WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and his colleagues recently introduced the Keep Our Communities Safe Act, legislation to end the catch-and-release policy that requires the federal government to release illegal immigrants into the United States’ interior after detaining them for six months, if no other country accepts them for deportation.

“The Biden Administration’s failed policies and loopholes in our immigration laws are fueling the crisis at our Southern border,” said Senator Tillis. “I am proud to work with my colleagues on the Keep Our Communities Safe Act to secure our border and end this humanitarian and security crisis.” 

Background

The immigration crisis perpetuated by the Biden Administration only continues to get worse – recent stats show that there have been over 4.5 million illegal immigrant encounters during Biden’s presidency, with over 251,000 in the month of December 2022. This is almost 2 and half times larger of a “border surge” than in December 2020, the last full month of the Trump Presidency. This is the worst crisis at the border on record. Further, the Biden Administration has released over 1 million illegal immigrants into the U.S. and, pending the outcome of ongoing litigation, chose to release more than 1,100 illegal immigrants with criminal records from detention facilities to make room for the anticipated border surge from the lifting of Title 42.

This legislation would close the “catch-and-release” policy that requires the government to release illegal immigrants into the United States’ interior after detaining them for six months, if no other country accepts them for deportation.

The Keep Our Communities Safe Act closes the loophole that prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from detaining illegal immigrants for more than six months when:

• Their release would threaten the safety of the community and the illegal immigrant either is an aggravated felon or has committed a crime of violence;
• They would be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future;
• They would have been removed if not for the illegal immigrant’s refusal to make all reasonable efforts to comply and cooperate with DHS efforts to remove them;
• They have a highly contagious disease;
• Their release would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences; or
• Their release would threaten national security. 

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