Deporting Illegal Immigrants who Commit Crimes

Press Release

Knowing of your interest in border security and stronger enforcement of our nation's immigration laws, I wanted to share some good news with you about new federal efforts to deport criminal illegal aliens.

During my time in Congress, I have worked closely with my colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee to have federal immigration services crack down on illegal immigrants and the employers that knowingly hire them. For far too long agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have resisted our get tough approach, and liberal legislators have pushed for amnesty programs for illegal immigrant lawbreakers and slaps on the wrists for employers.

Because of my persistence and constant pressure on ICE, they have finally given in to the demands of law-abiding Americans and agreed to actually deport criminal illegal immigrants languishing in our nation's overcrowded jails. You might recall a recent instance in Hillsborough County where a criminal illegal immigrant was released from custody, only to go out and brutally rape several area women. There is no excuse for this type of behavior and is why I pushed hard for federal intervention.

Following this case, I sat down with ICE officials and explained to them the serious issues our local law enforcement officials face each and every day when dealing with a growing illegal immigrant criminal population. As a result of that meeting, I am pleased to report that ICE will now be working with local jails to identify and deport the estimated 450,000 criminal illegal aliens around the United States eligible for deportation. While this has taken far too long to happen, in my view, it is a good sign that they are actually going to follow the law and send these criminals back to their home countries.

Because I know how slow bureaucracy in Washington can work, I also went ahead and introduced legislation called the "Two Strikes and You're Out" bill. This legislation says that if you enter this country illegally, or overstay your visa, you get one strike. If you then go out and commit a crime that makes you eligible for serious jail time, that is your second strike and makes you eligible for deportation. I look forward to advocating for this legislation during the upcoming 111th Congress.

In the meantime, please feel free to read more about the new ICE criminal deportation procedures on my website at http://brown-waite.house.gov/Issues/Issue/?IssueID=1938. I hope that this new policy will deport the criminals who are clogging up our nation's prisons and alleviate some of the burden on our local law enforcement officers.

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