The Leadership Conference Opposes H.R. 30
View a PDF of the letter here.
January 15, 2025
Dear Representative:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, I urge you to oppose H.R. 30, the “Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act.” This misguided bill would in many instances harm the victims of domestic violence that it aims to protect, placing them in greater danger and subjecting them to harassment, detention, and potentially deportation.
As is the case with H.R. 29, the Laken Riley Act, which passed the House last week, H.R. 30 is problematic in that it calls for immigration enforcement measures against people who have not actually been convicted in a court of any particular crime. As a general matter, any such policy would contravene the nation’s most basic notions of due process, and would greatly increase the risk of abusive and discriminatory enforcement.
H.R. 30 ignores the difficulties that survivors of domestic violence face, as it is not uncommon for a survivor to also be accused of abuse, either by abusers themselves or by police. This bill would greatly increase the likelihood of survivors being exposed to immigration consequences, even when they are the ones seeking help from law enforcement. It also increases the likelihood that survivors will be punished under child welfare laws for arguably failing to protect their children from the very abuse to which they themselves are being subjected. To make matters worse, H.R. 30 does not include any waivers or exceptions that might ensure domestic violence survivors are not subjected to immigration enforcement actions. As a result, H.R. 30 would make domestic violence survivors less likely, not more likely, to come forward.
We urge you to vote against H.R. 30. The Leadership Conference intends to include your position on H.R. 30 in our voting record for the 119th Congress. If you have any questions, please contact Senior Counsel Rob Randhava at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Jesselyn McCurdy
Executive Vice President of Government Affairs