House Democrats have reversed course on CORCA legislation; now it’s up to Senate Dems.
“We must rein in ICE abuses before another life is lost,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said last month after two fathers, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, in Maine, were shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Most Americans agree with Durbin’s sentiment that ICE is out of control, and so do many of his colleagues in Congress. Not a single Democrat voted to hand more funds to the Department of Homeland Security in June.
So it is alarming that Durbin has thrown his weight behind another bill, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, or “CORCA,” which would empower DHS and ICE to collect data on American shoppers and expand the reach of immigration enforcement into our communities.
The retail industry has lobbied heavily in support, winning bipartisan support from members of Congress who are afraid of being painted as “soft” on crime. However, after learning about the expansion of ICE’s power in this bill, 10 Democratic House co-sponsors ultimately decided not to vote in favor. Now, the bill is being readied for debate in the U.S. Senate.
Knowing that the bill is indefensible on its merits, the retail lobby is going into overdrive to sneak it into the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass legislative package. The lobby has published op-eds across the country attempting to pressure New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who has long been opposed to CORCA, as well as Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed.
Durbin has been a lead co-sponsor of CORCA and approved moving it quickly and without debate on the National Defense Authorization Act. We call on him and other Democratic senators to reject this bill and continue to lead in the fight to rein in ICE.
A broad coalition of over 130 civil rights, criminal justice reform and immigration groups — including the NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union and others — are urging senators to instead focus on real solutions to keep Americans safe.
Durbin has been a vocal opponent of expanding immigration enforcement, including voting against the Laken Riley Act, which increased ICE’s detention authority and which many senators have come to regret supporting. As civil rights leaders, we urge him now to call for CORCA to be debated on its own merits and to vote no.
Insha Rahman, president, Vera Action
Kica Matos, president, National Immigration Law Center
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