WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, the Young Democrats of America are calling on the Senate Democratic Caucus to reject the passage of the Senate version of H.R. 7511 (S.5), also known as the “Laken Riley Act”. This follows the invocation of cloture on the measure by several Democratic senators, including John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who have announced their intention to support the bill.

Make no mistake— this is not a show of bipartisanship, but instead members of our own party capitulating to the lies and vitriol of the Republican party. The same Republican party that has always scapegoated innocent immigrant populations to push their radical, divisive agenda forward.

“S.5 is nothing short of a shameful attempt to exploit the tragic death of Laken Riley in order to stoke fear and hatred in the hearts of Americans, and push the same racist, anti-immigration agenda which has been offered by the GOP for decades”. said YDA President Quentin Wathum-Ocama. “Democratic Senators must see through this charade, which will do nothing to prevent these kinds of tragedies. It only serves to endanger and alienate our neighbors and fellow Americans.”

This proposed legislation is an attack on the fundamental values that our party, and our nation, promise to its people. It would allow undocumented immigrants (including DACA recipients) who are so much as suspected or charged with a crime to face deportation proceedings or indefinite detention by federal authorities. This violates the constitutional promise to a fair trial and due process.

In the words of Emma Lazarus, whose poetry famously greeted generations of immigrants at the base of the Statute of Liberty: “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.”

YDA firmly believes that America is and always will be a nation of immigrants. To vote for this legislation is to ignore our history and turn our backs on the communities who have built this country in its hour of need. We are calling on Senate Democrats to remember the oaths they swore only days ago to protect, preserve, and defend the Constitution by rejecting this unconstitutional and unconscionable legislation.

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