STATEMENT: Rep. Min Votes ‘No’ on H.R. 30

Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Dave Min (CA-47) voted no on H.R. 30. The following statement can be attributed to Representative Min:

“This bill empowers rapists and criminals, putting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault—including those who are in this country legally—at risk. Rather than protecting the vulnerable, this bill will enact horrific consequences on survivors. 

“It is no surprise that 200 leading national and local advocacy and religious groups oppose this legislation. H.R. 30 would silence and intimidate survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault by weaponizing the immigration system to discourage them from reporting attacks.”

This messaging bill would subject all non-citizens – including those who are in this country legally – to immigration inadmissibility and potential deportation proceedings, which will put survivors of domestic violence at greater risk:

• Already, non-citizens convicted of domestic violence and sexual assault face deportation and inadmissibility. H.R. 30 expands the definition of domestic violence that triggers these consequences, which prevents judges and immigration officers from using their discretion to prevent abuse victims from being deported. 
• Immigrant abuse victims are more vulnerable to being arrested and deported because of cultural and language barriers, fear of abusers and authorities, and abusers who lie to the police and falsely accuse their victims. 
• H.R. 30 could create a chilling effect on immigrants who are victims of abuse from coming forward for fear of deportation – which will encourage cycles of violence to continue. 
• H.R. 30 does not distinguish between those in this country legally and those here without documentation, putting millions of legal immigrants in jeopardy if they report sexual assault or domestic abuse.

Representative Min and his family are longtime advocates of domestic violence survivors. As a State Senator, then-Senator Min introduced and passed numerous bills to support survivors, including legislation that studied harassment on California’s transit system, made child custody cases private by default, and first-in-the-nation legislation that recognizes reproductive coercion as a form of domestic violence. 

Jane Stoever, Representative Min’s wife, is a law professor at UC Irvine School of Law who runs the Domestic Violence Clinic, founded and directs UC Irvine’s Initiative to End Family Violence and is considered one of the country’s leading experts on domestic violence prevention.

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