House Barely Passes It — Dems Fell For The Trap!

Nearly every House Democrat voted against legislation Tuesday that would make non-citizens convicted of harming law-enforcement animals subject to deportation.

The Bill to Outlaw Wounding of Official Working Animals Act—dubbed the BOWOW Act—passed the House 228–190.

Every Republican voted for the measure.

Just 15 Democrats crossed party lines to join them, while 190 Democrats voted against it.

The Democrats supporting the bill were Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Sharice Davids of Kansas, John Garamendi of California, Jared Golden of Maine, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Adam Gray of California, Josh Riley of New York, Eric Sorensen of Illinois, Tom Suozzi of New York and Eugene Vindman of Virginia.

The legislation targets non-citizens who harm animals working alongside American law enforcement.

Under the measure, any non-citizen who is “convicted of, or who admits to having committed, an offense related to harming animals used in law enforcement is inadmissible and deportable.”

The lopsided party-line split immediately triggered a furious response from Republican leaders.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., seized on the vote in a post on X, accusing Democrats of becoming “the party of PUNCHING PUPPIES.”

“The Democrats just decided to officially become the party of PUNCHING PUPPIES,” Johnson noted.

“190 Democrats just voted to give illegal immigrants the RIGHT TO PHYSICALLY ABUSE American service dogs — serving with law enforcement protecting American citizens,” Johnson added.

Johnson continued his attack on Democrats over the vote.

“The level Democrats will go to protect illegal aliens instead of Americans is disturbing, disgusting, and dangerous,” the Speaker noted.

Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, also highlighted his support for the legislation.

“Harming a law enforcement working animal is appalling and evil,” Simpson wrote in a post on X. “As a dog lover and someone who adamantly supports the working dogs who have served on the front lines, voting in favor of this bill was one of the easiest decisions of my congressional career.”

The legislation was introduced by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., following an incident involving a U.S. Customs and Border Protection dog at Washington Dulles International Airport.

An Egyptian national, Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie, 70, pleaded guilty to kicking a five-year-old beagle named Freddie after the dog alerted CBP officers to potential contraband inside his luggage.

The attack left the law-enforcement animal injured.

A veterinarian subsequently determined that Freddie suffered contusions to his right rib area, according to a CBP press release.

The case became part of the push behind legislation establishing immigration consequences for non-citizens convicted of similar offenses.

Tuesday’s House vote produced an overwhelming partisan divide.

All participating Republicans supported the measure, while only 15 Democrats joined them.

The other 190 Democrats voted no.

The bill’s actual legal effect is narrower than some of the rhetoric surrounding Tuesday’s vote: it would make a non-citizen convicted of—or admitting to committing—an offense involving harm to an animal used in law enforcement inadmissible and deportable.

It does not create a “right” to abuse police animals, as Johnson’s criticism suggested. Rather, the congressional dispute centers on whether such an offense should carry the additional immigration consequences established by the BOWOW Act.

For Republicans backing the legislation, however, the underlying principle was straightforward: someone who is not a U.S. citizen and is convicted of attacking an animal serving American law enforcement should potentially lose the ability to remain in the country.

On Tuesday, the House approved that proposal 228–190.

The bill now moves beyond the House after a vote in which all Republicans—and just 15 Democrats—supported it.