Curley blasts latest Senate bill: ‘God forbid we deport a criminal’

Washington legislators have passed a bill in the Senate that could help block undocumented immigrants with criminal records from being deported as President Donald Trump’s administration plans to launch one of the largest deportation operations in the country’s history.

The bill, Senate Bill 5103, approved by the state Senate on Friday, would speed up the process for immigrants to apply for pardons or sentence reductions if they are facing deportation.

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“If you’re a undocumented immigrant who committed a crime in the U.S., (this) would push you to the front of the line if you’re facing ICE and are going to be deported, and you’re currently in jail or have served your time in jail,” KIRO Newsradio reporter Matt Markovich told “The John Curley Show.” “This bill would allow you to go to in front of the clemency and pardon board and ask for forgiveness and get a pardon so that ICE can take you.”

The measure passed by a 30-19 vote on a straight party-line vote with Democrats in the majority. The bill now moves on to the House of Representatives.

“You break one law coming into this country illegally, and then you commit another crime when you’re in this country, and then you can be pardoned or let out of jail early, rather than serving your time because we’ll let you out so that you can go hide from ice so that you don’t get deported,” Curley said. “And while you’re hiding, could you also rape somebody else? Could you rob somebody else? Could you hit somebody in the head? Could you stab somebody? You can because you don’t have to worry about it … because God forbid we deport a criminal and send them back to their country.”

If the bill passes the House and is signed by the governor, the undocumented immigrants in question would be brought before the Washington Clemency and Pardon Board, made up of five judges who serve four-year terms. The current batch of judges were all appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee.

“How can you make a rational argument for letting a criminal out of jail? We’re going to let you out because if we don’t let you out, then the federal government’s going to come in and deport you. So we’ll let you out so you can hide,” Curley added. “All the crimes that they then commit when they’re here and now they get a chance to go before the clemency board. By the way, those people are there from the government, right? So they’re going to be sympathetic to this stuff as well.”

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Listen to the full conversation here:

Listen to John Curley on “The John Curley Show” weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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