Posted on 04/26/2025 11:14:37 AM PDT by John Semmens
In the State of Washington, both the House and Senate have passed HB1131. This bill will give illegal aliens convicted of crimes in the state to get expedited access to pardons and commutations. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) who pointed out that "our small Clemency and Pardons Board can only handle 30 cases per year. So, the number of prisoners who could get a pardon or commutation is very limited. Inasmuch as prisoners who are in this country illegally are continuously at risk of deportation they are in dire need of release so they can more easily elude Trump's stepped up deportation campaign. This bill will help them."
No Republicans voted for this legislation. Sen. Leonard Christian (R-Spokane Valley) observed "I don't think what our forefathers envisioned was moving one group above another when it comes to justice. Everybody in this state, in this country, deserves equal justice in the same amount of time."
Sen. Bob Hasegawa (D-Seattle) called Republicans "heartless. Here we have folks, who in the judgment of the Board have paid their debt to society. Who haven't broken any laws while in prison. They shouldn't be deported. That would be 'double jeopardy' for the lesser violation of being in the US without proper documents. We need to get these prisoners out on the streets where they'll have a chance to dodge the goons ICE sends after them."
Jennie Pasquarella, legal director of Seattle Clemency Project, praised the legislation, saying "many who are in prison because of victimless crimes such as illegal drugs, theft, and burglary don't deserve to have the added punishment of being deported. Getting them out quickly and quietly may spare them from that."
In other Washington news, Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) signed a law expanding the Covenant Home Ownership Program to make it easier for minorities to buy homes. Under this law, Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, Koreans and Asian Indians who lived in or had a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent living in Washington before 1968 will be eligible for a grant of up to $120,000 to help them buy a home. Ferguson called the expansion "another step forward toward the full payment of the reparations whites owe to minorities."
Wonder how that works? Immigration is a federal responsibility, not state.
I guess maybe that’s why citizen Joe Pedo went to Rome. To drop a pardon on Pope Francis.
The only way the Dems keep power is with the illegal parasite class.
Amazing! A justification for this legislation is they “haven’t broken any laws while in prison.” He’s talking about illegal aliens who already committed crimes, were judged to be guilty and were imprisoned for them.
What a Good Man, trying to help all his local h1b visa holders that work for amazon,microsoft,meta,google.
people who absolutely should be deported.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/ex-microsoft-manager-charged-with-raping-office-janitor/
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