Illegal aliens with criminal convictions in Washington state may soon get an “expedited review” of their application for a pardon or commutation from the governor, thanks to a bill passed exclusively by Democrats.
In the last few weeks, both the Washington state House and Senate have passed H.B. 1131, making it ready to send along to the desk of Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson. While the bill addresses a number of issues related to pardons and clemency, it specifically sends those at risk of deportation to the head of the case review line.
“If a petitioner indicates in the petition an urgent need for the pardon or commutation including, but not limited to, a pending deportation order or deportation proceeding, the board shall consider expedited review of the application,” it reads.
The bill sailed through the House, 50-46, with no Republicans voting for it and only seven Democrats voting against it. Democrats also carried the bill through the Senate, with 28 voting for it and 19 Republicans opposing it.
‘If they’ve paid their dues to society, they shouldn’t be deported.’
The bill is particularly outrageous because it gives illegal aliens and other noncitizens who committed crimes in the U.S. better access to the Washington Clemency and Pardons Board, which has limited availability. As it currently stands, the board is composed of five unpaid members who are able to undertake only about 30 cases per year, according to the Washington State Standard.
Under this bill, incarcerated U.S. citizens seeking a pardon or commutation would apparently have to take a back seat.
“I don’t think what our forefathers envisioned was moving one group above the other when it comes to justice,” said state Sen. Leonard Christian (R-Spokane Valley). “Everybody in this state, in this country, deserves equal justice in the same amount of time.”
Republican state Rep. Jim Walsh, the chair of the Washington GOP, claimed in a statement to the Post Millennial that H.B. 1131 goes so far as to treat “criminals as if they were victims,” an upending of justice that has since become a “recent fashion in ‘progressive’ circles.”
Statements from liberals about H.B. 1131 seem to bear him out.
“If they’ve paid their dues to society, they shouldn’t be deported,” claimed state Sen. Bob Hasegawa (D-Seattle), who proposed a similar measure in the Senate.
Jennie Pasquarella, legal director of Seattle Clemency Project, noted that all immigration cases, especially those related to deportation, are “very time-sensitive” and implied that noncitizens are therefore more deserving of expedited consideration.
“They can’t wait two years for a hearing,” she claimed. “They need, they need the relief right away.”
H.B. 1131 ‘undermines public safety in Washington’ and ‘puts law-abiding people at risk.’
Pasquarella then made the wild suggestion that noncitizens often commit victimless crimes that aren’t that “serious.”
“There’s a lot of crimes now that make [deportation] mandatory where there is no victim involved — most people would not consider to be serious — but yet they impose this really drastic consequence,” she said.
The Standard indicated that such crimes relate to “drug, theft, and burglary” — “felonies” that the outlet nonetheless characterized as “nonviolent.” Approximately 87,000 Americans died of a drug overdose between October 2023 and September 2024.
Of note, between 90% and 95% of criminal cases in the U.S. are resolved via plea bargaining, which often involves defendants pleading guilty to lesser charges. In other words, the offenders may be responsible for other, more severe crimes that at least indirectly involve victims, but prosecutors permit them to accept responsibility for lesser crimes to secure a conviction.
State Rep. Walsh understands the problem well, insisting that H.B. 1131 “undermines public safety in Washington” and “puts law-abiding people at risk.”
H.B. 1131 would also expand the review board to 10 members who would be compensated at least for travel expenses related to their board activities.
Blaze News reached out to Gov. Ferguson, inquiring whether he intends to sign the bill, but did not receive a response.
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