by Robert Hampton, DC Clothesline:

Sanctuary states are bad enough, but some House Democrats want to make America a sanctuary country.

Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, California Rep. Karen Bass, Illinois Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduced the “New Way Forward Act” in December. All four are non-white. Forty other congressmen are co-sponsors.

According to its supporters, the “New Way Forward Act” would “decriminalize migration” by turning illegal entry into a civil offense, rather than a federal crime. Criminal offenses are violations of criminal law and are generally punishable by imprisonment. Civil offenses are violations of administrative rules and are generally punishable only by fine or injunction against certain behavior. Current law treats illegal entry as a misdemeanor crime and illegal re-entry after deportation a felony. The new law would punish these offenses only with “Notices to Appear” in court and unspecified fines. Offenders would no longer be subject to jail.

The proposed law would make detaining and deporting criminal aliens almost impossible. Under current law, non-citizens charged with an aggravated felony (murder, rape, sexual abuse of a minor, etc.) or terrorist offenses receive mandatory detention, with deportation after a determination of guilt and a term of imprisonment. The proposed law eliminates mandatory detention in these cases. The accused would have a right to a probable cause hearing within 48 hours of an arrest. A bond hearing would follow within 72 hours if probable cause was established. The accused alien could abscond at any point. Already, over one-third of aliens facing deportation abscond before their proceedings are completed. The new law would undoubtedly increase that figure.

The bill would also narrow the definition of an automatically deportable “aggravated felony” to crimes that resulted in a prison sentence of five years or more. Convicted rapists and child molesters, for example – who are now deported after a sentence of any length – would no longer be subject to deportation if  they were sentenced to less than five years in prison.

The proposed law gives immigration judges greater discretion to grant relief to deportable aliens “in pursuit of humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest.” This means a judge could allow a convicted murderer to stay in the US if the alien persuaded him that deportation would disrupt his family.

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