More than 15,000 illegal immigrants with sexual assault convictions are roaming the US — and a new Republican-backed bill would force ICE to track them down and deport them.
The bill — titled the “Be Gone Act” — comes after the acting chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement revealed to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) last week that the US has more than 600,000 migrants with criminal convictions.
The figure includes both those who were allowed in despite committing crimes in their home countries and migrants who were convicted here.
As of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket—13,099 criminally convicted MURDERS!
Americans deserve to be SAFE in our own communities. pic.twitter.com/fIoCAduJ9M
— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) September 27, 2024
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced the bill Tuesday to expedite the deportations of illegal migrants convicted of sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence, according to the text of the bill, which was first obtained by The Post.
“These violent criminals never would have entered America in the first place if we had real border security, but now that they’re in our communities, they need to BE GONE,” said Ernst in a statement shared with The Post.
“Since Border Czar Kamala Harris won’t protect this country, then I will. My legislation will combat sexual violence by ensuring predators are identified, stopped, and deported,” she added.
It is not clear how many of the 15,000 convicted migrants entered the US under the Biden-Harris administration, when illegal border crossings hit record levels and the feds were forced to release unprecedented numbers of them into the US with little or no vetting.
It is also unknown how many of the convicts are in the custody of another law enforcement agency or how many are on the streets.
More than 8,000 of the roughly 37,000 migrants currently in ICE detention are convicted criminals, according to federal data.
They are often held pending the outcome of appeals and other immigration court processes. Or, in the case of Venezuelans and others, they are held because their home countries don’t currently accept deportation flights.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Thanks for signing up!
Meanwhile, ICE says a major hindrance to its efforts to detain illegal migrants convicted of crimes has been sanctuary laws preventing local jurisdictions from communicating with the agency’s officers.
“ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned that cooperating with federal immigration officials will erode trust with immigrant communities and make it harder for local law enforcement to serve those populations,” ICE acting director Patrick Lechleitner wrote to Gonzales.
“However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities.”
In addition to the migrants convicted of sex crimes, ICE disclosed that roughly 13,000 migrants who aren’t detained are convicted murderers.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, illegal crossings at the US-Mexico border hit their highest year on record with more than 2.2 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2022, which spanned from October 2021 to September 2022, according to the Congressional Research Service.
In June, however, migrant encounters dipped to the lowest levels seen under the Biden-Harris admin with roughly 83,000 illegal crossings recorded by the Border Patrol following new federal restrictions on asylum access at the border.
The Biden-Harris administration doubled down on the rule Monday, saying illegal crossings will have to average below 1,500 a day for migrants to avoid removal, according to the Associated Press. Before, the rule mandated that the restrictions remained in place until illegal crossings averaged 1,500 a day for a week.
