Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation on Friday to counter President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration.
Since the executive order was signed, Democrats have been outspoken against it, saying it amounts to a “Muslim ban.” Many of them have vowed to do everything in their power to fight the executive order.
Booker said in a statement that “Immigration enforcement should be the job of the federal government, not states and communities,” adding:
“It’s time we revoke the federal government’s authority to deputize state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration law.”
The bill, which Booker put forward alongside five cosponsors, is called “The PROTECT Immigration Act.” The legislation seeks to end the federal 287(g) program that allows the Department of Homeland Security to make deals with state and local government entities over federal immigration law.
Booker’s legislation would limit the ability of airport security and local law enforcement to intervene in immigration issues, effectively curtailing the power of Trump’s executive order.
Trump’s executive order, signed last Friday, restricts immigration from specific countries which purportedly pose a threat for terror to the United States.
The order inspired widespread chaos in airports across the country over the weekend, where its implementation led green card holders and minors to be detained by airport security in some cases, and deported in others.
Thus far, 19 organizations have publicly endorsed Booker’s legislation, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center.
