The House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation that would increase criminal penalties for people who try to evade law enforcement in vehicles near the nation’s borders, including subjecting any noncitizen involved in such an incident to detention and deportation.
The legislation was the latest move by the Republican majority to make it easier to deport immigrants, in line with President Trump’s call for a more punitive approach to enforcement.
Under the measure, any person who intentionally flees U.S. Border Patrol or other law enforcement officers while operating a vehicle within 100 miles of the border would face imprisonment and hefty fines. Those penalties would increase if the chase resulted in injury or death, and if the person was not a citizen, they would be subject to deportation.
Like other legislation Republicans have brought up in recent weeks to target immigrants, the bill drew dozens of Democratic votes; it passed 264-155, with 50 Democrats joining all Republicans in favor. It next goes to the Senate.
The bill is named for Raul Gonzalez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent who died in 2022 during a high-speed chase of migrants in Texas.
Representative Juan Ciscomani, Republican of Arizona and one of the bill’s sponsors, said such dangerous chases involving law enforcement and migrants attempting to enter the country illegally happen regularly in his district, which is along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“For far too long, these individuals have not faced federal consequences for their actions that often end in tragedy, as it did for Border Patrol agent Raul Gonzalez in 2022 and innocent bystanders along the border,” he said in a statement after the vote. “This bill delivers a clear message to anyone who endangers our community that they will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
But many Democrats denounced the legislation as overly broad and excessively punitive, noting that it could subject green card holders and other legal immigrants to deportation, and could lead to penalties even without a criminal charge or conviction.
“Americans rightly demand a secure border and fair immigration system,” Representative Nellie Pou, Democrat of New Jersey, said in a statement. “I agree with them. But this is yet another overly-punitive immigration bill that seeks to demonize legal immigrants in our district and represents a solution in search of a problem.”
House Republicans passed a nearly identical measure last year, but it stalled in the Senate, which was then controlled by Democrats. With Republicans now controlling both chambers and the White House, the legislation has a smoother path. Last month, Mr. Trump signed into law a bill that would target undocumented immigrants charged with nonviolent crimes for deportation.
“Republicans will continue to take decisive action and echo President Trump’s leadership to deliver what is necessary to protect the American people and secure our borders,” Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, said in a statement after the bill’s passage.
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