Blackburn Joins Budd, Colleagues in Introducing Legislation to Prevent Thousands of Illegal Aliens from Escaping Mandatory Detention

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and three of their Republican colleagues in introducing the Detention Authority Clarification Act, which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to make unambiguous Congress' intent that illegal aliens be subject to detention without bond pending removal from the United States. This is in response to split decisions by federal courts across the country about what should already be clear in section 235 of the INA-all who have entered the United States illegally are subject to mandatory detention.

This legislation is also co-sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

BACKGROUND

• The INA, as amended, requires the detention of illegal aliens. Previous administrations allowed these illegal aliens to be released on bond. However, the Trump administration now detains these illegal aliens in compliance with the statute and with Congress' intent. Thousands of detained, illegal aliens have filed lawsuits in federal courts challenging the Trump administration's interpretation of the INA, and hundreds of federal district judges have granted their request for release. Split panels of circuit court judges on the federal courts of appeals have sided with and against the Trump administration, and one such panel of judges deadlocked entirely on this question.

• Specifically, section 235 of the INA, as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), provides that an alien who enters the U.S., including those who enter illegally, is deemed an "applicant for admission" and is to be subject to detention until the alien is lawfully admitted to the U.S. or removed from the U.S. in the case of an illegal alien.

DETENTION AUTHORITY CLARIFICATION ACT

Specifically, the Detention Authority Clarification Act would:

• Clarify the intent of section 235 of the INA to eliminate alleged ambiguity by stating that all who have entered the United States illegally are subject to mandatory detention; and

• Require mandatory detention for illegal aliens in section 236 of the INA to harmonize the language of sections 235 and 236.

The Detention Authority Clarification Act is supported by the Immigration Accountability Project (IAP).

Click here for bill text.