New School Board Rep Unites with Top Dems to Slam ‘Fascist’ Laken Riley Act

Shawnté Rothschild, the newly elected member of the Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board, is among 200 Arizona Democrats voicing strong opposition to the proposed Laken Riley Act. Their collective stance aims to resist mass deportation efforts in the state.

On Friday, the U.S. Senate advanced the Laken Riley Act with a 61-35 vote, co-sponsored by Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego. This milestone positions the bill to possibly become the first legislation from the 119th Congress.

Rothschild recently secured her board seat in November, defeating Nicolas Yendzreski by a narrow margin of just 163 votes, marking a turnover of less than one-third of one percentage point.

In a letter addressed to Sen. Gallego, Rothschild, alongside Pinal County Democrats’ chair Jennifer Hilsbos and prominent Liberals, urged the senator to withdraw his support for the bill. They described the legislation as “the first step in Trump’s fascist mass deportation effort and escalating assaults on our democracy.”

The communication also targeted Governor Katie Hobbs, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, and U.S. Representative Greg Stanton, all of whom have shown support for the bipartisan bill, which boasts significant backing from Republicans.

Rothschild holds key positions as the vice chair of the Pinal County Democratic Party and as the second vice chair for Arizona’s 16th legislative district. Efforts to reach her for further comment today were unsuccessful.

The Laken Riley Act aims to mandate the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain undocumented immigrants charged or convicted of theft-related offenses. It further allows states to sue the Department for perceived failures in immigration enforcement.

This bill emerged in response to the tragic murder of nursing student Laken Riley by an undocumented migrant in Athens, Georgia, last February. The accused, José Antonio Ibarra, had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and had a prior shoplifting citation in the city.

Ibarra faces additional charges in New York City, including actions injurious to a child and a motor vehicle license violation. His case garnered significant attention due to his allowed presence in the U.S. while pursuing his immigration status.

The signers of the letter expressed relief over Ibarra’s conviction but cautioned against using his crime to justify policies that threaten millions of individuals. “The bill exploits one person’s horrific crime to put millions of our families, friends, and neighbors at risk of unjust mandatory detention and deportation,” they asserted. Rothschild and her colleagues emphasized that this could result in the wrongful detention of undocumented individuals without due process.

Identifying as queer, Rothschild previously remarked on the challenges prevailing for people of color and women. “I was raised with the understanding that I would have to work harder and be better … For me, legislative change is teaching people to fish,” she stated.