More than 150 House Democrats voted against a bill that would deport illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes or conspiracy to commit sex crimes.
The Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Immigrants Act passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday with bipartisan support. All Republicans present voted in favor of the bill, as did 51 Democrats. The bill passed with a vote of 266 to 158.
Democrats who voted in favor of the bill included Reps. Mary Peltola of Alaska, Marie Grusenkamp Perez of Washington, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Hillary Scholten of Michigan.
Two of the Democrats who voted in favor are running for higher office: Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, who is running for Senate, and Rep. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, who is running for governor.
The bill would not only deport immigrants convicted of sex crimes, but would also bar illegal immigrants who plead guilty to or have been convicted of domestic violence or sex-related offenses from entering the United States.
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The House of Representatives passed a bill to deport immigrants convicted of sex crimes. (Getty Images)
It's part of a broader legislative effort by House Republicans to shine a spotlight on issues stemming from the border crisis that has affected cities and states across the country for months.
Rep. Nancy Mace of Lausanne told Fox News Digital hours before the vote that she “100 percent” expected Democrats to vote against the bill.
“If you vote against this, you're sexist against women,” Mace declared.
“Really, we're talking about illegal immigrants who are committing domestic violence, rape and murder of women and children. They have to go. They should not be allowed into our country.”
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Rep. Nancy Mace (D-Lausanne) introduced the bill earlier this year. (Reuters/Mike Seeger)
But Democrats have slammed the bill as xenophobic.
“We're once again debating a partisan bill that stokes fear about immigrants instead of working together to improve our immigration system,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said during the bill debate.
“Perhaps this isn't all that surprising. Scapegoating immigrants and weaponizing the crime of domestic violence seems to be a time-honored Republican tradition.”
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has focused on the border crisis. (Getty Images)
But despite the broader backlash, Republican efforts to highlight the border crisis have garnered modest support from Democrats.
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House Republicans, with the support of 54 Democrats, earlier passed a bill to detain and deport immigrants convicted of assaulting police officers, but 148 senators voted against it.
Meanwhile, the Republican-backed Laken Riley bill, named after an Augusta University nursing student who was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant, was backed by 37 House Democrats.
