Friday on CNN’s “The Arena,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) argued the Republican Party used the Laken Riley Act precedent to take away due process from immigrants.

Host Kasie Hunt said, “The Laken Riley Act was specifically aimed at immigrants who had committed crimes, though different from mass deportations. Do you not see a distinction?”

Khanna said, “Well, I believe that those who have committed crimes of violent crimes, shouldn’t be deported, but they should be deported based on due process and trials. What happened was the Laken Riley Act said that you could just deport people without, having the due process and trials.  So they used that framework to start to target people who were Latino or who looked like immigrants. And what people got caught up in this who were not violent criminals. Why? Because they eliminated due process. It was a permission structure to Donald Trump saying, we give you the authority to violate, rights of people who are immigrants. It was capitulation. It was opportunism because Donald Trump had just won on this issue.”

He continued, “For me, this is personal. My parents immigrated here from India. I was born in 1976 in Philadelphia. I’ve seen the lives of many immigrants. And many of you, of course, have contributed much to our country.”

Hunt said, “But again, the distinction of violent criminals, right? I mean, Laken Riley was about violent criminals.”

Khanna said, “Sure, but it was saying that you could call anyone a violent criminal and deport him without due process. If they said that we want to have due process, and if someone is a violent criminal, let’s deport them. I have no problem. I support getting violent criminals off our streets with due process. But when you take away the due process, ICE basically can say that I can say to someone, you’re a violent criminal, we’re going to get rid of you, and there’s no recourse. There’s no system of law. So it created the structure of authority with eyes that gave them impunity to do terrible things.  And that’s why I have such a problem with that, with that law. Now, if people who voted for you come and say your Mea culpa, and they say, I understand that it was a wrong vote, and I’m now committed to standing up for immigrants, fine. But they at least have to reckon with that issue.”

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