WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement after voting against legislation that would reallocate resources away from addressing violent crime and keeping communities safe and allow state attorneys general to second-guess federal immigration decisions, even on individual cases:
“If you commit a violent crime in the United States, you should be held accountable. And if you're unlawfully in the United States when you commit that crime, you should be deported.
“But this legislation does nothing to hold violent criminals accountable. Instead, it would impose a crushing weight on local and federal law enforcement, saddling ICE with an unfunded mandate costing up to $83 billion and forcing local law enforcement to shift their attention away from violent crimes. This legislation could even force the release of those who committed violent crimes, to make room for those who committed nonviolent ones — a nonsensical outcome that would harm rather than help our communities.”
“On top of that, this legislation would invite state politicians to second-guess everyday federal immigration decisions, disrupting all forms of lawful immigration. Simply put: a rogue attorney general shouldn’t be able to block your fiancé's long-awaited visa, your employee’s visa renewal, or your sick parent’s application for Permanent Resident Status. We should be encouraging lawful immigration, not upending it.
“I voted to debate this bill because I believe there are commonsense ways we can help make our communities safer, reduce unlawful immigration, and make lawful immigration the norm. Unfortunately, as presented for final passage, this legislation achieves none of that.”
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