Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate seek to empower local law enforcement across the country to enforce U.S. immigration law following the demise of Title 42 last week.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., along with Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Bill Cassidy, R- La., and Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., plan to reintroduce legislation Wednesday granting state and local law enforcement the authority to “investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer an illegal immigrant who has entered the U.S.”
The bill, officially known as The Empowering Law Enforcement Act, would also provide the Department of Homeland Security flexibility concerning the length of time criminals in the U.S. illegally could be detained and ensure they are not released back into American communities.
“With the Biden administration ignoring federal law and facilitating historic levels of illegal immigration, we should give state and local law enforcement the authority to keep their communities safe,” Tuberville told Fox News Digital.
Tuberville previously introduced the bill in 2021, but it never made it passed the Democrat- controlled Senate Judiciary Committee.
“The Empowering Law Enforcement Act gives state and local officers the ability to enforce immigration laws when federal offices are prohibited from doing so. It also would extend the detention period for dangerous criminal aliens. The Biden administration has opened up our border and undermined our law enforcement — this bill would bring that to an end,” he added.
