Some immigration lawyers and progressive experts say that the voting rights reform bill being pushed by Democrats will be a botched effort that could inadvertently cause significant harm to immigrant communities if passed, and could even lead to legal immigrants being deported and permanently barred from becoming U.S. citizens.
The For the People Act, drafted by House Democrats, includes a mechanism to help people automatically register to vote, so that whenever they apply for a driver’s license or state ID, they will automatically complete the process of registering to vote. Unless people request to opt out.
NBC reports that some immigration attorneys have questioned the content of the draft, saying that the mechanism could be inadvertent, mistakenly registering immigrants who entered the U.S. legally but have not yet obtained the right to vote, such as those who entered the U.S. on a work visa, or those who hold a green card but have not yet received citizenship.
Immigration attorneys say that legal immigrants who are not yet entitled to vote will be automatically registered to vote, with serious consequences, including deportation or a permanent ban on naturalization.
Experts say that legal immigrants who are not yet U.S. citizens do not have to register to vote, and that the automatic registration mechanism may allow immigrants to check the wrong box because of confusion or misunderstandings when asked about their immigration status by DMV (also known as the Department of Motor Vehicles) personnel, resulting in the need to face serious legal consequences.
Minnesota immigration attorney Gloria Contreras Edin said in an interview, “Wrongly claiming to have U.S. citizenship is what we call the kiss of death, and will leave a permanent stigma that can’t be erased, never to become a citizen again.”
Aydin said the House bill to help people automatically register to vote carries a potential crisis that could allow legal immigrants to accidentally run afoul of immigration laws.
Under federal law, it is a crime for a non-citizen to claim to be a U.S. citizen with the intent to vote, even if it is an unintentional mistake (honest mistakes), and to go to jail if the vote is completed.
Aydin analysis, in this case, “ignorance” (Ignorance) will not be enough to do as a defense, so the draft is likely to let in the United States has been in the two or three decades, have a job also have paid taxes of legal immigrants, a little carelessness will cast a permanent mistake.
Some immigration lawyers and progressive experts pointed out that the voting rights reform bill being promoted by the Democratic Party would be a botched effort, and if passed, the legislation could inadvertently cause significant harm to the immigrant community.
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