[House Report 118-478]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress  }                                              {   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session     }                                              { 118-478

======================================================================



 
         DETAIN AND DEPORT ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO ASSAULT COPS ACT

                                _______
                                

 April 30, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Jordan, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 7343]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 7343) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act 
to provide for the detention of certain aliens who commit 
assault against law enforcement officers, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     2
Hearings.........................................................     7
Committee Consideration..........................................     7
Committee Votes..................................................     8
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................    11
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................    11
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................    11
Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects..........................    12
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................    12
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................    12
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................    12
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................    12
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................    13
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................    13
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................    13
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............    13
Dissenting Views.................................................    16

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all that follows after the enacting clause:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who 
Assault Cops Act''.

SEC. 2. DETENTION OF CERTAIN ALIENS WHO COMMIT ASSAULT AGAINST LAW 
                    ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

  Section 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1226(c)) is amended--
          (1) in paragraph (1)--
                  (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``Attorney General'' and inserting ``Secretary 
                of Homeland Security'';
                  (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``, or'' and 
                inserting a comma;
                  (C) in subparagraph (D), by adding ``or'' at the end; 
                and
                  (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the 
                following:
                  ``(E)(i) is inadmissible under section 212(a)(6)(A) 
                or (C) or under section 212(a)(7); and
                  ``(ii) is charged with, is arrested for, is convicted 
                of, admits having committed, or admits committing acts 
                which constitute the essential elements of any offense 
                involving assault of a law enforcement officer,'';
          (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (4); and
          (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
          ``(2) Circumstances.--
                  ``(A) In general.--The circumstances referred to in 
                paragraph (1)(E) are that the law enforcement officer 
                was assaulted--
                          ``(i) while he or she was engaged in the 
                        performance of his or her official duties;
                          ``(ii) because of the performance of his or 
                        her official duties; or
                          ``(iii) because of his or her status as a law 
                        enforcement officer.
                  ``(B) Definitions.--For purposes of paragraph 
                (1)(E)--
                          ``(i) the term `assault' has the meaning 
                        given that term in the jurisdiction where the 
                        acts occurred; and
                          ``(ii) the term `law enforcement officer' is 
                        a person authorized by law--
                                  ``(I) to engage in or supervise the 
                                prevention, detention, investigation, 
                                or prosecution, or the incarceration of 
                                any person for any criminal violation 
                                of law;
                                  ``(II) to apprehend, arrest, or 
                                prosecute an individual for any 
                                criminal violation of law; or
                                  ``(III) to be a firefighter or other 
                                first responder.
          ``(3) Detainer.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        issue a detainer for an alien described in paragraph (1)(E) 
        and, if the alien is not otherwise detained by Federal, State, 
        or local officials, shall effectively and expeditiously take 
        custody of the alien.''.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 7343, the Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault 
Cops Act, introduced by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), would 
mandate immigration detention for illegal aliens who are 
charged with, arrested for, convicted of, admit having 
committed, or admit committing acts that constitute the 
essential elements of any offense involving the assault of a 
law enforcement officer. The bill would also require the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue a detainer for 
such aliens and take custody of them ``effectively and 
expeditiously.''

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    The Biden Administration's immigration failures have spread 
from the southwest border to the interior of the country, as 
many new illegal alien arrivals terrorize communities and 
assault the law enforcement officers who protect those 
communities every day. On January 27, 2023, for example, ``[a]s 
many as 14 migrants'' viciously assaulted two New York City 
Police Department (NYPD) officers near Times Square.\1\ As of 
February 8, 2024, ``six men have been charged in the caught-on-
video beating--and all but one were released from jail without 
bail shortly after being arrested.''\2\ The only illegal alien 
initially held in jail without bail in connection with the 
attack was subsequently released on bail on February 15, 2024--
less than three weeks after the attack.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Snejana Farberov, NYPD looking for two more migrants in vicious, 
caught-on-camera Times Square cop-beating, N.Y. Post (Feb. 8, 2024, 
10:47 AM), https://nypost.com/2024/02/08/metro/nypd-is-seeking-2-more-
migrants-in-times-square-cop-attack.
    \2\Id.
    \3\Luis Casiano, Sole migrant suspect held in Times Square attack 
on NYPD officers released on bail, Fox News (Feb. 15, 2024, 9:34 PM), 
https://www.foxnews.com/us/sole-migrant-suspect-held-times-square-
attack-nypd-officers-released-bail.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This bill makes crystal clear that illegal aliens who 
assault law enforcement officers shall be detained until they 
are removed from the United States. The bill also mandates that 
ICE make such aliens a priority for quick arrest so they cannot 
reoffend and continue victimizing the men and women of law 
enforcement.

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S FAILURE TO DETAIN AND REMOVE CRIMINAL ALIENS

    In addition to the Biden Administration releasing more than 
four million illegal aliens into the United States in just 
three years,\4\ President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have 
ensured that most of those aliens can remain in the country 
indefinitely--even after they have committed a crime.\5\ In 
fact, instead of detaining criminal aliens and ensuring their 
quick removal from the United States, President Biden and 
Secretary Mayorkas have made it more difficult for ICE officers 
to arrest criminals.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\See H. Comm. on the Judiciary, Rep. on The Biden Border Crisis: 
How the Biden Admin. Opened the Sw. Border and Abandoned Interior 
Immigr. Enf't, at App'x 1 (Oct. 9, 2023) (``DHS released at least 
2,148,738 illegal aliens into the United States'' through March 2023) 
[hereinafter Oct. Interim Staff Rep.]; U.S. Customs and Border Prot., 
Custody and Transfer Statistics FY 2023, U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. 
(reporting that, between April 2023 and September 2023, 688,869 illegal 
aliens were released by with a notice to appear or paroled); U.S. 
Customs and Border Prot., Custody and Transfer Statistics FY 2024, U.S. 
Dep't of Homeland Sec. (reporting that in FY 2024 thus far, 581,710 
illegal aliens were released by with a notice to appear or paroled); 
Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Biden administration has admitted more than 1 
million migrants into U.S. under parole policy Congress is considering 
restricting, CBS News (Jan. 22, 2024), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/
immigration-parole-biden-administration-1-million-migrants/ (reporting 
that at least 596,600 aliens have been paroled into the United States 
under illegal categorical parole programs); Off. of Refugee 
Resettlement, Unaccompanied Children Released to Sponsors by State, 
U.S. Dep't of Health and Human Servs. (last accessed Feb. 8, 2024) 
(reporting at least 274,843 UACs released to sponsors in FY 2022 
through FY 2024 thus far).
    \5\See Oct. Interim Staff Rep., supra note 4, at 11-17.
    \6\See id. at 14-16.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For three years, the Biden Administration has chosen to 
ignore the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which 
specifies the grounds for which an alien ``shall . . . be 
removed'' from the United States.\7\ Despite that mandate, 
during the first eight months of the Biden Administration, 
then-acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske, Acting ICE Director 
Tae Johnson, and DHS Secretary Mayorkas issued three memoranda 
that articulated different enforcement priorities for the new 
Administration.\8\ In September 2021, Secretary Mayorkas issued 
the third and final memo, entitled ``Guidelines for the 
Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law'' (``Mayorkas Memo''), 
outlining three enforcement priorities: national security, 
public safety, and border security.\9\ As the Committee 
detailed in an October 2023 staff report:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\8 U.S.C. Sec. 1227(a).
    \8\See Texas v. United States, 40 F.4th 205, 213-214 (5th Cir. 
2022).
    \9\Id.; see Memorandum from Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Sec'y, Dep't of 
Homeland Sec., to Tae Johnson, Acting Dir., U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, et al., ``Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil 
Immigration Law'' (Sept. 30, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
          The Mayorkas Memo begins with the assumption that 
        ``undocumented noncitizens'' work hard and contribute 
        to ``our communities'' and that ``bipartisan groups'' 
        have ``tried to pass legislation that would provide a 
        path to citizenship or other lawful status for the 
        approximately 11 million undocumented noncitizens'' in 
        the country.
          From that premise, Secretary Mayorkas articulated a 
        new policy that the mere fact that aliens are removable 
        pursuant to U.S. law ``should not alone be the basis of 
        an enforcement action against them.'' Under the 
        Mayorkas Memo, for instance, ``[b]efore ICE officers 
        [could] arrest and detain aliens as a threat to public 
        safety, they [were] now required to conduct an 
        assessment of the individual and the totality of facts 
        and circumstances, including various aggravating or 
        mitigating factors.'' In this assessment, ICE officers 
        were prohibited from relying solely on the fact of an 
        alien's conviction, regardless of the seriousness of 
        the underlying crime. After listing certain aggravating 
        and mitigating factors, the Mayorkas Memo states that 
        the listed factors were ``not exhaustive'' and that 
        ``the overriding question is whether the noncitizen 
        poses a current threat to public safety.'' The Mayorkas 
        Memo also does not presumptively subject aliens with 
        aggravated felony convictions to enforcement action or 
        detention.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\Oct. Interim Staff Rep., supra note 4, at 14-15.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Consequently, the Mayorkas Memo requires ``a lengthier 
review process before an ICE officer can arrest or remove an 
illegal alien,'' contributes to ``fewer ICE arrests of criminal 
aliens,'' and is responsible for ``lower removal numbers.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\Id. at 15.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well over half a million criminal aliens are on ICE's non-
detained docket, meaning that aliens with criminal convictions 
or pending criminal charges are out on American streets and 
``free to reoffend.''\12\ Moreover, ``in fiscal year 2023, ICE 
removed 41 percent fewer aliens with criminal convictions and 
criminal charges than in fiscal year 2020--and nearly 60 
percent fewer than in fiscal year 2019.''\13\ The lack of 
interior immigration enforcement begins with far fewer arrests 
of criminal aliens. As the Committee outlined in a January 2024 
staff report:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\See H. Comm. on the Judiciary, Interim Staff Rep., New Data 
Reveal Worsening Magnitude of the Biden Border Crisis and Lack of 
Interior Immigr. Enf't, at 9 (Jan. 18, 2024), https://
judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/
files/evo-media-document/
2024-1-18-new-data-reveal-worsening-magnitude-of-the-biden-border-
crisis-and-lack-of-interior-
immigration-
enforcement.pdf?_gl=1*um0tzz*_ga*MTEwNTc0NDU4Ni4xNjc1ODY1NjU0*_ga_
1818ZEQW81*MTcwNzQxNDIxNS4xMy4xLjE3MDc0MTU2NzQuMC4wLjA.
    \13\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
          A comparison of administrative arrests by criminal 
        charge or conviction category further highlights the 
        differences in immigration enforcement between the 
        Trump and Biden Administrations. In fiscal year 2018, 
        the Trump Administration arrested aliens responsible 
        for 76,585 dangerous drug offenses compared to 40,698 
        under the Biden Administration in fiscal year 2023. For 
        assault offenses, the Trump Administration arrested 
        aliens with 50,753 criminal charges and convictions in 
        fiscal year 2018, with only 33,209 in fiscal year 2023. 
        For sex offenses, the number of was 6,888 in 2018 but 
        5,746 in 2023. Across the board, in categories ranging 
        from murder to kidnapping to weapons offenses, the 
        Trump Administration in 2018 arrested far more criminal 
        aliens than the Biden Administration in 2023.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\Id. at 8-9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has lodged 
significantly fewer detainers on criminal aliens than the Trump 
Administration. To ensure that criminal aliens are deported, 
ICE issues detainers on aliens who have been arrested ``and who 
ICE has probable cause to believe are removable'' from the 
United States.\15\ Under a detainer, ICE ``asks the other law 
enforcement agency to notify ICE before a removable individual 
is released from custody and to maintain custody of the [alien] 
for a brief period of time'' so ICE can take custody of the 
alien.\16\ Detainers not only preserve law enforcement 
resources but also protect Americans by ensuring that dangerous 
criminal aliens are not released into communities.\17\ In 
fiscal year 2019, for example, ICE issued 165,487 detainers for 
aliens whose criminal histories included 56,000 assaults, 
14,500 sex crimes, 5,000 robberies, 2,500 homicides, and 2,500 
kidnappings.\18\ During the first three fiscal years of the 
Biden Administration, ICE lodged 44 percent fewer detainers 
than during the first three fiscal years of the Trump 
Administration.\19\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\U.S. Immigr. and Customs Enf't, Detainers 101 (Sept. 27, 2022), 
https://www.ice.gov/
features/detainers.
    \16\Id.
    \17\See U.S. Immigr. and Customs Enf't, Fiscal Year 2019 Enf't and 
Removal Operations Rep., U.S. Dep't Of Homeland Sec. at 16 (2020), 
https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Document/2019/
eroReportFY2019.pdf [hereinafter 2019 ICE Annual Rep.].
    \18\Id.
    \19\In fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019, ICE issued 484,990 
detainers (142,356 in 2017, 177,147 in 2018, and 165,487 in 2019) 
compared to 270,127 in fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023 (with just 
65,940 issued in 2021, 78,829 in 2022, and 125,358 in 2023). See 2019 
ICE Annual Report, supra note 17, at 17; U.S. Immigr. and Customs 
Enf't, ICE Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2023, U.S. Dep't Of Homeland Sec. 
at 17 (Dec. 29, 2023), https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/
iceAnnualReportFY2023.pdf [hereinafter 2023 ICE Annual Rep.].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Overall removals have similarly declined under the Biden 
Administration. From fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2019, 
there were 749,462 total removals.\20\ From fiscal year 2021 
through fiscal year 2023, there were 273,768 removals.\21\ The 
significant drop in removals from the first three fiscal years 
of the Trump Administration to the first three fiscal years of 
the Biden Administration is also reflected in the number of 
removals of aliens from the interior of the United States. From 
fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2019, ICE removed 262,921 
aliens from the interior of the U.S.\22\ From fiscal year 2021 
through fiscal year 2023, ICE removed from the U.S. interior 
only 104,016 aliens, a decrease of 60 percent from the first 
three years of the Trump Administration.\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \20\See U.S. Immigr. and Customs Enf't, Fiscal Year 2018 ICE Enf't 
and Removal Operations Rep., U.S. Dep't Of Homeland Sec. at 10, https:/
/www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/ero/pdf/eroFY2018Report.pdf 
[hereinafter 2018 ICE Annual Rep.]; 2023 ICE Annual Rep., supra note 
19, at 26.
    \21\2023 ICE Annual Rep., supra note 19, at 26.
    \22\2018 ICE Annual Rep., supra note 20, at 7; 2023 ICE Annual 
Rep., supra note 19, at 28.
    \23\2023 ICE Annual Rep., supra note 19, at 28.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

          CONSEQUENCES OF OPEN BORDERS AND LIMITED ENFORCEMENT

    The real-life consequences of the Biden Administration's 
open borders and non-existent immigration enforcement are 
stark. For example, on January 27, 2023, ``[a]s many as 14 
migrants'' viciously assaulted two NYPD officers near Times 
Square.\24\ As of February 8, 2024, ``six men have been charged 
in the caught-on-video beating . . .''\25\ All but one were 
released without bail shortly after arrest, and the last was 
released on bail two weeks after arrest.\26\ The assault led 
even New York Governor Kathy Hochul to question whether the 
illegal aliens should be deported: ``I think that's actually 
something that should be looked at, I mean, if someone commits 
a crime against a police officer in the state of New York and 
they're not here legally. Definitely worth checking into.''\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\Snejana Farberov, NYPD looking for two more migrants in 
vicious, caught-on-camera Times Square cop-beating, N.Y. Post (Feb. 8, 
2024, 10:47 AM), https://nypost.com/2024/02/08/metro/nypd-is-seeking-2-
more-migrants-in-times-square-cop-attack/.
    \25\Id.
    \26\Id.; Casiano, supra note 3.
    \27\Janelle Griffith, N.Y. Gov. Hochul says reported migrants who 
attacked NYPD officers in Times Square should be deported, NBC News 
(Feb. 1, 2024, 6:02 PM), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ny-gov-
hochul-says-reported-migrants-attacked-nypd-officers-square-dep-
rcna136800.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Illegal aliens continue to assault law enforcement officers 
across the country. In March 2023, for instance, an illegal 
alien violently assaulted a U.S. Border Patrol agent as the 
agent attempted to take the alien into custody, injuring the 
agent's face and arms.\28\ Similarly, in November 2022, the FBI 
arrested two illegal aliens for pushing, dragging, and punching 
a U.S. Border Patrol agent.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \28\Anders Hagstrom, Female border patrol agent violently assaulted 
by illegal immigrant, Fox News (Mar. 5, 2023, 1:22 PM), https://
www.foxnews.com/us/female-border-patrol-agent-violently-assaulted-
illegal-immigrant.
    \29\Danielle Wallace, FBI arrests 2 Venezuelan illegal immigrants 
for assault on Border Patrol agent in Texas, Fox News (Nov. 9, 2022, 
9:26 AM), https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-arrests-2-venezuelan-illegal-
immigrants-assault-border-patrol-agent-texas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In 2020, an illegal alien stabbed a New York City Police 
Department (NYPD) officer in the neck, took the officer's gun, 
and then shot at other officers.\30\ In 2019, a jury found an 
illegal alien guilty of assaulting an Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement (ICE) Deportation Officer.\31\ In September 2023, 
an illegal alien ``slammed into an NYPD squad car and three 
other vehicles'' and then ``bit off a piece of a police 
sergeant's finger while in a holding cell.''\32\ In 2020, an 
illegal alien shot and killed a Houston police sergeant.\33\ 
And, in 2021, illegal aliens on repatriation flights on 
multiple occasions attacked ICE agents and pilots, biting and 
physically assaulting them.\34\ Joe Gamaldi, national vice 
president of the Fraternal Order of Police, partially 
attributed the rise in violence to ``an open border'' and a 
``culture of lawlessness.''\35\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \30\Lawrence Richard, Illegal immigrant who stabbed, shot NYPD 
officers sentenced to 30 years in prison, deportation, Fox News (Sept. 
22, 2022, 3:33 AM), https://www.foxnews.com/us/illegal-immigrant-
stabbed-shot-nypd-officers-sentenced-30-years-prison-deportation.
    \31\Illegal alien convicted of assaulting officer in Mississippi, 
WTOK TV (Oct. 24, 2019, 1:23 PM), https://www.wtok.com/content/news/
Illegal-alien-convicted-of-assaulting-officer-in-
Mississippi-563789991.html.
    \32\Michael Ruiz, Illegal immigrant bites off police sergeant's 
finger after DUI bust: sources, FOX News (Sept. 25, 2023, 10:03 AM), 
https://www.foxnews.com/us/illegal-immigrant-bites-off-police-
sergeants-finger-after-dui-bust-sources.
    \33\Arelis R. Hernandez & Nick Miroff, Suspect in killing of 
Houston police sergeant is in United States illegally, ICE says, Wash. 
Post (Oct. 21, 2020, 4:43 PM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/
houston-police-killing-immigrant-ice/2020/10/21/436ead4c-13a4-11eb-
82af-864652063d61_story.html.
    \34\Emily Crane, Haitian migrants assault ICE officials, pilots on 
deportation flights, N.Y. Post (Sept. 23, 2021), https://nypost.com/
2021/09/23/haitian-migrants-attack-ice-officials-on-
deportation-flights/.
    \35\Ashley Carnahan, 2022 saw disturbing increase in law 
enforcement fatalities: `A culture of lawlessness has gripped the 
country', Fox News (Jan. 15, 2023, 8:30 PM), https://www.foxnews.com/
media/2022-saw-disturbing-increase-law-enforcement-fatalities-culture-
lawlessness-gripped-country.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault Cops Act 
requires ICE to lodge detainers against illegal aliens who 
assault law enforcement officers and mandates that such aliens 
be detained in ICE custody. The bill conforms to existing law 
that mandates detention even in certain cases in which an alien 
never has been convicted of a crime. For example, as the 
Supreme Court emphasized in 2019, aliens can be subject to 
mandatory immigration detention if they are ``representatives 
of a terrorist group,'' are aliens ``whom the Government has 
reasonable grounds to believe are likely to engage in terrorist 
activities,'' are certain aliens ``for whom immunity from 
criminal jurisdiction was exercised,'' or are ``the spouse or 
child of an alien who recently engaged in terrorist 
activity.''\36\ By mandating the detention of illegal aliens 
who assault law enforcement officers, the bill creates safer 
streets for all Americans and allows for such criminal aliens 
to be more quickly removed from the United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \36\Nielsen v. Preap, 139 S. Ct. 954, 970 (2019) (internal 
quotation marks omitted). In a concurrence, Justice Thomas, with whom 
Justice Gorsuch joined, wrote, ``I continue to believe that no court 
has jurisdiction to decide questions concerning the detention of aliens 
before final orders of removal have been entered.'' See id. at 973.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6)(A) of House rule XIII, 
the following hearing was used to develop H.R. 7343: ``The 
Consequences of Criminal Aliens on U.S. Communities,'' a 
hearing held on July 13, 2023, before the Subcommittee on 
Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement of the 
Committee on the Judiciary. The Subcommittee heard testimony 
from the following witnesses:
     Donald Rosenberg, Founder, Advocates for Victims 
of Illegal Alien Crime;
     Bradley Schoenleben, Senior Deputy District 
Attorney, Orange County, California, District Attorney's 
Office;
     John Fabbricatore, Former Field Office Director, 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and 
Removal Operations; and
     Ramon Batista, Police Chief, Santa Monica, 
California.
    The hearing addressed liberal jurisdictions' harboring of 
criminal aliens and the Biden Administration's lax policies 
that allow criminal aliens to remain in the United States 
indefinitely.

                        Committee Consideration

    On March 6, 2024, the Committee met in open session and 
order the bill, H.R. 7343, favorably reported with an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute, by a roll call vote of 14 to 9, 
a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of House rule XIII, the 
following roll call votes occurred during the Committee's 
consideration of H.R. 7343:
    1. Vote on Amendment #1 to H.R. 7343 ANS offered by Ms. 
Jayapal--failed 8 ayes to 12 nays.
    2. Vote on favorably reporting H.R. 7343, as amended--
passed 14 ayes to 9 nays.


                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of House rule XIII, the 
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) 
of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are 
incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to filing of the report 
and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is included 
in this report.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 7343 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:




    H.R. 7343 would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
(ICE) to detain any alien (non-U.S. national) who is present in 
the United States without being lawfully admitted and has been 
charged with or convicted of assaulting a law enforcement 
officer. Under the bill, a law enforcement officer is any 
person authorized to investigate, detain, arrest, or prosecute 
other people in relation to a criminal offense, or a 
firefighter or other first responder.
    CBO estimates that enacting the bill could increase the 
number of aliens in government custody, which would reduce 
their receipt of federal benefits. Any change in that number 
would depend on many factors, including the availability of 
detention space, coordination with state and local governments, 
and decisions made by the executive branch. CBO estimates that 
any resulting decreases in direct spending resulting from a 
reduction in the receipt of federal benefits would be 
insignificant.
    Implementing H.R. 7343 may increase the number of aliens in 
ICE detention who have been charged or convicted of assaulting 
a law enforcement officer. However, given the current 
availability of detention space, CBO expects that any increase 
would be largely offset by a reduction in the number of other 
people in government custody. Therefore, CBO estimates that 
H.R. 7343 would not significantly change the total number of 
aliens detained by ICE. As a result, CBO estimates that the 
additional administrative and personnel costs to modify its 
operations to comply with the bill's requirements would cost 
ICE less than $500,000 over the 2024-2029 period. That spending 
would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jeremy Crimm 
(for Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and David Rafferty 
(for immigration). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel 
Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(d)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House rule XIII, no provision 
of H.R. 7343 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal 
program.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
House rule XIII, H.R. 7343 would mandate immigration detention 
for illegal aliens who are charged with, arrested for, 
convicted of, admit having committed, or admit committing acts 
that constitute the essential elements of any offense involving 
the assault of a law enforcement officer.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of House rule XXI, H.R. 7343 
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax 
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clauses 
9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of House rule XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Pub. L. 104-
1).

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short Title. The ``Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who 
        Assault Cops Act.''

Section 2. Detention of Certain Aliens Who Commit Assaults Against Law 
        Enforcement Officers. This section mandates ICE immigration 
        detention for illegal aliens who are charged with, arrested 
        for, convicted of, admit having committed, or admit committing 
        acts that constitute the essential elements of any offense 
        involving the assault of a law enforcement officer. The section 
        also requires DHS to issue a detainer for such aliens and take 
        custody of them ``effectively and expeditiously.''

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                    IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT



           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
TITLE II--IMMIGRATION

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


   Chapter 4--Inspection, Apprehension, Examination, Exclusion, and 
Removal

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                  apprehension and detention of aliens

  Sec. 236. (a) Arrest, Detention, and Release.--On a warrant 
issued by the Attorney General, an alien may be arrested and 
detained pending a decision on whether the alien is to be 
removed from the United States. Except as provided in 
subsection (c) and pending such decision, the Attorney 
General--
          (1) may continue to detain the arrested alien; and
          (2) may release the alien on--
                  (A) bond of at least $1,500 with security 
                approved by, and containing conditions 
                prescribed by, the Attorney General; or
                  (B) conditional parole; but
          (3) may not provide the alien with work authorization 
        (including an ``employment authorized'' endorsement or 
        other appropriate work permit), unless the alien is 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise 
        would (without regard to removal proceedings) be 
        provided such authorization.
  (b) Revocation of Bond or Parole.--The Attorney General at 
any time may revoke a bond or parole authorized under 
subsection (a), rearrest the alien under the original warrant, 
and detain the alien.
  (c) Detention of Criminal Aliens.--
          (1) Custody.--The [Attorney General] Secretary of 
        Homeland Security shall take into custody any alien 
        who--
                  (A) is inadmissible by reason of having 
                committed any offense covered in section 
                212(a)(2),
                  (B) is deportable by reason of having 
                committed any offense covered in section 
                237(a)(2)(A)(ii), (A)(iii), (B), (C), or (D),
                  (C) is deportable under section 
                237(a)(2)(A)(i) on the basis of an offense for 
                which the alien has been sentence to a term of 
                imprisonment of at least 1 year[, or],
                  (D) is inadmissible under section 
                212(a)(3)(B) or deportable under section 
                237(a)(4)(B), or
                  (E)(i) is inadmissible under section 
                212(a)(6)(A) or (C) or under section 212(a)(7); 
                and
                  (ii) is charged with, is arrested for, is 
                convicted of, admits having committed, or 
                admits committing acts which constitute the 
                essential elements of any offense involving 
                assault of a law enforcement officer,
        when the alien is released, without regard to whether 
        the alien is released on parole, supervised release, or 
        probation, and without regard to whether the alien may 
        be arrested or imprisoned again for the same offense.
          (2) Circumstances.--
                  (A) In general.--The circumstances referred 
                to in paragraph (1)(E) are that the law 
                enforcement officer was assaulted--
                          (i) while he or she was engaged in 
                        the performance of his or her official 
                        duties;
                          (ii) because of the performance of 
                        his or her official duties; or
                          (iii) because of his or her status as 
                        a law enforcement officer.
                  (B) Definitions.--For purposes of paragraph 
                (1)(E)--
                          (i) the term ``assault'' has the 
                        meaning given that term in the 
                        jurisdiction where the acts occurred; 
                        and
                          (ii) the term ``law enforcement 
                        officer'' is a person authorized by 
                        law--
                                  (I) to engage in or supervise 
                                the prevention, detention, 
                                investigation, or prosecution, 
                                or the incarceration of any 
                                person for any criminal 
                                violation of law;
                                  (II) to apprehend, arrest, or 
                                prosecute an individual for any 
                                criminal violation of law; or
                                  (III) to be a firefighter or 
                                other first responder.
          (3) Detainer.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
        shall issue a detainer for an alien described in 
        paragraph (1)(E) and, if the alien is not otherwise 
        detained by Federal, State, or local officials, shall 
        effectively and expeditiously take custody of the 
        alien.
          [(2)] (4) Release.--The Attorney General may release 
        an alien described in paragraph (1) only if the 
        Attorney General decides pursuant to section 3521 of 
        title 18, United States Code, that release of the alien 
        from custody is necessary to provide protection to a 
        witness, a potential witness, a person cooperating with 
        an investigation into major criminal activity, or an 
        immediate family member or close associate of a 
        witness, potential witness, or person cooperating with 
        such an investigation, and the alien satisfies the 
        Attorney General that the alien will not pose a danger 
        to the safety of other persons or of property and is 
        likely to appear for any scheduled proceeding. A 
        decision relating to such release shall take place in 
        accordance with a procedure that considers the severity 
        of the offense committed by the alien.
  (d) Identification of Criminal Aliens.--(1) The Attorney 
General shall devise and implement a system--
          (A) to make available, daily (on a 24-hour basis), to 
        Federal, State, and local authorities the investigative 
        resources of the Service to determine whether 
        individuals arrested by such authorities for aggravated 
        felonies are aliens;
          (B) to designate and train officers and employees of 
        the Service to serve as a liaison to Federal, State, 
        and local law enforcement and correctional agencies and 
        courts with respect to the arrest, conviction, and 
        release of any alien charged with an aggravated felony; 
        and
          (C) which uses computer resources to maintain a 
        current record of aliens who have been convicted of an 
        aggravated felony, and indicates those who have been 
        removed.
  (2) The record under paragraph (1)(C) shall be made 
available--
          (A) to inspectors at ports of entry and to border 
        patrol agents at sector headquarters for purposes of 
        immediate identification of any alien who was 
        previously ordered removed and is seeking to reenter 
        the United States, and
          (B) to officials of the Department of State for use 
        in its automated visa lookout system.
  (3) Upon the request of the governor or chief executive 
officer of any State, the Service shall provide assistance to 
State courts in the identification of aliens unlawfully present 
in the United States pending criminal prosecution.
  (e) Judicial Review.--The Attorney General's discretionary 
judgment regarding the application of this section shall not be 
subject to review. No court may set aside any action or 
decision by the Attorney General under this section regarding 
the detention or release of any alien or the grant, revocation, 
or denial of bond or parole.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                            Dissenting Views

    This bill is overbroad and extraordinarily punitive. It 
would not solve the problems it purports to fix and would 
actually result in less justice, not more.
    Under this bill, any immigrant who is present in the United 
States without admission or parole, and who is charged with or 
even merely arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer, 
would automatically become subject to mandatory detention by 
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Assaults on law 
enforcement officers are serious crimes, but this bill paints 
with far too broad a brush, and risks placing people who have 
never committed a crime in mandatory detention.
    First and foremost, under current immigration law, serious 
assaults on law enforcement officers are considered Crimes 
Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT), and an admission to, or 
conviction of, such a crime renders someone inadmissible and 
subject to mandatory detention under current law.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\INA Sec. 212(a)(2)(A)(i); See, e.g. Matter of Ortega-Lopez, 26 
I&N Dec. 99, 100 (BIA 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Because the bill is so broadly drafted, people who pose no 
real danger to law enforcement could be subject to mandatory 
detention. The bill does not include any requirement that the 
assault actually cause harm or provide any fail-safes for 
someone who is arrested and then never charged, or who is 
charged and is later exonerated. Without any limitations, this 
could lead to absurd results, in which an individual with 
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Action for 
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is subject to mandatory immigration 
detention even if they did not commit a crime.
    For example, in February, a group of Venezuelan migrants 
allegedly assaulted some police officers in Times Square in New 
York City.\2\ A large number of Venezuelan men were arrested in 
connection to this crime. One individual was photographed 
making a lewd gesture to news cameras as he left his 
arraignment, an episode that received much attention in the 
right-wing media.\3\ However, on March 1, charges against that 
specific individual were dropped.\4\ He was not even at the 
scene of the incident, so he was wrongfully arrested and 
charged.\5\ This is a perfect example as to why this bill does 
not work--if it was in effect, this individual, despite his 
innocence, would have been subject to mandatory immigration 
detention.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Lisa Rozner & Jesse Zanger, Police body camera video released in 
Times Square assault on officers as 7 suspects are indicted, CBS News 
(Feb. 9, 2024), https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-mayor-adams-
da-alvin-bragg-discuss-times-square-officers-assaulted/.
    \3\Jake Offenhartz, Man charged with attacking police in Times 
Square, vilified in Trump ad, was misidentified, DA says, AP (Mar. 1, 
2024) https://apnews.com/article/migrants-times-square-brawl-
exoneration-alvin-bragg-c83e34b603e57d367e3e12b9ad28752a.
    \4\Id.
    \5\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Moreover, it is impossible to detain everyone covered in 
the ``mandatory detention categories'' within the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (INA). Congress has never appropriated, and 
no administration has ever requested, sufficient resources to 
detain all noncitizens who fall under the ``mandatory 
detention'' categories. Even former President Trump never tried 
to detain all migrants for the duration of their proceedings--
his Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 appropriations request was for just 
60,000 detention beds.\6\ The cost of detaining all migrants 
would be astronomical--in 2015, the conservative American 
Action Forum estimated that detaining every undocumented 
migrant in the country would cost approximately $35.7 
billion.\7\ In contrast, President Trump requested $3.1 billion 
for detention space in FY 2021.\8\ DHS's data shows over 
500,000 releases at the US-Mexico border under the Trump 
administration and over 1.1 million total people who crossed 
during the four years of that administration were eventually 
released from custody.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\A Budget for America's Future, Office of Management and Budget 
(Feb. 10, 2020), https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2020/02/budget_fy21.pdf.
    \7\Ben Gitis & Laura Collins, The Budgetary and Economic Costs of 
Addressing Unauthorized Immigration: Alternative Strategies, Am. Action 
Forum (Mar. 6, 2015) https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/the-
budgetary-and-economic-costs-of-addressing-
unauthorized-immigration-alt/.
    \8\Office of Management and Budget, supra note 6.
    \9\Office of Immigration Statistics, 2021 Enforcement Lifecycle 
Report Appendix Tables, Dep't of Homeland Security (Nov. 2021), https:/
/www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/special-reports/enforcement-
lifecycle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Requiring the detention of DACA and TPS recipients who may 
not have even committed a crime is not a smart use of our 
limited immigration enforcement resources. Unfortunately, by 
requiring only that an individual be arrested or charged with 
assaulting a law enforcement officer before subjecting them to 
mandatory detention, this bill would force innocent people into 
immigration detention.
    To rectify this, at markup, Representative Jayapal (D-WA) 
offered an amendment to strike the provision that would subject 
an individual to mandatory detention based on an arrest or 
charge. The amendment would have brought the bill more in line 
with current law by requiring that an individual be convicted 
of or admit to assaulting a law enforcement officer prior to 
becoming subject to mandatory detention.
    Republicans defeated the amendment on a party line vote. 
The majority did not provide any substantive arguments in 
response to the amendment. They likewise did not address the 
due process problems the bill contains, and instead lauded its 
overly punitive approach.
    Democrats want to keep Americans safe. But passing 
extraordinarily broad bills with far-ranging consequences will 
not make Americans safer. Local judges and prosecutors are far 
better equipped to determine if an individual poses a risk to 
the community and ought to remain in custody following an 
arrest. Congress should not be substituting our judgement for 
theirs, nor should we be using the civil immigration detention 
system as a substitute for the criminal system.
    For all of these reasons, I dissent, and I urge all of my 
colleagues to oppose this legislation.
                                            Jerrold Nadler,
                                                    Ranking Member.