{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2025-01-16-pt1-PgH191-3", "2025-01-16", 119, 1, null, null, "PREVENTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY ILLEGAL ALIENS ACT", "HOUSE", "HOUSE", "ALLOTHER", "H191", "H202", "[{\"name\": \"Laurel M. Lee\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Jamie Raskin\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Mark Harris\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Pramila Jayapal\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Ben Cline\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"J. Luis Correa\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Tom McClintock\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Lateefah Simon\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Robert F. Onder, Jr.\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Jerrold Nadler\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Nancy Mace\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Gwen Moore\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Betty McCollum\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Mario Diaz-Balart\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Brad Sherman\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Brittany Pettersen\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Joyce Beatty\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Lisa C. McClain\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"HRES\", \"number\": \"5\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"HRES\", \"number\": \"5\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"30\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"30\"}, {\"congress\": \"119\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"30\"}]", "171 Cong. Rec. H191", "Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 9 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 9 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)]\n[House]\n[Pages H191-H202]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n        PREVENTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY ILLEGAL ALIENS ACT\n\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 5, I\ncall up the bill (H.R. 30) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act\nto provide that aliens who have been convicted of or who have committed\nsex offenses or domestic violence are inadmissible and deportable, and\nask for its immediate consideration in the House.\n  The Clerk read the title of the bill.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Wied). Pursuant to House Resolution 5,\nthe bill is considered read.\n  The text of the bill is as follows:\n\n                                H.R. 30\n\n       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of\n     the United States of America in Congress assembled,\n\n     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.\n\n       This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Violence Against\n     Women by Illegal Aliens Act''.\n\n     SEC. 2. INADMISSIBILITY AND DEPORTABILITY RELATED TO SEX\n                   OFFENSES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, STALKING, CHILD\n                   ABUSE, OR VIOLATION OF PROTECTION ORDER.\n\n       (a) Inadmissibility.--Section 212(a)(2) of the Immigration\n     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is amended by\n     adding at the end the following:\n       ``(J) Sex offenses.--Any alien who has been convicted of,\n     who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts\n     which constitute the essential elements of a sex offense (as\n     such term is defined in section 111(5) of the Adam Walsh\n     Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (34 U.S.C.\n     20911(5))), or a conspiracy to commit such an offense, is\n     inadmissible.\n       ``(K) Domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, or\n     violation of protection order.--Any alien who has been\n     convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits\n     committing acts which constitute the essential elements of--\n       ``(i) a crime of domestic violence (as such term is defined\n     in section 237(a)(2)(E));\n       ``(ii) a crime of stalking;\n       ``(iii) a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child\n     abandonment; or\n       ``(iv) a crime of violating the portion of a protection\n     order (as such term is defined in section 237(a)(2)(E)) that\n     involves protection against credible threats of violence,\n     repeated harassment, or bodily injury to the person or\n     persons for whom the protection order was issued,\n     is inadmissible.''.\n       (b) Deportability.--Section 237(a)(2) of the Immigration\n     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)) is amended--\n       (1) in subparagraph (E)--\n       (A) in the heading, by striking ``crimes against children\n     and'' and inserting ``and crimes against children''; and\n       (B) in clause (i), by inserting before the period at the\n     end the following ``, and includes any crime that constitutes\n     domestic violence, as such term is defined in section\n     40002(a) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act\n     of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)), regardless of whether the\n     jurisdiction receives grant funding under that Act''; and\n       (2) by adding at the end the following:\n       ``(G) Sex offenses.--Any alien who has been convicted of a\n     sex offense (as such term is defined in section 111(5) of the\n     Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (34 U.S.C.\n     20911(5))) or a conspiracy to commit such an offense, is\n     deportable.''.\n\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill shall be debatable for 1 hour,\nequally divided and controlled by the majority leader and the minority\nleader or their respective designees.\n  The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lee) and the gentleman from\nMaryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 30 minutes.\n  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lee).\n\n                             General Leave\n\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all\nMembers may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their\nremarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 30.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the\ngentlewoman from Florida?\n  There was no objection.\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may\nconsume.\n  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 30, the Preventing Violence\nAgainst Women by Illegal Aliens Act.\n  Over the past 4 years, President Biden and border czar Vice President\nKamala Harris have allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the\nUnited States. At the same time that they facilitated the collapse of\nour southwest border, President Biden and Vice President Harris\nabandoned any semblance of interior immigration enforcement.\n  In a September 2021 memo, the Biden-Harris administration made\nenforcement more difficult for Immigration and Customs Enforcement\nofficers. In training materials obtained by the Judiciary Committee and\npublished in a staff report last year, DHS failed to answer seemingly\nclear-cut questions such as whether an alien who served a\n\n[[Page H192]]\n\n20-year drug-related prison sentence or an alien who discharged a\nfirearm outside of a police station should be priorities for arrest and\ndeportation.\n  Until the Trump administration can change them, those are the\ntraining materials required for all of ICE's enforcement personnel\nnationwide. Instead of making clear that ICE officers should carry out\ntheir duties to remove criminal aliens from American streets, the\nBiden-Harris administration instructed ICE officers to develop a full\nprofile of a criminal alien before deciding whether to arrest someone\nwho is in the country illegally.\n  In the training examples, that included determining whether an\nillegal alien has high blood pressure or is a caregiver. The Biden-\nHarris administration's immigration absurdity appears to know no\nbounds.\n  In a transcribed interview with the Judiciary Committee, a former top\nICE official admitted that the Biden-Harris administration's policies\nhave made immigration enforcement more dangerous for ICE officers, more\ndifficult to carry out, and less efficient overall.\n  The ICE official even acknowledged that because of the border crisis,\nfewer ICE officers are available to track down public safety and\nnational security threats because they are left to do border\nadministration-related tasks.\n  The consequences of these policies are not hypotheticals or simply\nnumbers. They are a reality for families across the country, and they\nare emblematic of the Biden-Harris administration's war on women.\n  Last September, the Judiciary Committee heard from three mothers\nwhose daughters were brutally assaulted and murdered by illegal aliens\nwelcomed into the country by President Biden and Vice President Kamala\nHarris.\n  Tammy Nobles recounted how Joe Biden and Kamala Harris released into\nthe country the MS-13 gang member who went on to murder and sexually\nassault her daughter, Kayla Hamilton. The killer later admitted to four\nadditional murders and two additional rapes.\n  Patty Morin told how an illegal alien raped and strangled her\ndaughter, Rachel, and then stuffed her body into a drainpipe. The\nalleged murderer entered the country through border czar Kamala Harris'\nwide-open southwest border.\n  Alexis Nungaray spoke about how Joe Biden and Kamala Harris released\nat the border the two illegal aliens who went on to viciously assault\nand murder her 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn. Ms. Nungaray said she had\nno clothing from the waist down. Her hands and her ankles were tied,\nand she was thrown under the bridge in the water like she was nothing\nbut garbage.\n  Victim advocate April Aguirre also told the tragic story of 11-year-\nold Maria Gonzalez. The Biden-Harris administration released her\nalleged murderer into the United States. Just 7 months later, the\nillegal alien assaulted and killed Maria, wrapped her body in a trash\nbag, and stuffed her in a laundry basket that he shoved underneath his\nbed.\n  These are not isolated incidents. In February 2024, an illegal alien\nwas arrested in Alabama for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl who\ncould not consent to the intercourse, as she was physically helpless or\nmentally incapacitated.\n\n  In April 2024, an illegal alien was arrested in Indiana for allegedly\nbreaking into a Michigan mobile home park and sexually assaulting two\nyoung girls.\n  In May 2024, authorities arrested a 20-year-old illegal alien for\nallegedly snatching an 11-year-old girl off the street in front of her\nLake Worth, Florida, home and sexually assaulting her. According to\nlocal officials, the Guatemalan national crossed the U.S.-Mexico border\nin early January 2024, made his way to Florida shortly thereafter, and\ndoes not have an immigration court date until 2027.\n  Just earlier this month, ICE arrested a Dominican national who had\nbeen charged with assault to rape, kidnapping, and indecent assault.\nThe illegal alien crossed the border in January 2023 and was placed on\nalternatives to detention.\n  That is Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' immigration legacy: more\nunvetted aliens released into American communities, more criminal\naliens on American streets, and more Americans endangered by radical,\nreckless policies. Thankfully, the American people have voted to end\nthis nightmare.\n  The Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act is just\none of many bills Republicans have proposed that will help close\nimmigration loopholes, reverse the disastrous policies of the Biden-\nHarris administration, and implement President Trump's immigration\nenforcement agenda.\n  The Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act makes\ncrystal clear that illegal aliens who commit sex offenses are\ninadmissible to and removable from the United States. The bill also\nfixes a discrepancy in current law by creating a ground of\ninadmissibility for domestic violence to mirror the existing ground of\nremovability for the same offenses.\n  In addition, H.R. 30 expands the current ground of removability for\ndomestic violence by cross-referencing an existing statutory definition\nfor sex offenses. Although many aliens can already be found\ninadmissible to or removable from the United States for certain sex\noffenses and domestic violence offenses, this bill expands and\nclarifies the conduct for which an alien can be found removable from\nthe country.\n  The time is now to take seriously the danger of criminal aliens in\nthe United States. Anything that makes it easier for adjudicators and\nofficials to ensure a criminal alien's arrest and removal should\nreceive overwhelming bipartisan support, particularly when it comes to\nsex offenses and domestic violence.\n  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 30, the Preventing\nViolence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, and I reserve the balance\nof my time.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I\nam delighted to be here with you and with the gentlewoman from Florida.\n  Mr. Speaker, America's immigration laws are like an admissions policy\nfor the country: How do you get into America, who gets kicked out of\nAmerica, and for what reasons. Our immigration laws today will get you\nkicked out, deported from the country if you commit rape, other sex\noffenses, domestic violence, or, indeed, any other crime of violence.\nThat is the law today. You are convicted, you are deported, you are\nout. That has been the law for decades in America.\n\n                              {time}  0930\n\n  Our immigration law establishes a similar policy on the way in. It\nprovides that anyone seeking admission to America who has committed a\nviolent sex offense or a crime of domestic violence is inadmissible to\nour country.\n  Since the 1930s, case law has made it perfectly clear that rape,\ndomestic violence, and sexual battery are all ``crimes involving moral\nturpitude,'' which make the perpetrator inadmissible to America. That\nhas been the law in our country for decades.\n  What does H.R. 30 add? If committing a sexual assault or domestic\nviolence will already render you deportable and inadmissible under our\nlaws, why do we need to create another section of the law doing the\nsame thing? Is it necessary, or is it redundant?\n  Of course, its being redundant or unnecessary may not be a sufficient\nreason to vote against the bill. After all, I cheerfully admit that\nthis body, under the stewardship of our friends, passes a lot of\nunnecessary and redundant legislation in the House just to send a\nmessage, as they say. Perhaps this is what our friends set out to do\ntoday, to pass another simple messaging bill.\n  The complication today is this: The way this messaging bill is\nactually written will create big problems for many, many victims of\ndomestic violence. That is why more than 200 national, State, and local\ngroups advocating for the victims of rape and the survivors of domestic\nviolence, the people across America we should be listening to today,\nstrongly oppose the bill our colleagues have brought forward.\n  The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence sent us a\nletter urging us to reject H.R. 30. I urge every single Member of\nCongress to read this letter carefully before you vote on this bill.\n  The groups fighting domestic violence warn that this legislation\n``can ultimately have devastating consequences for immigrant victims of\ndomestic violence.''\n\n[[Page H193]]\n\n  The signers of this letter include a range of national groups like\nthe YWCA, National Council of Jewish Women, AFL-CIO, Coalition of Labor\nUnion Women, and dozens of State and local groups, like the California\nPartnership to End Domestic Violence, Colorado Coalition Against Sexual\nAssault, Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Mississippi\nCoalition Against Domestic Violence, Catholic Charities in Omaha,\nNebraska, and dozens and dozens more from States across the country.\nPlease read this letter.\n  These are groups working to change the law and culture to stop rape\nand domestic violence in our country, but they see that this poorly\ndrafted legislation would end up harming untold numbers of victims of\ndomestic violence themselves, the putative beneficiaries of the act.\n  Here is why: When it comes to crimes involving moral turpitude, there\nare exceptions in the law to protect domestic violence victims who\noften get swept up in the very laws designed to protect them.\n  Anyone who has ever been a prosecutor or a public defender in this\nChamber knows that it is common for abusers to accuse their victims of\ndomestic violence themselves and assault, sometimes truthfully, often\nfalsely. In any event, it is well known that the victims get arrested,\nprosecuted, and sometimes even convicted simply for defending\nthemselves and fighting back against their abusers and rapists.\n  Here is a real-life example drawn from the domestic violence survivor\nadvocacy groups opposing their legislation. A young woman on a student\nvisa here was trapped in an abusive relationship, and her estranged\nboyfriend tried to rape her. She fought back, biting his ear and\ndrawing blood.\n  She then called the police to report the rape, but upon seeing the\nboyfriend's injury, the officers also arrested the female victim, whose\nlanguage skills kept her from comprehensively explaining what had\nhappened at that point. She spent several days in jail and was\nultimately convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, but the judge\nsentenced her to time served once she got a lawyer and translation\nservices, which allowed the context of the violent abuse that she had\nbeen enduring to become made plain to the police and the court.\n  Because of exceptions that exist in our laws today, this woman was\nnot deemed inadmissible to America because her simple assault charge\ncarried less than a 6-month penalty. Under the new bill, which would\nestablish inadmissibility without any waivers or exceptions at all for\nvictims, she would clearly have to be deemed inadmissible to America.\nNo exceptions would exist any longer for domestic violence victims who\nhave committed minor crimes in the context of resisting their violent\nabuse.\n  This means that the victim in this case, who is legally in the United\nStates on a student visa while she attends college, would be barred\npermanently from obtaining a green card or any new immigration status\nsimply because she was a victim of an attempted rape who fought back\nagainst her attacker. With no ability ever to adjust her status under\nthe law, she would be deported and kicked out of our country\npermanently.\n  Some might say that this is the price she should rightly pay for\nbiting or hitting back at her violent abuser, but do we really want to\nsay that we would not want our daughters, sisters, or mothers to do the\nsame in that situation?\n  Should we really compound the horrors of domestic violence and\nassaults with a harsh immigration penalty on victims? Do we want to\ngive domestic abusers more power over their victims by giving them more\nopportunities to file charges, true or false, against their victims to\nkeep them from reporting their abuse to authorities?\n  It seems we live in a time, Mr. Speaker, when it is very easy to\nforgive sexual abusers, assailants, rapists, and sexual harassers who\nhave a lot of power and wealth in society but very hard to forgive\ntheir victims for fighting back.\n  Look what is going on across the hallway. Secretary of Defense\nnominee Pete Hegseth has been credibly accused of sexually assaulting a\nwoman at a conference in 2017 and entered into a major private\nfinancial settlement over the charges, and there are people planning to\nvote for this legislation today who also support his nomination.\n\n  Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon and her husband were\nrecently sued for failing to act on credible allegations of sexual\nabuse within the World Wrestling Entertainment organization.\n  Finally, of course, the President-elect's initial pick for Attorney\nGeneral, Matt Gaetz, faces numerous allegations of sex trafficking a\nminor and statutory rape.\n  There are civil adjudications of sexual abuse going to the very top\nof the new administration. The law, as it stands today and as we have\nhad it for decades, provides for waivers to protect the immigration\nstatus of victims of domestic violence who are charged with fighting\nback against their abuser.\n  While the proposed bill would retain waivers for victims in the\ndeportability context, it would not allow for waivers or exceptions in\nthe inadmissibility context. I don't know why this asymmetry and\ndiscordance were written into this legislation, whether it was\ndeliberate or just accidental, but the upshot is that the entire\nnational movement working to arrest and reduce domestic violence in\nAmerica is now opposing this bill that claims to be in support of the\nvictims of domestic violence.\n  We note another serious problem with the bill, which makes it\nbackfire again against victims. It would significantly expand the\ndefinition of ``domestic violence'' to include the statutory Violence\nAgainst Women Act definition that is used for the civil context of\ngrants and funding. This much broader definition was never designed to\nbe used in criminal law. In fact, the definition explicitly says that\nit covers conduct ``that may or may not constitute criminal behavior.''\n  The definition of domestic violence under existing Federal criminal\nlaw, which is currently also used in immigration law, focuses on the\nelement, Mr. Speaker, of physical force, but the broader VAWA-based\ndefinition appropriately fitted for grant and funding purposes sweeps\nin a broad range of behaviors, including verbal, psychological,\neconomic, or technological abuse.\n  Once again, in the inadmissibility context, this transposition can\nhave severe consequences. Imagine a domestic violence victim covered by\nDACA who flees her abuser and removes half of the money from their\njoint bank account, enough to get a train or bus ticket to get away.\nImagine the abuser calls the police and claims that she stole money\nfrom him and committed a theft. By merely admitting to the fact that\nshe took funds out of their bank account, the victim could end up being\ndeemed inadmissible and then removed from America.\n  Remember, the new inadmissibility grounds created by this bill do not\nrequire a conviction but a mere admission of the underlying facts.\n  The point is clear: If our goal is to prevent violence against women\nby illegal aliens, as the bill's title says, our current criminal and\nimmigration laws already do that. We have strict punishments in place\nfor anyone who commits such crimes, including deportation and\ninadmissibility for foreign nationals.\n  This bill would only make the immigration laws much harsher on the\nvictims of domestic violence, sexual battery, and rape, which is the\nopposite of what we should be doing.\n  America, when it lives up to its ideals, as Tom Paine said, will\nbecome an asylum to humanity, not an insane asylum, mind you, but a\nplace of refuge for people seeking freedom from religious, political,\nand economic oppression, and also, I might add, the kind of private\ngender violence that creates oppression and tyranny in the home.\n  Two centuries later, Ronald Reagan echoed the sentiment, reminding us\nthat America was a ``shining city upon a hill,'' a refuge ``for all the\nPilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the\ndarkness, toward home.''\n  Last year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against\nWomen Act, and we must continue our work to oppose the tyranny of\ndomestic violence over women in our country, but this legislation would\nset back our efforts to protect survivors and to stop abuse.\n\n[[Page H194]]\n\n  Mr. Speaker, I ask the majority to reconsider this legislation and\nfor my colleagues to join us in opposing it.\n  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman\nfrom North Carolina (Mr. Harris).\n  Mr. HARRIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of\nH.R. 30, the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act.\n  Mr. Speaker, common sense dictates that if an illegal alien is in our\ncountry and commits a sex offense or domestic violence, they should be\ndeported immediately. Common sense dictates that if an alien is at the\nborder and has committed these kinds of egregious crimes in their past,\nthey should not be allowed to take one step onto American soil.\n\n  Anything short of this standard is a complete and utter failure to\nprotect American women and girls. This bill before us today ensures\njust that.\n  As Republicans, we have been called to clean up Biden's border\ncrisis, and that means not only deporting illegal alien sex offenders\nand abusers, but we must stop them from coming into our country in the\nfirst place.\n  It is common sense that the legislation before us today codifies this\nstandard. The Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act\nshouldn't be controversial. Sadly, as we saw last week with the Laken\nRiley Act, many of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will\nuse any excuse to oppose commonsense border security.\n  I stand on behalf of my constituents in North Carolina's Eighth\nCongressional District to urge my colleagues to support this crucial\ninitiative in our fight to keep our citizens safe.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from\nWashington (Ms. Jayapal).\n  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, here we are, once again, with my Republican\ncolleagues bringing a bill to the floor that does absolutely nothing to\naddress the needs of the American people.\n  My Republican colleagues made lots of campaign promises to lower\ncosts for everyday Americans, but not a single bill so far has done\nanything like that. Instead, this week appears to be a week where they\nsay they are protecting women, yet their actions tell a different\nstory.\n  Today, we are discussing a bill that takes the Violence Against Women\nAct, a bill meant to protect victims of domestic violence, and\nweaponizes it against domestic violence victims.\n\n                              {time}  0945\n\n  Mr. Speaker, that is exactly why 200 local and national advocacy\norganizations for survivors of domestic violence from across the\ncountry with deep expertise in this area have come out so strongly to\noppose this bill.\n  I am talking about the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic\nViolence, the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, the National\nNetwork to End Domestic Violence, the Asian Pacific Institute on\nGender-Based Violence, and groups that serve domestic violence\nsurvivors in more than 40 States across the country.\n  Let me be very clear once again. Under our current laws, those who\nare convicted or admit to domestic violence or crimes listed in this\nbill are already deportable and inadmissible to the country. There is\nactually no gap in the law that needs to be fixed.\n  Instead, in a perverse move, this bill would make it easier to label\nsurvivors of domestic violence as perpetrators to make them removable\nfrom the country and eliminate existing legal safeguards that protect\nsurvivors. Once again, this is a bill that widens the highway to Donald\nTrump's mass deportation plans.\n  I want to talk through an example. The police show up to a domestic\nviolence call. The victim was attacked by her abuser, and she fought\nback in self-defense. Maybe the abuser has some scratches on his face.\n  It is common practice for the police to arrest both parties in that\nsituation when responding to a domestic violence incident. The police\nwrite a report, describing how the victim hit her abuser in self-\ndefense.\n  Under this bill, that is an admission constituting the elements of\ndomestic violence, and this woman is now inadmissible and subject to\ndeportation. Even if she is never charged, even if a judge later rules\nthat she did not commit any crime, that so-called admission in the\npolice report that she responded in self-defense to hit her abuser is\nenough to make her inadmissible under this bill.\n  Again, that is why more than 200 advocacy organizations for domestic\nviolence survivors, deeply ensconced in the material of what happens\nevery day across the country far too often, are all deeply opposed to\nthis legislation. They know that this expansive bill that eliminates\nthe existing safeguards for domestic violence survivors will harm those\nexact survivors and create a chilling effect for reporting future\ncrimes, empowering abusers to go after immigrant women and children.\n  Right now we are only talking about immigrant survivors. Is this bill\nthe start of a dangerous road, watering down protections for all\nvictims of domestic violence across the country? Who is next?\n  The Violence Against Women Act is a landmark piece of legislation, a\ntestament to a time when Democrats and Republicans could actually come\ntogether and legislate on issues of fundamental importance to this\nNation, despite our differences.\n  The initial iteration of VAWA passed the House by voice vote. Can you\nimagine that? It passed by voice vote. It reshaped how we as a country\ntalk about gender-based violence and how we treat survivors.\n  The Violence Against Women Act recognized that we cannot be serious\nabout eliminating violence against women if we are not equally serious\nabout eradicating violence against everyone, regardless of immigration\nstatus.\n  There are so many reasons why individuals in domestic violence\nsituations are unjustly forced into the criminal legal system. We have\nseen the data. Too often survivors are arrested alongside their abuser,\nand they are charged and even convicted of crimes involving violence\nwhich later prove to be in self-defense or unjustly charged. This bill\nmakes it more likely that we harm the very people we want to protect.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the\ngentlewoman from Washington.\n  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, here is the cruel irony. In the same week\nthat Republicans are putting forth the nomination of a Secretary of\nDefense who won't even say that sexual assault is disqualifying,\nRepublicans want to fool you into thinking that they care about\ndomestic violence and sexual assault survivors.\n  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Despite VAWA's bipartisan\nhistory, we now have to fight tooth and nail to reauthorize it. It was\nRepublicans who let the Violence Against Women Act languish and expire\nfor 3 years. The leader of the Republican Party is once again a man who\nwas found liable for sexual misconduct and bragged about grabbing and\nforcibly kissing women without their consent.\n  Last year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of VAWA's enactment.\nToday, we have to watch our colleagues across the aisle make another\ncheap attempt to divide us and play gotcha politics. We should work\ntogether to eradicate domestic violence.\n  My bill, the WISE Act, would strengthen protections for survivors. I\nwish we could do that here and not this harmful, misleading bill. I\nurge my colleagues to oppose it.\n  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from over 200 local and\nnational domestic violence organizations who oppose this bill.\n\n         National Task Force To End Sexual & Domestic Violence\n\n                                                 January 13, 2025.\n       Honorable Members of the House, The undersigned groups that\n     serve and advocate on behalf of victims of domestic violence,\n     sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and human\n     trafficking, write to voice our opposition to HR 30.\n       We oppose this legislation as it would expand the\n     circumstances under which domestic violence, child abuse and\n     neglect, stalking, and sex offenses would constitute grounds\n     of inadmissibility, as well as expand the definition of\n     domestic violence to be considered for inadmissibility or\n     deportability grounds. These measures would negatively impact\n     immigrant survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and fail\n     to alleviate the primary barriers to safety and stability\n     experienced by survivors seeking relief under the Immigration\n     and Nationality Act.\n       We are especially troubled that this legislation fails to\n     include waivers that take into\n\n[[Page H195]]\n\n     account the needs of the victim or their family, and that it\n     will limit the discretion that judges can exercise where the\n     equities warrant, including situations where survivors who\n     are inadvertently caught up in the criminal legal system will\n     be harmed.\n       Unfortunately, immigrant victims are particularly\n     vulnerable to being arrested and prosecuted for domestic\n     violence if they acted in self-defense or are accused by an\n     abuser of being a primary aggressor. A well-known tactic of\n     abusers to maintain power and control over their victims is\n     to report (and threaten to report) their partner to\n     authorities, including local law enforcement, child\n     protective services, ICE, and others--falsely claiming that\n     their partner (the victim of their violence) is the one who\n     is violent, neglectful, etc. These false reports (and the\n     threats of them) are too often highly effective at keeping\n     victims trapped in violent relationships.\n       Moreover, we know that parents of color are\n     disproportionately accused of child abuse offenses, including\n     abandonment and neglect. Domestic violence survivors are not\n     infrequently charged with child neglect for having ``failed\n     to protect'' their children from witnessing or exposure to an\n     adult's violence committed against the non-abusive parent,\n     resulting in doubly penalizing the survivor and the children\n     for violence committed by someone else. This legislation\n     creates grounds of inadmissibility for these offenses without\n     requiring a conviction, in circumstances where an individual\n     admits that they committed acts that would constitute a\n     crime.\n       Language and cultural barriers, fear of the abuser and the\n     authorities, confusion, intimidation, a lack of awareness of\n     rights, and a lack of access to advocates and other\n     resources, all may prevent an immigrant victim from being\n     able to communicate what really happened. Once in custody\n     and/or facing trial, and desperate to be released and\n     reunited with their children, these same factors--combined\n     with poor legal counsel, particularly about the immigration\n     consequences of criminal pleas and convictions--could lead to\n     ineligibility for status, or the deportation of wrongly\n     accused victims who may have pled to or been unfairly\n     convicted of domestic violence charges.\n       The legislation's expansion of the definition of domestic\n     violence, which was expressly included in the Violence\n     Against Women Act to allow for the provision of a greater\n     array of victim services, to include circumstances that may\n     not involve violence, physical force, or threats of such is\n     also likely to sweep more survivors into the scope of the\n     ground of inadmissibility or deportability. This will result\n     in more victims being deported and/or bar them from obtaining\n     lawful status. In so doing, it invites additional scrutiny of\n     survivors during the course of their efforts to obtain\n     immigration protections and safety from violence.\n       Furthermore, expanding the grounds of inadmissibility or\n     ineligibility for status with no waivers would increase the\n     risk that victims will decline to seek assistance from law\n     enforcement or services if they fear that it will result in a\n     family member being barred from legal status. When creating\n     penalties, balance is key. Deterrence is critically important\n     but will be ineffective if consequences are so severe that\n     survivors will not come forward.\n       Although we are grateful for the efforts of lawmakers to\n     seek to address the impact of domestic violence, sexual\n     assault, dating violence, and stalking, we believe the best\n     way to do so is by expanding accessibility of survivor-based\n     immigration relief and related benefits to noncitizen\n     survivors, and by eliminating the cap on visas available to\n     petitioners for U and T nonimmigrant visas and the number of\n     cases eligible for final adjudications of VAWA Cancellation\n     of Removal. Rather than rushing to enact additional\n     immigration pe4alties that could cause harm to survivors, we\n     urge Congressional representatives to consult with service\n     providers and survivors themselves to develop legislation\n     that is responsive to their experiences and needs.\n       As a diverse coalition of organizations serving and\n     advocating on behalf of victims of domestic violence, sexual\n     assault, dating violence, and stalking, we thank you for\n     paying vigilant attention to how this bill, by expanding the\n     ways in which domestic violence arrests cad prevent people\n     from accessing or maintaining legal status, can ultimately\n     have devastating consequences for immigrant victims of\n     domestic violence.\n           Sincerely,\n\n                         National Organizations\n\n       Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, ASISTA\n     Immigration Assistance, Esperanza United, Tahirih Justice\n     Center, AF31RM, Alliance of Tribal Coalitions to End\n     Violence, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC),\n     Americans for Immigrant Justice, American Muslim Health\n     Professionals, Autistic Self Advocacy, Black Women's\n     Blueprint, BWJP, Caminar Latino-Latinos United for Peace and\n     Equity, Caring Across Generations, Center for Constitutional\n     Rights, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Coalition for\n     Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Center for Popular\n     Democracy, Coalition on Human Needs, Coalition of Labor Union\n     Women, AFL-CIO, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the\n     Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces, Freedom Network USA, Futures\n     Without Violence, Gender-Based Violence Consulting, Human\n     Trafficking Legal Center, IAmProSe, Immigrant Legal Resource\n     Center, Japanese American Citizens League, Jewish Women\n     International, Joyful Heart Foundation, Just Solutions,\n     Justice in Aging, Justice and Joy National Collaborative\n     (formerly National Crittenton).\n       Justice for Migrant Women, Legal Momentum, Lovelace\n     Consulting, Mujeres Latinas en Accion, National Advocacy\n     Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Nationat Alliance\n     to End Sexual Violence, National Association of Social\n     Workers, National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and\n     Mental Health, National Council of Jewish Women, National\n     Employment Law Project, National Indigenous Women's Resource\n     Center, National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner\n     Violence, National Network to End Domestic Violence, National\n     Resource Center on Domestic Violence, National Survivor\n     Network, National Women's Law Center, Planned Parenthood\n     Federation of America, Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK),\n     Reframe Health and Justice, Refugees International, Respect\n     Together, Safe Havens Interfaith Partnership Against Domestic\n     Violence and Elder Abuse, SAGE Empowerment, Sahiyo U.S.,\n     Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team, South Asian\n     SOAR, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, UltraViolet\n     Action, VALOR, Youth First Justice Collaborative, YWCA USA.\n\n                     State, Territorial, and Local\n\n     Alabama:\n       AshaKiran.\n     Arizona:\n       Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence,\n     William E. Morris Institute for Justice.\n     Arkansas:\n       Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault.\n     California:\n       California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, Coalition\n     to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, Al Otro Lado, Asian Law\n     Alliance, Community Solutions, Empower Yolo, Haus of a\n     Stranger, Healthy Alternatives to Violent Environments,\n     Immigration Center for Women and Children, Justice At Last,\n     Los Angeles LGBT Center, Maitri, North Coast Rape Crisis\n     Team, Peace Over Violence, Project Sister Family Services,\n     Rape Counseling Services of Fresno, Reach the Valley (REACH),\n     Verity, Wild Iris Family Counseling and Crisis Center, YWCA\n     Golden Gate Silicon Valley.\n     Colorado:\n       Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Violence Free\n     Colorado, American Friends Service Committee, Colorado\n     Companeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center, Colorado\n     Immigrant Rights Coalition, El Corazon LLC, Swan Counseling\n     Services, Denver Justice and Peace Committee.\n     Connecticut:\n       Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence.\n     Delaware:\n       Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCADV).\n     District of Columbia:\n       DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Asian Pacific\n     American Legal Resource Center, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action,\n     The Person Center.\n     Florida:\n       Florida Legal Services, Inc.\n     Georgia:\n       Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Clayton County\n     Association Against Family Violence, Inc., Columbus Alliance\n     for Battered Women, Inc. d/b/a Hope Harbour, International\n     Women's House, Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center, Inc.,\n     Raksha, Inc.\n     Hawaii:\n       Domestic Violence Action Center, Maui Economic Opportunity,\n     Inc.\n     Idaho:\n       Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence.\n     Illinois:\n       Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Illinois\n     Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Illinois Accountability\n     Initiative, Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice, Arab\n     American Family Services, Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan\n     Family Services, The Porchlight Collective SAP.\n     Indiana:\n       Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Inc., Indiana\n     Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking\n     (ICESAHT), Family Service Association, ASSIST Indiana, Inc.,\n     The Caring Place, Sheltering Wings, The Center for Women and\n     Families, Inc., The Stepping Stone Shelter.\n     Iowa:\n       Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, EMBARC Iowa.\n     Kansas:\n       Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence.\n     Kentucky:\n       Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, ZeroV.\n     Louisiana:\n       Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault.\n     Maine:\n       Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, Maine Coalition\n     Against Sexual Assault, Preble Street.\n\n[[Page H196]]\n\n     Maryland:\n       Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Network Against\n     Domestic Violence, The Human Trafficking Prevention Project,\n     University of Maryland SAFE Center.\n     Massachusetts:\n       Jane Doe Inc.\n     Michigan:\n       Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence,\n     SafeHouse Center.\n     Minnesota:\n       Violence Free Minnesota, Transforming Generations.\n     Mississippi:\n       Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence.\n     Montana:\n       Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.\n     Nebraska:\n       Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence,\n     Catholic Charities of Omaha, Parent-Child Center, Rape and\n     Domestic Abuse Program, Willow Rising.\n     Nevada:\n       Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence,\n     Immigration Center for Women and Children--Nevada Office.\n     New Jersey:\n       New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence.\n     New Mexico:\n       Tewa Women United.\n     New York:\n       New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence,\n     Brooklyn Defender Services, Co-Counsel NYC, Catholic\n     Migration Services, Jahajee Sisters, Her Justice, Inc.,\n     Hope's Door, Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, Safe\n     Horizon Immigration Law Project, The Legal Aid Society,\n     Turning Point for Women & Families, urban justice center |\n     domestic violence project, Violence Intervention Program,\n     Womankind.\n     North Carolina:\n       North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, NC\n     Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Family Abuse Services,\n     Families First, Inc., Friend to Friend, Kearah's Place Inc.,\n     Our Voice, Ruth's House, Safelight Inc., Shining Light in\n     Darkness, UCare, Inc.\n     Ohio:\n       Ohio Alliance To End Sexual Violence, Ohio Domestic\n     Violence Network, Advocating Opportunity.\n     Oregon:\n       Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.\n     Pennsylvania:\n       Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence,\n     Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center, Pennsylvania\n     Coalition to Advance Respect, Citizens Against Physical,\n     Sexual, and Emotional Abuse, Inc. (CAPSEA, Inc.), Congreso de\n     Latinos Unidos, Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern\n     Pennsylvania, Family Services Incorporated, Laurel House,\n     Lutheran Settlement House, SEAMAAC, Inc., Safe Monroe,\n     Turning Point of Lehigh Valley, Inc., Victims Resource\n     Center, Women's Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Women In\n     Transition, The Women's Center, Inc., WRC.\n     Puerto Rico:\n       Casa Juana Colon, Centro de la Mujer Dominicana, Inc.\n     Rhode Island:\n       Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence.\n     South Carolina:\n       South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Assault.\n     Tennessee:\n       Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.\n     Texas:\n       Daya Inc., Houston Immigration Legal Services\n     Collaborative, Mosaic Family Services.\n     Utah:\n       Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Utah Domestic\n     Violence Coalition.\n     Vermont:\n       Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence,\n     AWARE, Inc., Mosaic Vermont, NewStory Center, Safeline, Inc.\n     Virginia:\n       Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance,\n     Ayuda.\n     Washington:\n       WA State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, API Chaya,\n     Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, YWCA of Walla Walla.\n     West Virginia:\n       West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence.\n     Wisconsin:\n       End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, Wisconsin Coalition Against\n     Sexual Assault, ASTOP, Inc. Sexual Abuse Center, BeLEAF\n     Survivors, Benedict Center, Deaf Unity, FREE, Freedom, Inc.,\n     FRIENDS, Inc., Embrace Services, Inc., Reach Counseling,\n     Roots4Change Cooperative, UNIDOS Against Domestic\n     ViolenceStepping Stones, Inc., We All Rise AARC.\n     Wyoming:\n       Wyoming Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual\n     Assault.\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman\nfrom Virginia (Mr. Cline).\n  Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for leading the\ncharge on this legislation, and I find it appalling to hear the\nrhetoric from the other side.\n  The excuses being made for the individuals who are here illegally,\ncommitting acts of domestic violence, committing acts of violence\nagainst women, and trying to defeat this legislation that would\nstrengthen the laws to help these victims are appalling.\n  As a former domestic violence prosecutor and as a State legislator,\nwe have seen this before. When we try to strengthen laws to protect\nvictims of domestic violence, we find all too often those who would\nessentially become apologists for the abusers themselves come in and\nobject to these efforts.\n  We are seeing that here today. When it comes to the Violence Against\nWomen Act, yes, that was a bipartisan piece of legislation until the\nDemocrats were in control of the House. Then we saw them try to amend\nit to make it more pro-abortion rights, pro-trans rights. You can't\neven define a woman. How are you going to pass a Violence Against Women\nAct that actually protects women?\n  Yes, we stand for the original Violence Against Women Act. In fact,\nwe offered it as a substitute. Guess what? The Democrats voted against\nit because they would rather stand up for the other extraneous\nprovisions of the legislation.\n  This legislation will protect American communities from criminal,\nillegal aliens; create new grounds of inadmissibility and removability;\nand expand current grounds for aliens who commit sex offenses and\ndomestic violence offenses.\n  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support it because illegal\naliens who commit child abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence\nhave no place in our country. This bill makes it clear that predators\nwill not be tolerated in the United States.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.\n  Mr. Speaker, I wonder if our colleagues could explain why more than\n200 groups advocating for women's rights and women's security are\nopposing this legislation?\n  Can they explain why the groups that are on the front lines of\nopposing domestic violence reject their legislation as sloppy and bound\nto hurt the victims?\n  We have heard no explanation about that, and we reject the slur that\nwe are somehow standing up for the abusers here when we are standing up\nfor the victims. This legislation, if it were to pass, would actually\nmake it a lot easier for the abusers to terrify and intimidate the\nvictims.\n  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the very distinguished gentleman\nfrom California (Mr. Correa).\n  Mr. CORREA. Mr. Speaker, let's be clear: Under current law, people\nwho commit sexual offenses are already inadmissible to this country and\nsubject to deportation.\n  Let's be clear: I fully support, all of us fully support, getting\nconvicted sexual predators off of our streets, irrespective of their\nlegal status.\n  Sexual crimes are the most heinous crimes. However, to solve a crime,\nfirst you have to report it. Sadly, sex crimes are the most\nunderreported crimes there are.\n  Mr. Speaker, in Orange County, we have worked for years to make sure\nto earn the trust so the immigrant community can step up and report\ncrimes, and this bill is going to undo all of that work. This bill, by\nusing the broader VAWA definition, will make victims who acted in self-\ndefense, victims who were wrongly accused by their abusers, unable to\ndefend themselves, and subject to deportation.\n  This bill will also apply to individuals with legal status, people\nwith green cards, students, temporary workers, DACA holders, and TPS\nholders.\n  Mr. Speaker, this bill will now give crime victims all the reasons in\nthe world not to report a crime. This bill punishes victims, pushes\nvictims back into the shadows, telling the victims if they report a\ncrime, they are subject to deportation.\n  I ask my colleagues to let us go back. Let us redraft this bill to do\nwhat it is\n\n[[Page H197]]\n\nintended to do, to get sexual predators off our streets and to protect\nthe victims of sex crimes, the most heinous crimes.\n  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this measure.\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman\nfrom California (Mr. McClintock).\n  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, three moms came before the House\nCommittee on the Judiciary last fall. They had one thing in common.\nTheir daughters had been brutally assaulted and murdered by illegal\naliens who had been allowed into this country by the Democratic\nadministration and had not been removed even after committing other\noffenses, as well.\n  The statistics tell us how broad this threat has become. Behind the\nstatistics are grieving families, shattered lives, and entirely\npreventable atrocities. Not one of these murderers would have been here\nexcept for the Democrats' deliberate policies.\n  The Democrats often talk about the war on women, but they couldn't\ncare less about allowing a flood of sexual offenders, domestic violence\noffenders, and child abusers into our communities, allowing them to\nstay indefinitely, free from any fear of deportation and protected by\nthe Democrats' sanctuary laws.\n  When these monsters commit these ghastly acts and grief-stricken moms\ncome here for help, the Democrats put on their best long faces, assure\neveryone how much they grieve with the families, and then argue to\ncontinue precisely the same policies that have produced this nightmare\nin the first place.\n  Thank God that in 4 days this tragic chapter in our Nation's history\nwill close. Shortly after noon on Monday, President Trump will issue\nexecutive orders to protect the American people once again. It is too\nlate for these grieving families but perhaps just in time for yours or\nmine.\n  Yet I worry that if the Democrats are ever returned to power, these\npolicies will resume. We have got to change our laws so that they\ncan't. This measure removes the loopholes in current law that allowed\nthe Democrats to unleash this scourge on our communities and requires\nthat illegal aliens who commit sex offenses or domestic violence not be\nallowed into this country under any circumstances and must be\nimmediately removed if they do get in, no matter who is President.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished\ngentlewoman from California (Ms. Simon).\n  Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Raskin for the time.\n  Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to speak in this Chamber as a\nsurvivor. Folks know back home that I have been doing this work for 30\nyears, day in and day out.\n  As a survivor, I almost lost my life in my early twenties. I am proud\nto stand with millions of women and girls who have been victims and who\nare moving toward survivorship in saying no to this piece of\nlegislation.\n  Mr. Speaker, I come with 30 years of experience. I started my career\nleading the Young Women's Freedom Center, and I stood shoulder to\nshoulder with young women and girls who had been trafficked and beaten.\nI have been in morgues. I have been in the tanks of our county jails,\nliterally on my knees, pleading with law enforcement to let young women\nout who themselves were victims and who were incarcerated wrongly for\nstanding up for themselves while they fought for their lives.\n  I have learned through this work that justice is not a principle. It\nis our responsibility.\n  Later in my career, I led the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights\nUnder Law started by President Kennedy. We expanded access and legal\nrepresentation for migrants and asylum seekers, many who came seeking\npeace and solidarity, in search of safety and dignity.\n  Today, as a Representative of California's 12th District, I remain\ncommitted to advancing real solutions and making our communities safer.\nI, too, was a domestic violence advocate for a prosecutor.\n\n                              {time}  1000\n\n  I know this work. I remain committed to working with my colleagues on\nboth sides of the aisle to fix a severely broken immigration system,\nbut moreover, I am here to stand up for victims.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from California an\nadditional 1 minute.\n  Ms. SIMON. H.R. 30, and I repeat, does nothing to advance these\nsolutions. Instead, it broadens the definition of domestic violence in\nways that punishes survivors, making them inadmissible and subject to\ndeportation, regardless of their legal status.\n  I say to my colleagues: We must read this bill. Read it. Let me be\nclear: We know that Federal law already allows deportation, demands\ndeportation for individuals convicted of domestic violence. H.R. 30\ndoesn't strengthen the protection of survivors--it weaponizes them.\n  I know what it means to protect victims, Mr. Speaker. It means to\nfight systemic inequities in our current systems that don't work for\nthose victims or survivors. H.R. 30 doesn't do this work.\n  That is why I too stand with over 200 organizations, one in which I\ncofounded, the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, that is 10,000\nstrong, who are young women and girls who are surviving rape and\ndomestic violence and trafficking. They, too, say no.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her\ndistinguished remarks, and I reserve the balance of my time.\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman\nfrom Missouri (Mr. Onder).\n  Mr. ONDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 30, the\nPreventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act.\n  President Biden's open-border policies have been felt in our\ncommunities where now more than ever women are hesitant to walk alone\nin parking lots and look over their shoulders.\n  In the past few years, we have seen illegal aliens chase, beat,\nsexually assault, and burn women even in public. These illegal aliens\ntarget and abuse women.\n  This bill sends an important message that we will have zero tolerance\nfor domestic and sexual violence by illegal aliens.\n  H.R. 30, the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act,\nbuilds on the Laken Riley Act. While the Laken Riley Act would have\nprevented the death of that 22-year-old nursing student, this bill will\nprotect women in the future by strengthening protections against\nviolent aliens.\n  This bill has two important components.\n  First, it amends current immigration law to expand the definition of\nsex offenses that require deportation. It would explicitly create\ngrounds for inadmissibility for aliens who commit a sex offense as\ndefined by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.\n  Second, it explicitly establishes a ground of inadmissibility for\nspecific domestic violence offenses. It closes a loophole in current\nlaw and clarifies what illegal aliens must be removed for domestic\nviolence.\n  Enforcement by ICE for these offenses has plummeted in the years\nbetween the Trump and the Biden administrations. Over that same period,\nwe have seen an increase in violent crimes and sexual assaults by\nillegal aliens. It is time to replace the slap-on-the-wrist approach\nwith law and order.\n  I genuinely believe that this legislation is part of our mandate from\nthe American people, and we should send this legislation to Donald\nTrump's desk for signature on day one.\n  On Tuesday, I was very encouraged to see 48 of my Democrat colleagues\nvote for the commonsense protection of Americans by voting for the\nLaken Riley Act. Deporting domestic violence offenders and aliens who\ncommit sexual assault should not be a partisan issue. I hope that my\ncolleagues on the other side of the aisle will join us in supporting\nH.R. 30.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\\1/2\\ minutes to the distinguished\ngentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).\n  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, let's be very clear. Sexual offenses and\ndomestic violence are serious crimes and are already grounds for\ndeportability and inadmissibility, as they should be.\n  Unfortunately, this bill is so poorly drafted that it would result in\nextremely harsh and unintended consequences, including the removal of\nsurvivors of domestic violence.\n\n[[Page H198]]\n\n  This bill attempts to significantly expand the definition of domestic\nviolence to include the Violence Against Women Act definition that is\nused for grants and funding. This is a much broader definition that was\nnever meant to be used in criminal law. We know that because the\ndefinition explicitly says it covers conduct ``that may or may not\nconstitute criminal behavior.''\n  The definition for domestic violence under Federal criminal law\nfocuses on physical force. This broader VAWA-based definition sweeps in\na wider range of behaviors that domestic violence organizations say\nwill implicate survivors who have used violence in self-defense or who\nwere accused by their abusers and were either unable to defend\nthemselves or pled guilty to avoid having to go through the court\nprocess.\n  This bill would also make it less likely that immigrant communities\nwill report incidents of domestic violence. We recently celebrated the\n30th anniversary of the passage of VAWA, and we should continue our\nwork to combat domestic violence, but this legislation would actually\nset back our efforts to protect survivors.\n  That is why over 200 national and local groups, as part of the\nNational Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, the experts in\nthe field, oppose this legislation. I think we ought to listen to them.\nWe need to work together to solve our immigration problems, but this\nbill takes us in the wrong direction.\n  The Republican majority has chosen to begin this year with a series\nof bills intended to fearmonger and demonize immigrants.\n\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kennedy of Utah). The time of the\ngentleman has expired.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from New York an\nadditional 15 seconds to conclude.\n  Mr. NADLER. The Republican majority has chosen to begin this year\nwith a series of bills intended to fearmonger and demonize immigrants.\nThis legislation not only perpetuates that effort, but it would also\nhave serious consequences for survivors of domestic violence.\n  I urge my colleagues to oppose this misguided bill.\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentlewoman\nfrom South Carolina (Ms. Mace).\n  Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, yes, I rise today to ``demonize,'' as the word\nwas used on the left across the aisle, to demonize illegal immigrants\nwho are here raping our women and girls, murdering our women and girls,\nand who are pedophiles molesting our children. You are darn right. That\nis what I am here to do today.\n  I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 30, the Preventing Violence\nAgainst Women By Illegal Aliens Act.\n  Under the open-border policies of Joe Biden and border czar Kamala\nHarris and Secretary Mayorkas, our country has been ravaged by a hoard\nof illegal aliens molesting American children, battering and bruising\nand beating up American women, and violently raping American women and\ngirls.\n  My bill makes it very clear: If an illegal alien commits a sex crime\nor an act of domestic violence, they are inadmissible and deportable--\nwe aren't letting you into our country, and if you are already here, we\nare sending you back to yours.\n  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle like to try to minimize\nthis issue because they refuse to acknowledge the consequences of their\nopen-borders agenda, but the numbers don't lie.\n  According to ICE, as of July, there were nearly 650,000 illegal\naliens on the nondetained docket who are convicted criminals who have\nbeen charged with crimes.\n  These criminal illegal aliens freely roam our streets committing\nsenseless acts of violence against American women and children. This\nincludes over 100,000 illegal aliens convicted of or charged with\nassault. It includes over 20,000 illegal aliens convicted of or charged\nwith sexual assault and rape. It includes over 12,000 illegal aliens\nconvicted of or charged with sex offenses. It includes over 3,000\nillegal aliens convicted of or charged with kidnapping. And it includes\nnearly 15,000 illegal aliens convicted of or charged with murder. That\nis who the left are defending this morning: murderers, rapists, and\npedophiles.\n  Hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal aliens are out on our\nstreets terrorizing our women and girls. This bill passed the House\nlast year in September by a vote of 266-158. Mr. Speaker, 158 Democrats\nvoted against this bill last time. Will they apologize to American\nwomen and girls today and do the right thing for our citizens?\n  A vote against this bill is a vote against deporting illegal aliens\nwho rape and abuse women and children. A vote against this bill is a\nvote to invite illegal aliens who rape and abuse women and children\ninto the United States of America. I can think of nothing less American\nthan that.\n  It is despicable that 158 Members of this body, which is supposed to\nrepresent the interests of American citizens, voted to prioritize\nillegal aliens who are sexual predators and domestic abusers, rapists,\nand pedophiles over the safety of American women and girls.\n  Mr. Speaker, what do the 158 Members of this body who voted last time\nto protect illegal aliens who are sexual predators have to say to the\nfamily of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl who was brutally raped\nand strangled to death by two illegal aliens from Venezuela?\n  What do the 158 Democrats who voted against this bill last time have\nto say to the family of Rachel Morin from Maryland, a mother of five,\nwho was brutally raped, brutally choked, and beaten to death on a\nhiking trail by an illegal alien from El Salvador?\n  What do the 158 Members of this body, the Democrats who voted against\nthis bill last time, have to say to the family of Kayla Hamilton, a 20-\nyear-old with autism who was tied up, raped, and strangled to death\nwith a phone cord by an illegal alien who was a member of MS-13?\n  As a survivor of both rape and domestic violence myself, I know the\ndevastating toll, the devastating consequences, that heinous crimes\nlike these have on a woman. I know the lifelong, irreversible scars\nthese heinous crimes leave behind.\n  The blood and the physical and emotional pain caused by these\ntragedies, the trauma caused by these tragedies, the lifelong trauma of\nthese tragedies, this blood is on the hands of every single Democrat in\nthis body who votes against this bill.\n  It is our birthright as American citizens to live freely and safely\nin our communities. One woman, one child victimized by one illegal\nalien is one too many. They have no right to be here.\n  Some of my colleagues across the aisle claim that the definition of\ndomestic violence in this bill is too broad. They are wrong. The\ncurrent definition isn't broad enough, and I know this now that I have\nbeen a victim most recently of domestic violence and abuse that VAWA\ndid not go far enough, and our States have a lot more to go to protect\nwomen and girls.\n  I implore my colleagues to look at their hearts, hear the cries of\nthe families who have been shattered by these evil acts committed by\nillegal aliens, and put American women and children first and pass this\nbill.\n\n                              {time}  1015\n\n  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record three reports on arrests.\n\n   [From the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Feb. 2, 2024]\n\n ERO Seattle Arrests 6 Noncitizens With Criminal Convictions for Child\n                 Exploitation During National Operation\n\n       Seattle--U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE)\n     Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Seattle arrested six\n     noncitizens convicted of crimes related to child exploitation\n     during a nationwide law enforcement effort that ran from\n     January 16-28.\n       ``Noncitizens who commit repugnant acts at the expense of\n     children will not be allowed to claim our great nation as\n     their home,'' said ERO Seattle Field Office Director Drew\n     Bostock. ``The arrests ERO Seattle made during this national\n     operation are an example of the constant contributions we\n     make locally to keep the U.S. safe from child predators.''\n       All arrests took place in the assigned ERO Seattle states\n     of Alaska, Washington and Oregon, with criminal convictions\n     made by courts in Washington and Oregon.\n       Those arrested include:\n       A 53-year-old citizen of El Salvador in Tacoma who was\n     convicted of felony child molestation in the first degree,\n     child molestation in the second degree, and rape of a child\n     in the third degree.\n\n[[Page H199]]\n\n       A 42-year-old citizen of Mexico in Moses Lake who was\n     convicted of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in\n     sexually explicit conduct.\n       A 39-year-old citizen of Mexico in Federal Way who was\n     convicted of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.\n       A 69-year-old citizen of Mexico in Yakima who was convicted\n     of dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually\n     explicit conduct.\n       A 58-year-old citizen of Mexico in Yakima who was convicted\n     of child molestation in the first degree, child molestation\n     in the second degree, and rape of a child in the third\n     degree.\n       A 43-year-old citizen of Mexico in Woodburn, Oregon, who\n     was convicted of first degree sexual abuse of a minor.\n       ERO officers evaluate individuals on a case-by-case basis,\n     assessing the totality of the facts and circumstances to make\n     informed arrest determinations. Those cases amenable to\n     federal criminal prosecution can be presented to the U.S.\n     attorney's office. ERO also coordinates with U.S. Citizenship\n     and Immigration Services to evaluate the completion of\n     relevant noncitizen applications.\n       In fiscal year 2023, ERO arrested 73,822 noncitizens with\n     criminal histories; this group had 290,178 associated charges\n     and convictions with an average of four per individual. These\n     included 33,209 assaults; 4,390 sex and sexual assaults;\n     7,520 weapons offenses; 1,7l3 charges or convictions for\n     homicide; and 1,655 kidnapping offenses.\n       As one of ICE's three operational directorates, ERO is the\n     principal federal law enforcement authority in charge of\n     domestic immigration enforcement. ERO's mission is to protect\n     the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who\n     undermine the safety of U.S. communities and the integrity of\n     U.S. immigration laws, and its primary areas of focus are\n     interior enforcement operations, management of the agency's\n     detained and non-detained populations, and repatriation of\n     noncitizens who have received final orders of removal. ERO's\n     workforce consists of more than 7,700 law enforcement and\n     non-law enforcement support personnel across 25 domestic\n     field offices and 208 locations nationwide, 30 overseas\n     postings, and multiple temporary duty travel assignments\n     along the border.\n       Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious\n     activity by dialing 866-347-2423 or completing the online tip\n     form. Learn more about ICE's mission to increase public\n     safety in your community by following us on X, formerly known\n     as Twitter, @EROSeattle.\n                                  ____\n\n                      [From US NEWS, May 16, 2024]\n\n Serial Rapist Illegal Migrant Attacked Woman in Rape Dungeon on Wheels\n\n                         (By Katherine Donlevy)\n\n       An illegal migrant allegedly went on a serial raping spree\n     in Southern California, attacking his victims in a ``rape\n     dungeon on wheels'' before he was caught in the act by cops.\n       Eduardo Sarabia, 40, was arrested Monday with a 26-year-old\n     woman inside his decked-out van, which he had driven to a\n     remote area of the San Gabriel Mountains near San Bernadino,\n     sources told Fox 11.\n       It was the second time in two days that he allegedly took a\n     victim to the secluded spot--but investigators suspect that\n     Sarabia's twisted spree lasted much longer.\n                                  ____\n\n                     [From US News, June 15, 2024]\n\n  Rachel Morin Murder: Illegal Immigrant From El Salvador Charged in\n                   Rape, Killing of Maryland Mom-of-5\n\n                         (By Katherine Donlevy)\n\n       A migrant from El Salvador has been busted for the brutal\n     2023 rape and murder of mom of five Rachel Morin on a\n     Maryland hiking trail, cops said.\n       Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 23, was tracked down in Tulsa,\n     Oklahoma Friday, after police matched his DNA to the gruesome\n     crime scene, Harford County Sherriff Jeffrey Gahler told\n     reporters Saturday.\n       ``Rachel's murderer is no longer a free man and, hopefully,\n     he will never have the opportunity to walk free again,''\n     Gahler said.\n  Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, since we have someone from the State of\nMaryland, this was on FOX News: ``Arrest of illegal immigrant\npreviously convicted of rape in Maryland marks record for ICE.''\n  ``ICE nabs several migrants convicted of child molestation, one\nconvicted murderer, in blue State suburbs.''\n  Another one from Maryland: ``Rachel Morin murder: Illegal immigrant\nfrom El Salvador charged in rape, killing of Maryland mom of five.''\n  We had someone from Washington today talk. Here is an article about\nthe ERO: ``ERO Seattle arrests six noncitizens with criminal\nconvictions for child exploitation during national operation.''\n  In California: ``Serial rapist illegal migrant attacked woman in\n`rape dungeon on wheels,''' said the cops.\n  Of course, for someone from New York, here is the headline from New\nYork: ``ERO New York City arrests unlawfully present Salvadoran citizen\nconvicted of rape.''\n  These are the illegals that the left is defending today. I find it\ndisgusting and offensive, and I will always put American women and\ngirls first.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished\ngentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).\n  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for\nyielding to me.\n  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this dangerous\nlegislation. It has been pointed out in this debate that H.R. 30 fails\nto protect domestic abuse survivors as it undermines the Violence\nAgainst Women Act, historic legislation that was carefully drafted in a\nbipartisan manner, which included critical protections like U visas and\nT visas, the battered spouse waiver, and the option to self-petition\nfor permanent residence.\n  This legislation, whether it means it or not or intends it or not,\nreally cancels out these important protections.\n  Immigrant survivors are already afraid. We don't need to fearmonger\nthem anymore. They are already scared of contacting the police due to\nthe deportation risk, and H.R. 30 exacerbates the real concerns that\nthese victims will be swept up by this bill.\n  As noted by a wide range of stakeholders, immigrant victims are\nparticularly vulnerable to being arrested and prosecuted for domestic\nviolence or acting in self-defense, even if they are falsely accused by\nan abuser of being a primary aggressor.\n  We know that this comes straight out of a playbook by some of our\nhistoric traffickers and pimps. This bill would empower pimps and\ntraffickers as it is written, and it will sweep more survivors into\nbeing inadmissible or deportable.\n  Mr. Speaker, how does that protect them?\n  In the name of protecting domestic violence victims, we cannot debate\nand pass a bill that makes it worse for them. If the majority is\nserious about addressing the epidemic of domestic and sexual violence\nin our country, then we can start by addressing the funding challenges\nfacing the Victims of Crime Act, which supports services for victims,\nor by expanding access to U visas and T visas, which help law\nenforcement protect victims.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the\ngentlewoman from Wisconsin.\n  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, we want to protect moms from\ndomestic violence acts, as homicide is the leading cause of death of\npregnant women.\n  Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to\nrecommit so we can fix this bill.\n  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his indulgence.\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am\nprepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close.\n  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record the\ntext of this amendment immediately prior to the vote on the motion to\nrecommit.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the\ngentleman from Maryland?\n  There was no objection.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.\n  I can't blame my colleagues because they ran on a platform of doing\nbetter than Joe Biden on the economy, but he gave us an economy that is\nthe glory of the world and ``the envy of the world,'' as The Economist\nmagazine put it recently. It created 16 million new jobs, a roaring\nstock market, and a revived manufacturing sector.\n  Instead of doing anything to lower the price of groceries, which is\nwhat they promised, and to lower the price of energy, which they\npromised, they come back and basically ask us to pass what is already\nin the law but they subtract from their duplicative and redundant\nsection the waivers and exceptions that protect the victims and\nsurvivors of domestic violence.\n  Instead, they just want to associate all immigrants with criminal\ndelinquency. The vast majority of rapes in America of American women\nare committed by citizens, and the vast majority of noncitizens never\ncommit rapes.\n  Donald Trump released 58,184 noncitizens with criminal records who\ncame in during his administration, including 8,620 violent criminals\nand 306 murderers. ICE ended up rearresting 11,000\n\n[[Page H200]]\n\nnoncitizens who had been admitted under Donald Trump.\n  We can sit here and demagogue back and forth and say, ``You let\nsomeone in who did something bad. You let someone in who did something\ncriminal,'' but we are not going to do that. We want to make progress\nfor America.\n  Let's reject this opportunistic, silly bill, and let's move forward\nto guarantee the safety of America's women.\n  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.\n  Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my\ntime.\n  Democrats claim this bill is unnecessary because aliens who commit\nsex offenses or domestic violence offenses are already inadmissible or\nremovable. That ignores reality.\n\n  Take, for example, the fact that, under current immigration law,\nthere is no explicit ground of inadmissibility for illegal aliens who\ncommit domestic violence offenses, despite a ground of removability for\naliens who commit such offenses, or consider that despite certain sex\noffenses making aliens removable from the country, there currently is\nnot a ground of inadmissibility or removability for certain sex\noffenses.\n  Although some aliens who commit these offenses may be found\ninadmissible or removable for having committed a crime involving moral\nturpitude, that is far from certain.\n  Under current law, loopholes abound. For example, in 2023, the Ninth\nCircuit held that a conviction for menacing constituting domestic\nviolence was not a crime involving moral turpitude even though the\nalien threatened his wife with a knife.\n  The Third Circuit held that an alien was not removable despite a\nconviction for involuntary devient sexual intercourse with a 15-year-\nold.\n  Similarly, courts have found that certain convictions for\ncontributing to the delinquency of a minor, assault of a victim under\n12 years old, and annoying or molesting a child are not crimes\ninvolving moral turpitude.\n  That is why this bill is imperative. It is to ensure that criminal\naliens who endanger families and communities can be removed from the\nUnited States.\n  The Biden-Harris administration's war on women must come to an end,\nand this bill is one step toward that.\n  Making guests in our country inadmissible to and removable from the\nUnited States because they have committed a sex offense or domestic\nviolence offense should be something that even open-border Democrats\ncan agree with us on.\n  Mr. Speaker, the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens\nAct is a straightforward, commonsense bill that I urge my colleagues to\nsupport, and I yield back the balance of my time.\n  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 30.\n  H.R. 30 undermines the basic constitutional protection of a person\nbeing innocent until proven guilty. It subjects immigrants, including\nthose who have been victims of domestic violence, to new grounds of\ninadmissibility and deportability that do not require a conviction in\ncourt. This is an ominous step toward the erosion of the rights of all\npeople in the United States, including citizens.\n  The U.S. immigration system has been broken for decades. Every\nbipartisan proposal to fix it has been fractured by Republicans'\nrefusal to work with Democrats to find effective solutions.\n  Now, as we begin the 119th Congress with Republicans again in the\nmajority, they continue to reject a bipartisan way forward to find real\nsolutions. Instead, Republicans have chosen to bring more deeply flawed\nmessaging bills to the House floor. This legislation does not just\ntarget people who are in the United States illegally. Its impact will\nbe felt by many of our neighbors, from green card holders and students\nto temporary workers and DACA recipients.\n  Here's the bottom line: under our existing immigration laws, people\nwho commit domestic violence, sexual offenses, or other heinous crimes\nare already inadmissible and removable. This bill does not secure the\nborder, nor does it work to fix our immigration system. It only puts\ninnocent people, legally present in the United States, at risk of\ndeportation. Republicans must begin to work toward bipartisan,\nconstructive solutions to fix our broken immigration system.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moran). All time for debate has expired.\n  Pursuant to House Resolution 5, the previous question is ordered on\nthe bill.\n  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.\n  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was\nread the third time.\n\n                           Motion to Recommit\n\n  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at\nthe desk.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to\nrecommit.\n  The Clerk read as follows:\n       Ms. Moore of Wisconsin moves to recommit the bill H.R. 30\n     to the Committee on the Judiciary.\n  The material previously referred to by Ms. Moore of Wisconsin is as\nfollows:\n\n       Ms. Moore of Wisconsin moves to recommit the bill H.R. 30\n     to the Committee on the Judiciary with instructions to report\n     the same back to the House forthwith, with the following\n     amendment:\n       Page 3, line 10, insert after ``is inadmissible.'' the\n     following: ``The Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland\n     Security shall not be limited by the criminal court record\n     and may waive the application of clauses (i) and (ii) in the\n     case of an alien who has been battered or subjected to\n     extreme cruelty and who is not and was not the primary\n     perpetrator of violence in the relationship, upon making a\n     determination described in section 237(a)(7)(A)(i).''.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX, the\nprevious question is ordered on the motion to recommit.\n  The question is on the motion to recommit.\n  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that\nthe noes appeared to have it.\n  Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and\nnays.\n  The yeas and nays were ordered.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair\nwill reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on\nthe question of passage.\n  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 206,\nnays 213, not voting 15, as follows:\n\n                             [Roll No. 16]\n\n                               YEAS--206\n\n     Adams\n     Aguilar\n     Amo\n     Ansari\n     Auchincloss\n     Balint\n     Barragan\n     Bell\n     Bera\n     Beyer\n     Bishop\n     Bonamici\n     Boyle (PA)\n     Brown\n     Brownley\n     Budzinski\n     Bynum\n     Carbajal\n     Carson\n     Carter (LA)\n     Casar\n     Case\n     Casten\n     Castor (FL)\n     Castro (TX)\n     Cherfilus-McCormick\n     Chu\n     Cisneros\n     Clark (MA)\n     Clarke (NY)\n     Cleaver\n     Clyburn\n     Cohen\n     Conaway\n     Connolly\n     Correa\n     Costa\n     Courtney\n     Craig\n     Crockett\n     Crow\n     Cuellar\n     Davids (KS)\n     Davis (IL)\n     Davis (NC)\n     Dean (PA)\n     DeGette\n     DeLauro\n     DelBene\n     Deluzio\n     DeSaulnier\n     Dexter\n     Dingell\n     Doggett\n     Elfreth\n     Escobar\n     Espaillat\n     Evans (PA)\n     Fields\n     Figures\n     Fletcher\n     Foster\n     Foushee\n     Frankel, Lois\n     Friedman\n     Frost\n     Garamendi\n     Garcia (CA)\n     Garcia (IL)\n     Garcia (TX)\n     Gillen\n     Golden (ME)\n     Goldman (NY)\n     Gomez\n     Gonzalez, V.\n     Goodlander\n     Gottheimer\n     Gray\n     Green, Al (TX)\n     Harder (CA)\n     Hayes\n     Himes\n     Horsford\n     Houlahan\n     Hoyer\n     Hoyle (OR)\n     Huffman\n     Ivey\n     Jackson (IL)\n     Jacobs\n     Jayapal\n     Jeffries\n     Johnson (GA)\n     Johnson (TX)\n     Kamlager-Dove\n     Kaptur\n     Keating\n     Kelly (IL)\n     Kennedy (NY)\n     Khanna\n     Krishnamoorthi\n     Landsman\n     Larsen (WA)\n     Larson (CT)\n     Latimer\n     Lee (NV)\n     Lee (PA)\n     Leger Fernandez\n     Levin\n     Liccardo\n     Lieu\n     Lofgren\n     Lynch\n     Magaziner\n     Mannion\n     Matsui\n     McBath\n     McBride\n     McClain Delaney\n     McClellan\n     McCollum\n     McDonald Rivet\n     McGarvey\n     McGovern\n     McIver\n     Meeks\n     Menendez\n     Meng\n     Mfume\n     Min\n     Moore (WI)\n     Morelle\n     Morrison\n     Moskowitz\n     Mullin\n     Nadler\n     Neal\n     Neguse\n     Norcross\n     Ocasio-Cortez\n     Olszewski\n     Omar\n     Pallone\n     Panetta\n     Pappas\n     Perez\n     Peters\n     Pingree\n     Pocan\n     Pou\n     Pressley\n     Ramirez\n     Randall\n     Raskin\n     Riley (NY)\n     Rivas\n     Ross\n     Ruiz\n     Ryan\n     Salinas\n     Sanchez\n     Scanlon\n     Schakowsky\n     Schneider\n     Scholten\n     Schrier\n     Scott (VA)\n     Scott, David\n     Sewell\n     Sherrill\n     Simon\n     Smith (WA)\n     Sorensen\n     Soto\n     Stansbury\n     Stanton\n     Stevens\n     Strickland\n     Subramanyam\n     Suozzi\n     Swalwell\n     Sykes\n     Takano\n     Thanedar\n     Thompson (CA)\n     Thompson (MS)\n     Titus\n     Tlaib\n     Tokuda\n     Tonko\n     Torres (CA)\n     Torres (NY)\n     Trahan\n     Tran\n     Turner (TX)\n     Underwood\n     Vargas\n     Vasquez\n     Veasey\n     Velazquez\n     Vindman\n     Wasserman Schultz\n     Waters\n     Watson Coleman\n     Whitesides\n     Williams (GA)\n\n                               NAYS--213\n\n     Aderholt\n     Alford\n     Allen\n     Amodei (NV)\n     Arrington\n     Babin\n     Bacon\n     Baird\n     Balderson\n     Barr\n     Barrett\n     Baumgartner\n     Bean (FL)\n     Begich\n     Bentz\n     Bergman\n     Bice\n     Biggs (AZ)\n\n[[Page H201]]\n\n     Biggs (SC)\n     Bilirakis\n     Boebert\n     Bost\n     Bresnahan\n     Buchanan\n     Burchett\n     Burlison\n     Calvert\n     Cammack\n     Carey\n     Carter (GA)\n     Carter (TX)\n     Ciscomani\n     Cline\n     Cloud\n     Clyde\n     Cole\n     Collins\n     Comer\n     Crane\n     Crank\n     Crawford\n     Crenshaw\n     De La Cruz\n     DesJarlais\n     Diaz-Balart\n     Donalds\n     Downing\n     Dunn (FL)\n     Edwards\n     Ellzey\n     Emmer\n     Estes\n     Evans (CO)\n     Ezell\n     Fallon\n     Fedorchak\n     Feenstra\n     Finstad\n     Fischbach\n     Fitzgerald\n     Fitzpatrick\n     Fleischmann\n     Flood\n     Fong\n     Foxx\n     Franklin, Scott\n     Fry\n     Fulcher\n     Garbarino\n     Gill (TX)\n     Gimenez\n     Goldman (TX)\n     Gonzales, Tony\n     Gooden\n     Gosar\n     Graves\n     Green (TN)\n     Greene (GA)\n     Griffith\n     Grothman\n     Guest\n     Guthrie\n     Hageman\n     Hamadeh (AZ)\n     Haridopolos\n     Harrigan\n     Harris (MD)\n     Harris (NC)\n     Harshbarger\n     Hern (OK)\n     Higgins (LA)\n     Hill (AR)\n     Hinson\n     Houchin\n     Hudson\n     Huizenga\n     Hurd (CO)\n     Issa\n     Jack\n     Jackson (TX)\n     James\n     Johnson (LA)\n     Johnson (SD)\n     Jordan\n     Joyce (OH)\n     Joyce (PA)\n     Kean\n     Kelly (MS)\n     Kelly (PA)\n     Kennedy (UT)\n     Kiggans (VA)\n     Kiley (CA)\n     Kim\n     Knott\n     Kustoff\n     LaHood\n     LaLota\n     LaMalfa\n     Langworthy\n     Latta\n     Lawler\n     Lee (FL)\n     Letlow\n     Loudermilk\n     Lucas\n     Luna\n     Luttrell\n     Mace\n     Mackenzie\n     Malliotakis\n     Maloy\n     Mann\n     Massie\n     Mast\n     McCaul\n     McClintock\n     McCormick\n     McDowell\n     McGuire\n     Messmer\n     Meuser\n     Miller (IL)\n     Miller (OH)\n     Miller (WV)\n     Miller-Meeks\n     Mills\n     Moolenaar\n     Moore (AL)\n     Moore (NC)\n     Moore (UT)\n     Moore (WV)\n     Moran\n     Murphy\n     Nehls\n     Newhouse\n     Norman\n     Nunn (IA)\n     Obernolte\n     Ogles\n     Onder\n     Owens\n     Palmer\n     Perry\n     Pfluger\n     Reschenthaler\n     Rogers (AL)\n     Rogers (KY)\n     Rose\n     Rouzer\n     Roy\n     Rulli\n     Rutherford\n     Salazar\n     Scalise\n     Schmidt\n     Schweikert\n     Scott, Austin\n     Self\n     Sessions\n     Shreve\n     Simpson\n     Smith (MO)\n     Smith (NE)\n     Smith (NJ)\n     Smucker\n     Spartz\n     Stauber\n     Stefanik\n     Steil\n     Steube\n     Strong\n     Stutzman\n     Taylor\n     Tenney\n     Thompson (PA)\n     Tiffany\n     Timmons\n     Valadao\n     Van Drew\n     Van Duyne\n     Van Orden\n     Wagner\n     Walberg\n     Weber (TX)\n     Webster (FL)\n     Westerman\n     Wied\n     Williams (TX)\n     Wilson (SC)\n     Wittman\n     Womack\n     Yakym\n     Zinke\n\n                             NOT VOTING--15\n\n     Beatty\n     Brecheen\n     Davidson\n     Grijalva\n     Hunt\n     McClain\n     Moulton\n     Mrvan\n     Pelosi\n     Pettersen\n     Quigley\n     Sherman\n     Turner (OH)\n     Waltz\n     Wilson (FL)\n\n                              {time}  1050\n\n  Mses. VAN DUYNE, MALOY, Messrs. VAN ORDEN, HUIZENGA, BAUMGARTNER,\nWESTERMAN, and GILL of Texas changed their vote from ``yea'' to\n``nay.''\n  So the motion to recommit was rejected.\n  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.\n  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that\nthe ayes appeared to have it.\n  Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.\n  The yeas and nays were ordered.\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.\n  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 274,\nnays 145, not voting 15, as follows:\n\n                             [Roll No. 17]\n\n                               YEAS--274\n\n     Aderholt\n     Alford\n     Allen\n     Amodei (NV)\n     Arrington\n     Babin\n     Bacon\n     Baird\n     Balderson\n     Barr\n     Barrett\n     Baumgartner\n     Bean (FL)\n     Begich\n     Bentz\n     Bergman\n     Bice\n     Biggs (AZ)\n     Biggs (SC)\n     Bilirakis\n     Boebert\n     Bost\n     Boyle (PA)\n     Brecheen\n     Bresnahan\n     Buchanan\n     Budzinski\n     Burchett\n     Burlison\n     Bynum\n     Calvert\n     Cammack\n     Carey\n     Carter (GA)\n     Carter (TX)\n     Ciscomani\n     Cline\n     Cloud\n     Clyburn\n     Clyde\n     Cole\n     Collins\n     Comer\n     Conaway\n     Courtney\n     Craig\n     Crane\n     Crank\n     Crawford\n     Crenshaw\n     Cuellar\n     Davids (KS)\n     Davis (NC)\n     De La Cruz\n     DesJarlais\n     Donalds\n     Downing\n     Dunn (FL)\n     Edwards\n     Ellzey\n     Emmer\n     Estes\n     Evans (CO)\n     Ezell\n     Fallon\n     Fedorchak\n     Feenstra\n     Figures\n     Finstad\n     Fischbach\n     Fitzgerald\n     Fitzpatrick\n     Fleischmann\n     Flood\n     Fong\n     Foxx\n     Franklin, Scott\n     Fry\n     Fulcher\n     Garbarino\n     Gill (TX)\n     Gillen\n     Gimenez\n     Golden (ME)\n     Goldman (TX)\n     Gonzales, Tony\n     Gonzalez, V.\n     Gooden\n     Goodlander\n     Gosar\n     Gottheimer\n     Graves\n     Gray\n     Green (TN)\n     Greene (GA)\n     Griffith\n     Grothman\n     Guest\n     Guthrie\n     Hageman\n     Hamadeh (AZ)\n     Harder (CA)\n     Haridopolos\n     Harrigan\n     Harris (MD)\n     Harris (NC)\n     Harshbarger\n     Hayes\n     Hern (OK)\n     Higgins (LA)\n     Hill (AR)\n     Himes\n     Hinson\n     Horsford\n     Houchin\n     Houlahan\n     Hudson\n     Huizenga\n     Hurd (CO)\n     Issa\n     Jack\n     Jackson (TX)\n     James\n     Johnson (LA)\n     Johnson (SD)\n     Johnson (TX)\n     Jordan\n     Joyce (OH)\n     Joyce (PA)\n     Kaptur\n     Kean\n     Kelly (MS)\n     Kelly (PA)\n     Kennedy (NY)\n     Kennedy (UT)\n     Khanna\n     Kiggans (VA)\n     Kiley (CA)\n     Kim\n     Knott\n     Kustoff\n     LaHood\n     LaLota\n     LaMalfa\n     Landsman\n     Langworthy\n     Latta\n     Lawler\n     Lee (FL)\n     Lee (NV)\n     Letlow\n     Levin\n     Loudermilk\n     Lucas\n     Luna\n     Luttrell\n     Lynch\n     Mace\n     Mackenzie\n     Magaziner\n     Malliotakis\n     Maloy\n     Mann\n     Mannion\n     Massie\n     Mast\n     McBride\n     McCaul\n     McClain Delaney\n     McClintock\n     McCormick\n     McDonald Rivet\n     McDowell\n     McGuire\n     Messmer\n     Meuser\n     Miller (IL)\n     Miller (OH)\n     Miller (WV)\n     Miller-Meeks\n     Mills\n     Moolenaar\n     Moore (AL)\n     Moore (NC)\n     Moore (UT)\n     Moore (WV)\n     Moran\n     Morrison\n     Moskowitz\n     Murphy\n     Nehls\n     Newhouse\n     Norman\n     Nunn (IA)\n     Obernolte\n     Ogles\n     Onder\n     Owens\n     Palmer\n     Panetta\n     Pappas\n     Perez\n     Perry\n     Pfluger\n     Reschenthaler\n     Riley (NY)\n     Rogers (AL)\n     Rogers (KY)\n     Rose\n     Rouzer\n     Roy\n     Rulli\n     Rutherford\n     Ryan\n     Salazar\n     Salinas\n     Scalise\n     Schmidt\n     Scholten\n     Schrier\n     Schweikert\n     Scott, Austin\n     Self\n     Sessions\n     Sewell\n     Sherrill\n     Shreve\n     Simpson\n     Smith (MO)\n     Smith (NE)\n     Smith (NJ)\n     Smucker\n     Sorensen\n     Soto\n     Spartz\n     Stanton\n     Stauber\n     Stefanik\n     Steil\n     Steube\n     Strong\n     Stutzman\n     Subramanyam\n     Suozzi\n     Swalwell\n     Sykes\n     Taylor\n     Tenney\n     Thompson (PA)\n     Tiffany\n     Timmons\n     Titus\n     Torres (NY)\n     Trahan\n     Tran\n     Valadao\n     Van Drew\n     Van Duyne\n     Van Orden\n     Vasquez\n     Vindman\n     Wagner\n     Walberg\n     Weber (TX)\n     Webster (FL)\n     Westerman\n     Whitesides\n     Wied\n     Williams (TX)\n     Wilson (SC)\n     Wittman\n     Womack\n     Yakym\n     Zinke\n\n                               NAYS--145\n\n     Adams\n     Aguilar\n     Amo\n     Ansari\n     Auchincloss\n     Balint\n     Barragan\n     Bell\n     Bera\n     Beyer\n     Bishop\n     Bonamici\n     Brown\n     Brownley\n     Carbajal\n     Carson\n     Carter (LA)\n     Casar\n     Case\n     Casten\n     Castor (FL)\n     Castro (TX)\n     Cherfilus-McCormick\n     Chu\n     Cisneros\n     Clark (MA)\n     Clarke (NY)\n     Cleaver\n     Cohen\n     Connolly\n     Correa\n     Costa\n     Crockett\n     Crow\n     Davis (IL)\n     Dean (PA)\n     DeGette\n     DeLauro\n     DelBene\n     Deluzio\n     DeSaulnier\n     Dexter\n     Dingell\n     Doggett\n     Elfreth\n     Escobar\n     Espaillat\n     Evans (PA)\n     Fields\n     Fletcher\n     Foster\n     Foushee\n     Frankel, Lois\n     Friedman\n     Frost\n     Garamendi\n     Garcia (CA)\n     Garcia (IL)\n     Garcia (TX)\n     Goldman (NY)\n     Gomez\n     Green, Al (TX)\n     Hoyer\n     Hoyle (OR)\n     Huffman\n     Ivey\n     Jackson (IL)\n     Jacobs\n     Jayapal\n     Jeffries\n     Johnson (GA)\n     Kamlager-Dove\n     Keating\n     Kelly (IL)\n     Krishnamoorthi\n     Larsen (WA)\n     Larson (CT)\n     Latimer\n     Lee (PA)\n     Leger Fernandez\n     Liccardo\n     Lieu\n     Lofgren\n     Matsui\n     McBath\n     McClellan\n     McCollum\n     McGarvey\n     McGovern\n     McIver\n     Meeks\n     Menendez\n     Meng\n     Mfume\n     Min\n     Moore (WI)\n     Morelle\n     Mullin\n     Nadler\n     Neal\n     Neguse\n     Norcross\n     Ocasio-Cortez\n     Olszewski\n     Omar\n     Pallone\n     Peters\n     Pingree\n     Pocan\n     Pou\n     Pressley\n     Ramirez\n     Randall\n     Raskin\n     Rivas\n     Ross\n     Ruiz\n     Sanchez\n     Scanlon\n     Schakowsky\n     Schneider\n     Scott (VA)\n     Scott, David\n     Simon\n     Smith (WA)\n     Stansbury\n     Stevens\n     Strickland\n     Takano\n     Thanedar\n     Thompson (CA)\n     Thompson (MS)\n     Tlaib\n     Tokuda\n     Tonko\n     Torres (CA)\n     Turner (TX)\n     Underwood\n     Vargas\n     Veasey\n     Velazquez\n     Wasserman Schultz\n     Waters\n     Watson Coleman\n     Williams (GA)\n\n                             NOT VOTING--15\n\n     Beatty\n     Davidson\n     Diaz-Balart\n     Grijalva\n     Hunt\n     McClain\n     Moulton\n     Mrvan\n     Pelosi\n     Pettersen\n     Quigley\n     Sherman\n     Turner (OH)\n     Waltz\n     Wilson (FL)\n\n                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore\n\n  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes\nremaining.\n\n                              {time}  1100\n\n  So the bill was passed.\n  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.\n  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.\n  Stated for:\n  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote today as the last\nvote timed out. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call\nNo. 17, H.R. 30; Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens\nAct.\n\n                          Personal Explanation\n\n  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, due to the devastating wildfire affecting\nmy district and Southern California, I was not present for today's\nvote. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 16,\nMotion to Recommit H.R. 30, and NAY on Roll Call No. 17, H.R. 30.\n\n                          personal explanation\n\n  Ms. PETTERSEN. Mr. Speaker, due to travel restrictions related to my\npregnancy, I was unable to travel to DC to vote. Had I been present, I\nwould have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 16 and NAY on Roll Call No. 17.\n\n[[Page H202]]\n\n                          personal explanation\n\n  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on the House floor\nthis morning because of a weather-related travel delay. Had I been\npresent, I would have voted YEA on a Roll Call No. 16 and NAY on Roll\nCall No. 17.\n\n                          personal explanation\n\n   Mrs. McCLAIN. Mr. Speaker, due to a death in the family, I needed to\nattend the funeral proceedings and was unable to vote on the House\nfloor. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 16,\nMotion to Recommit, and YEA on Roll Call No. 17, Passage of H.R. 30.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2025-01-16-pt1-PgH191-3"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 9.21646598726511, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}