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.”
WATCH:
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.
Migrants who admit to evading border agents while operating a vehicle will further be deemed inadmissible into the U.S. and be subject to deportation, according to the legislation.
The bill is named after Border agent Raul Humberto Gonzalez Jr., who died in an ATV crash in December 2022 while chasing down illegal immigrants near McAllen, Texas.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Ben Petersen said Bynum’s statement on the legislation proves she is “hellbent on pursuing a dangerous anti-police officer crusade in Congress.”
“Janelle Bynum’s unglued comments reinforced [that] she’s hellbent on pursuing a dangerous anti-police officer crusade in Congress. Bynum’s extremist vote siding with cartel terrorists over Border Patrol puts Oregonians in danger,” Petersen said.
A total of 58 Border Patrol agents died while on the job between 2003 and 2023, with vehicle accidents being the second-highest cause of death, according to a CATO study.
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