U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) voted Friday against a bill that would have led to the automatic deportation of illegal aliens and foreign nationals convicted of sex offenses or domestic abuse.
Pingree joined 157 other Democratic representatives in opposing Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-S.C.) H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act.
“We are fed up with headlines about women losing their lives or becoming victims of assailants who trespassed into our country illegally under the Biden-Harris border crisis. This legislation sends a strong message: if you are an illegal who has committed acts of violence against women, you will not find sanctuary here,” said Rep. Mace.
The straightforward bill mandates the deportation of any immigrant convicted of sexual offenses or domestic violence.
The law also applies to immigrants who have admitted to sexual crimes, even if they have not been formally convicted.
Mace’s bill would also mark convicted sex offenders as inadmissible, banning them from entering the U.S. in the future.
Pingree, along with other far-left Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), voted to allow illegal immigrants to remain in the country after abusing women, including U.S. Citizens and female immigrants.
Republicans condemned the 158 Democrats who opposed the common-sense bill, issuing scathing statements on X.
“158 House Democrats just voted AGAINST requiring the deportation of illegal immigrants who assault women in the United States. Sickening. This is who they are,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) on X.
He was joined by House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and others.
Despite drawing opposition from the majority of Democrats, Mace’s bill passed in a 266 to 158 vote with support from 51 Democrats, including Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).
The bill will now need support from the Democrat-controlled Senate and approval from President Joe Biden before it can actually go into effect.
While Pingree typically votes for far-left policies, Rep. Golden has worked to portray himself as a moderate, often breaking with his party in supporting Republican-led bills.
Golden’s support for Mace’s bill comes as he is campaigning for re-election against State Rep. Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent) in a highly contested race in Maine’s conservative Second Congressional District.
Pingree serves in Maine’s deep-blue First Congressional District and can support radically left-wing policies without endangering her electoral chances.
Pingree did not respond to an email from the Maine Wire asking why she opposed the bill, or whether she thinks it benefits American women to allow sex offenders and domestic abusers to remain in the country.
Illegal immigrants have been making headlines under the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policies, with instances of heinous crimes making national news.
The Maine Wire previously reported on a Marlborough, Mass., hotel which had been converted into an illegal immigrant shelter.
The hotel became a hotbed of domestic abuse and rape, with the perpetrators facing few consequences, according to the Maine Wire’s investigation.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s (D) far-left administration transferred accused rapists to other shelters rather than prosecuting or deporting them, the Maine Wire found.
If Mace’s bill ultimately becomes law, left-wing states like Massachusetts will be legally required to deport those offenders instead of supporting them with taxpayer funds.
