In the News
In Washington, Michigan Representatives Haley Stevens and Debbie Dingell introduced the Justice for Allie Act. It would make it a federal crime to knowingly coerce, manipulate, or entice a vulnerable adult into sending intimate images with the intent to cause harm.
The bill closes a major gap in federal law by addressing online sexual exploitation that crosses state lines. The legislation is named for Allie Hayes, a Michigan woman with Down syndrome who was targeted by an online predator in 2017.
Two Congresswomen representing Michigan want to take a state law national, proposing legislation they say would close a major gap in fighting sexual exploitation.
Representatives Haley Stevens and Debbie Dingell introduced the Justice for Allie Act. Now the legislation would make it a federal crime to knowingly coerce, manipulate, or entice a vulnerable adult into sending intimate images with the intent to cause harm.
U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) and Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) are leading a new federal push to crack down on online predators who target adults with disabilities, inspired by the case of a Michigan woman with Down syndrome whose family could not find justice under existing law.
At just 18 years old, Allie Hayes, who has Down syndrome, was targeted online by a predator who coerced her into sending explicit photos. Well, since then Allie and her family have spent years fighting to protect other vulnerable adults.
Well, this moment has been years in the making for Allie Hayes and her family. As you can see in this photo, it was just over two years ago that Governor Whitmer signed Justice for Allie into law, and now, here in 2026 this law could go from the Governor's desk to the President's desk.
U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell, Ann Arbor, and Haley Stevens, Birmingham, have officially introduced the Justice for Allie Act in Congress today — federal legislation modeled closely after the Michigan law, which earned unanimous bipartisan support. The federal version includes language that adds "with the intent to cause harm."
Two members of Michigan's congressional delegation say questions remain surrounding the December death of an inmate at a Baldwin processing facility for those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens and Hillary Scholten toured the ICE detention center in Baldwin and said they are seeking more transparency after the death of a detainee at the facility.
“Unfortunately, the outreach that Congresswoman Scholten and I made to our Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went unanswered, around the death of Mr. Gantchev,” Stevens said.
Representatives, Hillary Scholten and Haley Stevens of Michigan toward an ICE detention facility in Baldwin, where a man died in custody last December. Nenko Gantchev, a 56 year old from Bulgaria, was found unresponsive in his cell at the North Lake Processing Center on December 15.
Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Hillary Scholten toured the North Lake Processing Center in Lake County Tuesday. They walked through and spoke with some of the detainees. It's the largest processing center in the Midwest.