You may have heard recently of the Laken Riley Act, which passed the House last week 264-159 with 48 Democrats joining Republicans. Shortly afterward in the Senate, 33 Democrats (including Arizona’s Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly) joined all Republicans in an 84-9 vote to proceed to the bill.
This might lead you to believe it is a solid piece of legislation, perhaps even a rare chance for bipartisan accomplishment. But that is absolutely, categorically, not the case.
Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg pulls no punches in her description.
“Let’s be honest about this bill,” she says; “it has nothing to do with Laken Riley. The tragedy it’s named after is being weaponized as a dog whistle to stoke fear, demonize immigrants and advance MAGA’s cruel, authoritarian agenda. Hard stop. This bill wouldn’t protect anyone. What it would do is create chaos and a constitutional crisis that could impact millions.”
How would it do so? Take a look:
• It imprisons immigrants indefinitely without due process.
• It targets Dreamers and legal immigrants.
• It hands MAGA extremists federal power.
• It guts legal immigration.
If you are feeling sick as you read this, you’re not alone. The next vote on the bill will be soon, possibly as soon as tomorrow. So, NOW is the time to tell Sen. Kelly and Sen. Gallego just how strongly we feel in opposition. Click here to call.
And remember, it is perfectly acceptable to call legislators daily about issues that matter to us. We elected them. We need to be very clear about what we expect of them now.