WASHINGTON – All too often, American citizens and police officers lose their lives to illegal aliens who shouldn't have been in the country in the first place. The newly introduced Davis-Oliver Act is named after two such California law enforcement officers, Placer County Detective Michael Davis, Jr., and Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver, who were both murdered by a criminal illegal alien. A new bill would ensure that state and local law enforcement officials would always have the authority to enforce federal immigration laws, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) says.
The legislation was introduced May 15, 2017. As of Monday, no members of the Illinois congressional delegation have signed on in support of the measure.
H.R. 2431, sponsored by Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Vice-Chairman Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), would give law enforcement at all levels the tools and resources they need to keep America safe and secure.
This is a vital first step – but not the only step – in modernizing our broken immigration system, FAIR says. If enacted, the bill would:
- End the executive branch's ability to unilaterally shut down immigration enforcement. The Act would grant states and localities specific congressional authorization to enact and enforce their own immigration laws as long as they are consistent with federal law.
- Crack down on dangerous sanctuary city policies. The bill clarifies ICE's detainer authority – the tool used by federal immigration enforcement officers to pick up criminal aliens from local jails – for the first time establishing statutory probable cause standards to issue detainers. The bill withholds DOJ and DHS grants from jurisdictions that refuse to honor detainers and that violate federal law by prohibiting their officers from communicating with ICE.
- Enhance public safety. The bill takes a number of steps to enhance public safety. Notably, it allows ICE to not release criminal aliens to sanctuary jurisdictions and makes criminal alien gang members deportable.
- Enhance penalties for deported felons who return to the United States. The bill protects the American public by facilitating and expediting the removal of criminal aliens.
- Strengthen national security. The bill makes it more difficult for foreign terrorists and other foreign nationals who pose national security concerns to enter and remain in the United States. Of note, the bill provides for the expedited removal of alien terrorists and bars foreign terrorists or removable immigrants who threaten national security from receiving immigration benefits, such as naturalization and discretionary relief from removal.
- Improve Visa Security. The bill improves our nation's first line of defense, the visa issuance process. Notably, the bill expands the Visa Security Program to all U.S. embassies and consular posts, ensuring that all visa applicants receive additional screening and requires DHS and the State Department to utilize social media and other publicly available information to help determine if the visa applicant is a security threat to the U.S.
H.R. 2431 remains in committee and is working its way to the floor of the House of Representatives.
