Ernst, Gonzales Codify Trump Efforts to Protect Americans from Criminal Illegal Aliens

WASHINGTON – During Sexual Assault Awareness Month, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) are codifying key parts of President Trump’s zero-tolerance border crackdown by introducing new legislation to deport illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes.

The Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by unNaturalized Emigrants (BE GONE) Act, which amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence as crimes that are defined as "aggravated felonies,” comes after a report last year found 16,320 illegal immigrants with sexual assault convictions were in the country.

“President Trump and his team have hit the ground running reversing the damage from the last four years, but we must ensure that every last sexual predator let in by Joe Biden is deported,” said Ernst. “The health and safety of our citizens must always come first, and I am proud to continue working with President Trump to protect the American people. These violent, criminal illegal aliens need to BE GONE!”

“I represent the largest border district in the House of Representatives—Eagle Pass, Del Rio, and El Paso are all in my district. We witnessed firsthand the consequences of the Biden administration tying the hands of our Border Patrol Agents and ignoring warnings from law enforcement that illegal aliens with violent criminal charges were entering our country. Thousands of these criminal illegal aliens had a sexual violence charge on their record. If someone is here illegally, especially with a criminal conviction and a history of sexual violence, they must be deported immediately,” said Gonzales. “The BE GONE Act will give ICE agents and CBP personnel more tools to identify and deport illegal immigrants with sexual violence charges. I look forward to joining forces with my colleagues in the House and Senator Joni Ernst to move this critical legislation across the finish line.”

"Under the Biden administration’s policies, tens of thousands of criminal aliens were apprehended attempting to enter illegally, with shocking data last year showing that there were at least 16,320 aliens in the U.S. convicted of sexual assault,” said Federation for American Immigration Reform Director of Government Relations Joe Chatham. “Congress must work to ensure that these criminal aliens are quickly removed from our country and this bill will help to accomplish exactly that. FAIR is proud to support the BE GONE Act and protecting American communities from illegal alien crime."

"We are grateful to Senator Ernst and Congressman Gonzales for reintroducing the BE GONE Act which will deport immigrants who have committed heinous acts,” said NumbersUSA Director of Federal Affairs Michael Hough. “This is common sense legislation, following up on the Laken Riley Act, that Congress passed this year to protect Americans from criminal illegal aliens.”

Click here to view the bill.

Background:

Senator Ernst has fought tirelessly to protect the American people from violent, criminal illegal aliens.

After Iowan Sarah Root was killed in 2016 by an illegal immigrant who escaped justice, Ernst fought for nine years to bring her killer to justice alongside Sarah’s parents, Michelle and Scott Root.

This year, President Trump made Ernst’s Sarah’s Law the law of the land to help ensure this never happens to another family by requiring illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes against Americans to be detained.

Ernst’s tireless advocacy helped bring closure to the Root family last month when Sarah’s killer was delivered into U.S. custody to face justice.

###