The Legal Clinic — a Hawaii nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides high-quality immigration legal services for low-income immigrants and migrants and advocates for fair and just immigration policies — was disheartened to read that the U.S. House passed the Laken Riley bill (“House passes bill to deport illegal migrants charged with minor crimes,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 8).

This bill would require, among other draconian provisions, the arrest and detention without bail of any undocumented person for even minor offenses, including theft and shoplifting, regardless of whether charges are ever brought. This is a complete abrogation of due process and civil rights, and is un-American.

The tragedy that befell Laken Riley is unimaginably heartbreaking, but we as a nation cannot compound that tragedy by passing bills that are antithetical to our American ideals and do not uphold human rights. The Legal Clinic agrees that we need to fix our broken immigration system; let us adopt sensible reforms true to our values.

Sandy Ma

Community and policy advocate The Legal Clinic

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