The House of Delegates passed legislation that makes significant expansions to state laws on human trafficking and smuggling.
The bill, which establishes specific criminal penalties for the illegal transport of adults and minors, passed the House on an 81-9 vote with 9 members absent during difficult winter weather conditions. The bill now goes to the state Senate.
A significant point of contention is over whether the bill would criminalize charitable or religious activities to help immigrants.
The legislation includes legal exemptions aimed at ensuring that providing medical care, mental health counseling or authorized legal representation to undocumented individuals does not constitute a crime, but critics of the bill have said its language needs to go farther to prevent well-intended citizens from being swept up.
“That’s probably been the most frustrating part about this bill and the thing that’s been the most difficult for me to watch over the past few days,” House Judiciary Chairman J.B. Akers said in a 16-minute speech in favor of the legislation.
“Because the plain wording of this bill makes it clear that everyday West Virginians who provide humanitarian assistance or aid only for the purposes of providing that aid face no criminal culpability whatsoever under the provisions of this bill.”
In an interview on the House floor after the vote, Akers said he’s excited about passage of the bill but disappointed that it lost votes from the Democratic minority.
“I would say some of the controversy we see in other parts of the country right now is what caused some of this year’s no votes. That’s just my perception,” said Akers, R-Kanawha.
I’m disappointed by that because I do think this is a good piece of legislation. Trafficking in particular is one of the worst crimes, I think, that exists in our society. Smuggling is interconnected with trafficking and often leads to trafficking, so I think these two crimes need to be suppressed as much as possible.”
House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle agreed that some aspects of the bill are good, particularly those intended as penalties for trafficking. “But I fear that the bad outweighs the good,” he said.
He went on to contend the legislation as written “goes after West Virginians and not illegal aliens. It targets and captures the innocent, not just those with ill intent. It’s going to infringe upon people practicing religious freedoms, people invoking their 1st and 4th Amendment rights.”
After the vote, Hornbuckle characterized the smuggling portion of the bill as vague and overly broad. He also said the broader picture of conflict over immigration enforcement in America shaped perceptions of this bill.
“We have seen how this has actually played out, on video in front of our eyes, that you do not have to run afoul of the law for somebody to infringe upon your constitutional rights and to detain you,” said Hornbuckle, D-Cabell.