Sponsors (19)
The bill makes assaulting law enforcement a clear basis for deportation and adds public reporting to improve safety and oversight, at the cost of higher removals (including for minor offenses), uneven state-level outcomes, increased enforcement and administrative expenses, and greater scrutiny of immigrant communities.
Law enforcement and the general public: noncitizens convicted of assaulting officers become removable, which may reduce threats to officers and improve public safety.
Immigration enforcement agencies and courts: get a clearer, categorical ground for removal tied to assaults on officers, which can streamline charging, removal decisions, and case processing.
State and local governments (and defendants): the bill preserves reliance on the jurisdiction's definition of 'assault,' reducing direct federal-state conflicts over offense elements.
Noncitizens (including those who plead or admit conduct): could face deportation for relatively minor assault convictions or admissions, increasing removals for low-level offenses.
Taxpayers and the federal immigration system: expanding deportable-offense categories will increase detention, court workloads and administrative costs for DHS and immigration courts, raising public expenditures.
Noncitizens and courts: using state-law assault definitions causes uneven outcomes across states so identical conduct may be deportable in one state but not another, creating legal uncertainty.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew R. Garbarino · Last progress January 3, 2025
Makes assaulting a law enforcement officer a new, categorical deportable offense for noncitizens and requires the Department of Homeland Security to report each year on deportations under this new ground. The bill also gives a short title but does not appropriate funds. The deportability rule applies when a noncitizen is convicted of, or admits to, acts meeting the elements of an offense that involves assaulting a law enforcement officer — defined using the jurisdiction's meaning of "assault" and a statutory definition of "law enforcement officer." DHS must publish an annual report with counts of deportations under the new ground.