Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) voted against two bills this week that would increase immigration enforcement, one that would make fraudsters deportable, and another targeting foreigners who harm police dogs.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) broke with his party majority and supported the bill to deport animal abusers, but voted with Pingree on the other bill. Both bills passed despite Democratic opposition.
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On Wednesday, the House voted 231-186 in favor of Rep. David Taylor’s (R-Ohio) “Deporting Fraudsters Act.“
The bill drew unanimous support from voting Republicans and prompted 20 Democrats to break from their party majority to support it, though Reps. Golden and Pingree voted no.
The bill states that anyone who has committed benefits fraud, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fraud, fraud involving Social Security, and other federally funded welfare programs, is inadmissible to the U.S.
Those fraudsters are deportable, even if they entered the U.S. legally, and are inelligible for immigration enforcement relie, even if they claim they will face torture or persecution in their home country.
The bill would apply to both those convicted of fraud and to those who simply admit to having committed fraud, regardless of conviction.
Golden has voted in favor of similar bills in the past, including one aimed at removing drunk-driving foreigners from the country. The Maine Wire reached out to Golden’s office, asking why he decided to oppose Rep. Taylor’s bill, but he did not immediately respond.
Notably, the bill aimed at drunk drivers required a criminal conviction, not just an admission, to make someone deportable.
Just one day later, on Thursday, Golden joined all Republicans and 14 Democrats in voting for Rep. Ken Calvert’s (R-Calif.) “Federal Working Animal Protection Act.“
That bill passed with a 228-190 final tally. It establishes that any non-citizen who has been convicted of or admitted to harming an animal used in law enforcement is inadmissible and deportable.
Though both bills passed through the House, they are unlikely to pass through the Senate, where they would need 60 votes to pass.
