This cartoon is a regular feature of Aqui Estamos/ Here We Stand project, created by ACoM reporter and graphic artist Roxsy Lin, as part of coverage documenting community impacts of the federal immigration crackdown. Here is the editor’s report with more information about H.R. 3486.
On Sept. 11th the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3486, called the Stop Illegal Entry Act, which would mandate stiff prison sentences for asylum seekers, undocumented family members, and others unauthorized to cross the border. The House vote was 226-197, with all Republican members present voting in favor of the bill, joined by 11 Democrats in support. The bill passed with very little coverage by the media.
The bill now goes to the Senate. ACoM reached out to U.S. Senators’ offices, but they did not provide a timeline for the Senate to consider the bill.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, opposed H.R. 3486, saying that it “piles on cruel mandatory minimums, explodes prison costs, and treats families seeking safety like violent criminals. We need real immigration reform, not another zero tolerance failure.”
H.R. 3486 increases the mandatory minimum sentence to 5 years for improper border entry. It also lengthens the maximum time in prison for those who have made repeated entries to 10 years. Individuals with misdemeanors are punished with up to 15 years in prison and/or fines. Those convicted of felonies, or a crime punishable by more than a year of imprisonment, will receive a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, and potentially face life behind bars, if they are caught crossing the border without authorization.
In July, the GOP-led Congress passed H.R. 1, the federal budget bill pushed by President Trump that appropriates $45 billion for immigration detention facilities, as part of an unprecedented $170 billion for Trump’s deportation agenda.
Roxsy Lin is a member of the California Local News Fellowship.
