The Pennsylvania Senate on Monday voted to advance a bill that would require attorneys to notify federal immigration authorities if a noncitizen has been charged with a crime in the state.
Per the Center Square, the bill cleared the chamber in a 31-18 vote, with four Democrats voting alongside all 27 Republican Senators in favor of the bill.
The bill would amend a section of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, stating that "an attorney for the Commonwealth shall notify United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement if, at any point during the course of a criminal proceeding, the attorney for the Commonwealth obtains information reasonably indicatie that a criminal defendant is not a citizen of the United States or otherwise has been present in this Commonwealth or the United States.
GOP Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr, one of the bill’s cosponsors, said, "This legislation is common sense. If you’re in our country illegally, and you violate the laws, you will be held accountable." He said that the "simple" language in the one-page bill reaffirms that being in the US without permission is a crime.
Fellow co-sponsor Sen. Jarrett Coleman said, "There are too many tragedies, too many American families hurt, that could have been avoided if ICE and our state and local authorities were aligned on upholding our immigration laws." Lawmakers supporting the bill pointed to high-profile cases in which illegal immigrants carried out violent attacks on American citizens, including the deaths of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray and 22-year-old Laken Riley.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has urged those in the country illegally to self-deport from the US or face the same fate as those who have been sent to El Salvador's prisons. Noem wrote, "President Trump and I have a clear message to criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW. If you do not leave, we will hunt you down, arrest you, and you could end up in this El Salvadorian prison."
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