Western States Center Statement on Passage of SAVE Act Says It Has Been a Vehicle for Elected Officials to Espouse the Great Replacement Theory
Speaker Mike Johnson Echoes Conspiratorial Rhetoric Ahead of House Vote
WASHINGTON D.C. – Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted 221-198 to pass the SAVE Act, which is driven by the conspiracy that noncitizens are voting en masse in federal elections. The bill has been a vehicle for some elected officials to espouse rhetoric that invokes antisemitic and xenophobic conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement Theory, which falsely claims that Democrats and Jews, among others, are orchestrating demographic change to replace white people with people of color and diminish white political power.
Ahead of yesterday’s floor vote, Speaker Mike Johnson made multiple comments reflecting that language, including: “Democrats want illegal aliens voting in our elections.” and “If just a fraction of a fraction that Joe Biden has brought in here to vote, if they do vote… it wouldn’t just change one race, it might change all of our races.” Earlier this week, the Chair of the key House Committee on Rules, Rep. Burgess, also strongly advocated for the SAVE Act, saying it was critical because, “President Biden welcomed an invasion at the southern border.”
In response to this, Amy Herzfeld-Copple, Executive Director at Western States Center, released the following statement:
“We are disappointed that the House voted to pass the SAVE Act. The SAVE Act has been a vehicle for some House members to espouse tenets of the antisemitic Great Replacement Theory and other bigoted white nationalist and anti-immigrant tropes.
“The real-world impact of the SAVE Act will further restrict voting rights for marginalized communities, like Indigenous communities, people who change their names, people who are forced to move frequently, and veterans, just to name a few. There are also significant civil liberties and privacy concerns associated with the SAVE Act, particularly regarding increased surveillance and monitoring of immigrant communities and chilling civil penalties for election workers. Instead of punitive measures that reinforce anti-immigrant tropes, policymakers should prioritize improving election security and expanding access to the ballot box for all Americans.
“The practice of shaming and blaming immigrants is nothing new for anti-democracy movements, and the rhetoric espoused in support of the SAVE Act echoes conspiracies that have directly led to violence, like the mass shootings in El Paso and Buffalo.
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