Representative Pramila Jayapal criticized the introduction of a new bill, citing former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s killing of her dog. Democrat Jayapal posted a video on Instagram condemning the Bill to Outlaw Wounding of Official Working Animals (BOWOW) Act.
According to this bill, any foreign national or non-U.S. citizen will be subject to deportation if they admit to, or are convicted of, harming animals that are used in law enforcement. It has already passed the lower chamber with a vote of 228-190, according to The Hill.
Jayapal opposed this bill, claiming, “If Republicans are concerned about cruelty to animals, why not look at (former) Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who shot and killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket?”
She then goes on to talk about her own dog and her love for animals, stressing, “I take violence against animals very seriously, and so do our immigration laws.”
View this post on Instagram
Jayapal stated, “The crimes referenced in this bill requires someone to willfully and maliciously harm a dog or horse. This is already a crime involving moral turpitude, which can render someone deportable or inadmissible from the country.”
“Unfortunately, this bill goes too far…Under current law, a person does not need to be convicted of a crime to be inadmissible. However, under most circumstances, you do need a conviction to be deportable,” she added.
She also highlighted that a green card holder could be deported from the country without even being convicted of a crime.
According to her, “the right to being innocent until proven guilty should be something that every single one of us in this chamber can agree to… Republicans want to pass absurd legislation like this one. That only makes the system worse, not better.”
Jayapal then concluded by saying, “Oppose this bill, and I yield back.”
The incident that Jayapal mentioned came from Noem’s own admission of shooting her dog. Noem wrote about it in her memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.
The Guardian reported that Noem took her 14-month-old dog Cricket to a gravel pit and shot the canine because it was “dangerous.”
Noem wrote, “It was not a pleasant job. But it had to be done.” Later, she also defended this act on X by stating, “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm.”
“I put [shooting my dog] in the book because my political opponents … have tried to use it and they’ve tried to twist it into something ugly.”
– Kristi Noem on why she publicly disclosed killing her puppy. (May 2024)pic.twitter.com/eBM8dop8lM
— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) March 7, 2026
The BOWOW Act has headed to the Senate, where it would need some Democratic backing, reports The Hill. Republican representative Ken Calvert, who introduced the bill, gave a statement about it.
Calvert stated, “The dogs and horses on the front lines of our federal law enforcement efforts alongside our officers deserve our protection… The BOWOW Act sends a clear message that we will stand up for our four-legged friends and have zero tolerance for any immigrants who assault them.”
