POLICE Act would make assaulting law enforcement a deportable offense
According to this bill, the only time you should hit a cop in the face is when they’re volunteering to be hit with a pie.
Context
To be clear, undocumented immigrants who assault law enforcement already can be deported for the offense. It could fall under one of two deportable categories: aggravated felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.
The catch is, those two categories — particularly the latter — are subject to some level of prosecutorial and judicial discretion. In other words, under current federal law, assaulting a law enforcement official isn’t explicitly a deportable offense.
It’s unclear that this is actually a big problem, numerically.
While assaults against law enforcement are increasing overall, it doesn’t appear the government tracks numbers on immigration status of the assailant. A recent report from House Judiciary Committee Republicans lists several examples of undocumented immigrants committing assault against law enforcement, but they’re spread out across several years from 2019–23, and the report cites no statistics on the issue.
What the legislation does
The POLICE Act would explicitly make assaulting a law enforcement official, firefighter, or first responder a deportable offense. The deportee would have to be either convicted of the crime, or otherwise admit to it.
The acronym POLICE stands for Protect Our Law enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement. (Of course, to make the acronym work, the first ‘enforcement’ goes uncapitalized while the second mention is capitalized.)
The House version was introduced on April 6, as H.R. 2494, by Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY2). The Senate version was introduced a month and a half later on May 18, as S. 1733, by Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC).
What supporters say
Supporters argue that anyone who commits such a drastic action, against those sworn to keep the populace safe and secure, shouldn’t be permitted to remain in the country.
“I have serious concerns about the ramifications for law enforcement officers who are on the front lines dealing with migrants,” Rep. Garbarino said in a press release. “Whether on Long Island or at the southern border, there should be no ambiguity that assaulting a police officer is a deportable offense for non-citizens. The [bill] would ensure that we can hold criminals accountable for violence against law enforcement officers who are simply doing their jobs.”
“Supporting our police includes removing dangerous people who do them harm. If an illegal immigrant commits the crime of assaulting an officer, they should be subject to immediate deportation,” Sen. Budd said in a separate press release. “Our lawmakers must always back the men and women who protect and serve our communities.”
What opponents say
Opponents counter that the bill, while well-intentioned, could be interpreted too broadly and accidentally used to deport others besides the truly violent criminals.
“A person walks into a fire, sees a beam about to fall on a firefighter, and pushes the firefighter out of the way. He has committed an act that is an assault on the firefighter who is a peace officer, and he is deportable,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY12) said on the House floor. “A person sees two men fighting on the street and he breaks them up. He pushes them aside, not knowing that one of them is an undercover police officer. He has assaulted the police officer.”
“The administration supports the brave men and women who serve our country as law enforcement officers, and believes that anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer should be punished appropriately,” the White House wrote in a Statement of Administration Policy. “We are concerned, however, that [the bill], as drafted, could potentially sweep up even non-violent or unintentional conduct, resulting in deportation of even long-term lawful permanent residents with otherwise unblemished records.”
Odds of passage
The House bill attracted 16 cosponsors, all Republicans. First, the House Judiciary Committee approved it by 15–11 on May 10. A week later, the entire House passed it by 255–175 on May 17. Republicans voted unanimously in favor by 219–0, while Democrats largely opposed it by 36–175.
Rep. Garbarino’s prior version from 2021 attracted 23 Republican cosponsors, slightly more than the current version, but never received a committee vote in the then-Democratic House.
The current Senate version has attracted eight cosponsors, all Republicans. It awaits a potential vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Odds of passage are low in the Democratic-led chamber.
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This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.
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