Dem Rep Compares Immigration Enforcement Bill To Fugitive Slave Act

Democratic Oregon Rep. Janelle Bynum compared a Republican-led 🛂Immigration bill to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Thursday while speaking in opposition to the legislation on the House floor.

House Republicans passed the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act in a 264 to 155 vote on Thursday which intends to impose minimum prison sentences and deport illegal immigrants who flee or cause harm to Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officers during high-speed vehicle chases. Bynum claimed the legislation that attempts to protect Border Patrol agents and other U.S. law enforcement was similar to a series of federal laws that allowed for the capture and return of enslaved people who escaped to free states.

“I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 35, let’s call this bill what it is, fear mongering dressed up as officer safety. This bill echoes one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850,” Bynum said. “Just like that shameful law, H.R. 35 forces authorities and encourages the deputizing of randos to do the federal government’s work, punishing them if they refuse. Back then it was hunting down people who dared to seek freedom, today it’s forcing local police to become federal enforcers.”

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Any illegal migrant who flees Border Patrol agents or local enforcement officers assisting them via a motorized vehicle would face two years in prison under the proposed legislation. An illegal immigrant could face up to five years imprisonment if they cause “serious bodily harm” to an officer and face a minimum sentence of ten years to life if death should result from the chase.