply anyone who has been arrested. It has been noted by the Brennan Center that policing in America has an undeniable issue with white supremacy within their ranks. Due to that, any bill that increases their power to put immigrants in danger can be expected to be abused. Journalist & lawyer Jessica Pishko outlined a common scenario on Bluesky of how current police tactics could be used if this bill becomes law.
The Trump admin has made it clear that mass deportations are a top priority for them, and this law would give local police a large amount of power in rounding up people they simply assume could be undocumented. In turn, this would lead to the majority of people being deported getting labeled as criminals and Trump could be viewed as fighting off “the intruders,” as Umberto Eco would put it.
For further reading on the subject, check out Alberto Toscano’s article The Profits of Fear from In These Times.
Which Dems voted for it?
House (48 Dems)
Senate
Cornyn Amendment (21 Dems)
This amendment requires immediate detention by DHS for crimes that result in “serious bodily injury” and death. More concerning, the amendment also adds assault of a law enforcement officer. The problem with this is that it is a common occurrence for protestors to be charged with assault on an officer, only for those charges to later be dropped. This has an intensely chilling effect and ensures that undocumented people would be at greater risk if they attended a protest. Like the theft crimes, this new list of crimes only require an arrest and not a conviction.
Amended Bill (12 Dems)
House, Amended Bill (46 Dems)
Did it pass?
Passed the House on 1/7/25 by a vote of 264-159
Passed the Senate on 1/20/25 by a vote of 64-35
Cornyn Amendment passed on 1/15/25 by a vote of 70-25
Cloture on debate passed on 1/17/25 by a vote of 61-35
94 amendments proposed, 3 voted on
Passed the House on 1/22/25 by a vote of 263-156
Chris DeLuzio (PA) and Val Hoyle (OR) switched from yay to nay
Frank Mrvan (IN), Josh Riley (NY), and George Whitesides switched from yay to not voting
Sanford Bishop (GA) and Eugene Vindman (VA) switched from nay to yay
Josh Gottheimer (NJ) switched from not voting to yay