Mace immigration bill gets support from more than 60 Dems

Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-S.C.) bill titled Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act passed in a 274-145 vote Thursday with more than a quarter of Democrats voting in support.

The new legislation seeks to deem immigrants lacking permanent legal status who have committed sex offenses or domestic violence as “inadmissible” and “deportable,” and 61 Democrats supported the bill.

Former Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) voted in favor of the measure alongside fellow Democratic California Reps. Adam Gray, George Whitesides, Derek Tran, Eric Swalwell, Jimmy Panetta, Mike Levin and Josh Harder.

The Golden State rests on the southern border and is often a landing site for immigrants who enter the country through Mexico. This is the second time Mace introduced the bill, which originally passed in the 118th Congress and was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee for review. 

“This legislation sends a strong message: if you are an illegal who has committed acts of violence against women, you will not find sanctuary here,” the South Carolina representative said when introducing the bill for the first time.

The bill’s passage follow House Republicans’ successful push for the Laken Riley Act, which will require detention of migrants arrested for theft.