U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Wednesday, joined by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Mike Rounds (R-SD), introduced the Empowering Law Enforcement Act to combat the Biden administration’s nullification of U.S. immigration laws.
The legislation would grant state and local law enforcement inherent immigration enforcement authority to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain or transfer a migrant that has entered the United States illegally. Additionally, this legislation would provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary flexibility on how long a criminal alien may be detained, extending the 180-day period to ensure violent criminals are not released back into communities.
This comes as Tuberville continues to vocally call out actions taken by the Biden administration to limit ICE’s enforcement of immigration laws, despite a record number of illegal border crossings, and the impact of this executive overreach on law enforcement and the safety and security of our nation. With federal law enforcement officers having their hands tied by the administration, Tuberville is attempting to allow state and local law enforcement to help combat the crisis.
“If the Biden Administration is insistent on taking away ICE’s ability to enforce our immigration laws, then we should make sure our state and local law enforcement has the authority to respond to the influx of illegal migrants in our communities,” stated Tuberville.
“The Empowering Law Enforcement Act takes a twofold approach to addressing the intentional enforcement gap created by President Biden’s open border policies: first, by giving state and local officers the ability to enforce immigration laws when federal offices are prohibited from doing so, and second, by extending the detention period for dangerous criminal aliens while their removals are processed,” he advised. “The Biden Administration has failed our law enforcement at the expense of American communities, and this bill will remedy that moving forward.”
Specifically, the legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to do the following:
· Delegate immigration enforcement authority to state and local law enforcement entities, including the ability to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer an alien into Federal custody.
· Permit the Secretary of Homeland Security to extend the detention of criminal aliens until removal from the U.S.
· Ensure that illegal migrants are detained in federal custody upon state or local law enforcement request.
· Reimburse state or local authorities for related incarceration and transportation costs.
· Promote immigration information sharing between DHS and the FBI for the benefit of state and local law enforcement.
Tuberville also discussed the legislation during his weekly press call on Wednesday morning.
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Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
