On January 16, 2025, Congressman Doug LaMalfa voted yes on HR 30: Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. This bill amends the current Immigration and Nationality Act, in which sexual violence actions and crimes by aliens make them subject to inadmissible and deportation actions. This bill adds that aliens who have been convicted of or who have committed sex offenses or domestic violence are inadmissible and deportable. This bill passed in the House 274-145 but has not become law yet.
HR 30 establishes that a non-U.S. national is inadmissible if the individual has admitted to or is convicted of acts constituting the essential elements of stalking, child abuse, child neglect, child abandonment, a sex offense, conspiracy to commit a sex offense, a violation of certain protection orders, or domestic violence (including physical or sexual abuse or a pattern of coercive behavior when it occurs within certain close relationships).
HR 30 also establishes additional grounds for deportation. Under current law, a non-U.S. national is deportable for certain criminal convictions, including domestic violence, stalking, and child abuse. The bill makes any sex offense (including crimes against minors) or conspiracy to commit a sex offense a basis for deportation. The bill also expands the domestic violence crimes that make a non-U.S. national deportable to include physical or sexual abuse or a pattern of coercive behavior when it occurs within certain close relationships.
Democrat opposition to HR 30 was based on their concern that if it becomes law, it could have detrimental impacts on domestic violence survivors while pretending to protect them. Over 200 national domestic violence prevention organizations opposed this legislation because of the fear that H.R. 30 would result in the deportation of victims who have U.S. legal protected status.
The Democrats also believe that there is no current gap in existing law that needs to be fixed. They believe this bill is redundant and weaponizes the Violence Against Women Act against domestic violence victims.
I find it interesting that in 2024, HR 7909, which passed in the House, 266-158 on Sept 18, 2024 had only 6 co-sponsors. This bill did not become law. In 2025, the same exact bill was reintroduced in the House as HR 30. This time it had 60 co-sponsors. Was this because Trump won the election and the Republican politicians in the House, wanted to show Trump that they were 100% supportive of his soon to be anti-immigrant policies?
If Trump signs this bill into law, it would make it easier to label survivors of domestic violence as perpetrators, to make them removable from the country and eliminate existing legal safeguards that protect survivors. This bill is meant to make it easier to implement Trump’s mass deportation plans rather than protect immigrant women.
I find it interesting that LaMalfa and his fellow Republicans are now supporting congressional actions protecting some women from violence by a spouse or boyfriend. LaMalfa has voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) three times (2013, 2019, 2021) since he has been our congressman. He has been against the VAWA because it protects all women, including same-sex couples and transgender women and prevents individuals convicted of abusing, assaulting, or stalking a domestic partner from possessing or buying guns.
I ask, “Why the change, Doug?’’ Why did you vote to protect immigrant women but three times refused to protect American women?
It may be wishful thinking on my part but I believe Doug LaMalfa has a responsibility to protect all our women and children, regardless of their citizenship status, and not allow their violent husbands or boyfriends to scare, abuse or kill them.
I believe this is another example of LaMalfa putting his loyalty to Trump before the safety of American women and children. LaMalfa has made his loyalty priority crystal clear to us
Tom Laurent
Feb 3, 2025
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