[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 22, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E58]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  OPPOSITION TO H.R. 30, PREVENTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN BY ILLEGAL 
                               ALIENS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. VAL T. HOYLE

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 22, 2025

  Ms. HOYLE of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, last week, I voted no on H.R. 30, 
the so-called ``Preventing Violence Against Women By Illegal Aliens 
Act.''
  Let me be clear: none of us are interested in protecting domestic 
abusers or predators. We all want to keep our communities safe from 
those who seek to inflict harm on vulnerable people.
  H.R. 30 does nothing to strengthen existing law and risks putting 
survivors at greater risk.
  In reality, this bill is more about House Republican messaging than 
providing meaningful solutions to keep our communities safe. Current 
law already ensures that perpetrators of these heinous crimes can be 
swiftly deported if they are here illegally and bars them from 
reentering the United States.
  Worse, it makes it easier to deport survivors who have acted in self-
defense or who have been falsely accused by their abusers. The violent 
predators who commit these crimes know how to use the law to further 
victimize their targets.
  I have heard horrific stories from law enforcement about women who 
are threatened with deportation if they report rape or torture, with 
their children being held hostage as leverage. An immigrant here 
legally on a student visa who fights back against her abusive 
boyfriend, or a hardworking mother lawfully present on a work visa who 
defends herself and her children against a violent partner, could face 
deportation if their abuser reports them ahead of their testimony. 
Predators will lie. Victims need protection. H.R. 30 hands criminals 
the ultimate tool of coercion to silence survivors--fear of 
deportation.
  Some simple, common-sense proposals could have strengthened the bill, 
including offering greater protections to victims or providing law 
enforcement with additional tools to prosecute offenders. 
Unfortunately, these were not included.
  If my colleagues across the aisle truly wanted to protect women, this 
bill would expand funding for victim services and ensure survivors 
could testify without the threat of deportation. It also would have 
given law enforcement more resources to get violent criminals out of 
our communities and out of country. But they didn't do that because 
this bill is not about keeping women safe. It is instead a performative 
political stunt to further an anti-immigrant agenda.
  And let's not forget that 172 House Republicans, including this 
bill's sponsor, previously voted no on legislation to reauthorize the 
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which included expansions of aid and 
services to support survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse. 
VAWA had been strongly bipartisan because it meaningfully protected 
vulnerable women.
  We must do everything in our power to protect survivors and hold 
perpetrators accountable. We owe survivors real solutions--not fear, 
not cruelty, and not empty posturing. For these reasons, I voted NO.
  I remain committed to working with my colleagues to pass legislation 
that will genuinely protect survivors, hold abusers accountable and 
make our communities safer for everyone.

                          ____________________