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Miller-Meeks Joins Legislation to Block Sex Criminals from Entering the U.S.

October 27, 2021

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, October 27th, 2021, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) joined over fifty House members, led by Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), in introducing the Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by unNaturalized Emigrants (BE GONE) Act. This bicameral legislation would block individuals convicted of violent sexual crimes or sexual assault from entering the United States.

This legislation is the House companion to S. 2945, introduced by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) earlier this month.

“Our CBP agents and officers are working hard to keep our border secure in the face of a seemingly never-ending crisis that the Administration has failed to address. We should immediately provide law enforcement the authority to identify and deport convicted sex criminals,” said Miller-Meeks. “We are introducing the BE GONE Act to ensure that individuals convicted of violent sexual crimes or sexual assault may not come to the U.S at any time. I am proud to help introduce the House companion to Senator Ernst’s commonsense legislation and continue to work on reasonable fixes to our broken immigration system.”

“We are witnessing a border crisis of historic proportions,” said Stefanik. “The Biden Administration’s open-border policies are allowing the highest number of illegal border crossings through our Southern Border in over 30 years. We must work to ensure sex criminals are stopped and deported immediately for the safety of our citizens. Border security is national security, and I am proud to work to keep our communities safe.”

“Our nation is facing a border and immigration crisis of historic proportions, whether President Biden and Democrats would like to admit it or not. It’s far past time the Biden Administration steps up to address the reality of the crisis at our border, and one easy fix is to ensure sexual predators and criminals are identified, stopped, and deported,” said Ernst. “My BE GONE Act is gaining support and momentum because it is exactly the commonsense solution we need right now to modernize the immigration system and combat sexual violence and those seeking to exploit our laws.”

“I’m glad to see support for the BE GONE Act throughout the halls of Congress,” saidSenator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). “Unfortunately, in recent months the Biden Administration has let many folks into our country who have not been properly vetted. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this commonsense legislation to help keep predators off our streets.”

“The Biden Administration's lax border policies have incentivized illegal immigrants, including dangerous criminals, to come into our country. The BE GONE Act would help ensure that law enforcement is empowered to find and deport convicted sex criminals—we should all be able to agree that sex offenders should not be welcomed into the United States,” said Rep. Ashley Hinson (IA-01). “While the Administration keeps our Southern Border open and incentivizes illegal immigration, I will continue pursuing common sense solutions to keep families safe.”

“Under no circumstances should migrants convicted of sexual assault or aggravated sexual violence be allowed to enter or stay in the United States. We recently saw the horrific outcome of this loophole when a man — who was previously convicted of sexual abuse and was supposed to be deported — assaulted a woman in Philadelphia,” said Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-04). “Similar to Sarah’s Law, we must close these loopholes to prevent devastating and avoidable tragedies. I applaud Senator Ernst and Congresswoman Stefanik for introducing the BE GONE Act, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on this commonsense legislation to fix our broken immigration system.”

To read the full text of the legislation, click HERE.

Background:

This legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to include sexual assault, aggravated sexual violence, and sexual abuse as crimes that are defined as "aggravated felonies", which make immigrants inadmissible and deportable.

The bill also gives law enforcement the ability to deport those who have been convicted of sexually violent crimes or sexual assault and who are trying to immigrate. Specifically, it would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to include sexual assault and other forms of aggravated sexual violence as a disqualifying crime for foreign applicants for residence in the United States, and deportable for non-citizen resident immigrants.

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