Frederick, MD – El Tiempo is reporting lawmakers and immigration advocates are publicly condemning April McClain Delaney’s vote for the Laken Riley Act, pushing back after McClain Delaney claimed in a WYPR interview she’s being “tarred and feathered” for a “common sense vote”.
McClain Delaney was the only Maryland Democrat to vote for the Laken Riley Act, expanding ICE’s ability to detain unlawful immigrants without conviction for crimes as minor as shoplifting. She also voted to make domestic violence survivors vulnerable to deportation for reporting their abusers, and supported a resolution thanking ICE for “protecting the Homeland” while agents terrorized immigrant communities across the country.
Delegate Gabe Moreno told El Tiempo:
“Al inicio de su mandato, la Representante Delaney tuvo la oportunidad de impedir o frenar la inminente violación de la Constitución de los Estados Unidos que supondría un segundo mandato de Trump, y la desperdició”, afirmó Moreno en su escrito.
Translated:
“At the start of her term, Rep. Delaney had the chance to stop or slow the imminent constitutional violation that a second Trump term would represent, and she squandered it,” said Delegate Gabe Moreno.
Latino Caucus Leader Delegate Ashanti Martinez told El Tiempo:
“La Ley Laken Riley convirtió las acusaciones en el único criterio a la hora de abordar cuestiones de seguridad pública para los inmigrantes”, afirmó Ashanti Martínez, Majority Whip de la Asamblea General de Maryland y presidente del Latino Caucus de la Asamblea. “Eso no va a generar confianza. Lo que hace, por el contrario, es infundir miedo y no contribuye a la seguridad de nuestras comunidades”
Translated:
“The Laken Riley Act made accusations the sole criterion for addressing public safety issues for immigrants,” said Ashanti Martinez, Majority Whip of the Maryland General Assembly and chair of the Assembly’s Latino Caucus. “That’s not going to build trust. What it does, instead, is instill fear, and it doesn’t make our communities any safer.”
“April McClain Delaney can run, but she can’t hide from her pro-ICE, MAGA votes,” said Communications Director Gaby Krevat. “The facts are clear: April McClain Delaney votes with Trump and MAGA 22% of the time. The harder she tries to defend her vote, the less people trust her.”