House Passes Bill To Slap Major Criminal Penalties On Migrants And Smugglers Who Flee Border Patrol; 154 Democrats Oppose New Criminal Penalties for Illegal Aliens Leading Border Agents on High-Speed Chases

House Passes Bill To Slap Major Criminal Penalties On Migrants And Smugglers Who Flee Border Patrol:

The House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday to impose new criminal and immigration penalties on smugglers and illegal migrants evading arrest across the southern border.

Criminal cartels linked to the cross-border drug trade have invested heavily in efforts to illegally smuggle foreign nationals seeking to live in the United States across the southern border, with their operatives, known as “coyotes,” often directing migrants into the interior of the country and leading to U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) pursuits. On Tuesday, the House passed a bill to target such conduct, which has previously resulted in injuries and deaths of USBP agents.

The bill was passed by a vote of 271 yeas to 154 nays, with many Democrats voting in favor. It was principally sponsored by Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, whose district includes a portion of the international border with Mexico, and is named the “Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act” for a USBP agent who, in 2022, died in the line of duty while pursuing migrants on an all-terrain-vehicle (ATV).

NEW: Absolutely wild footage from a @TxDPS trooper’s bodycam following a fiery human smuggler pursuit crash near Laredo. It shows TX troopers and Border Patrol agents saving the life of a woman who was zipped up in a duffel bag being smuggled inside the burning car. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/OZmAlz0xnj

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 31, 2022

“My district sees high-speed car chases coming through our communities every day, putting both the lives of Arizonans and Border Patrol agents in jeopardy,” wrote Ciscomani in a press release in September of 2023 about the bill. “We must send a signal to any bad actors illegally coming through the southern border that their actions have dire consequences.”

The bill creates a new federal criminal offense for intentionally fleeing USBP within 100 miles of the international border, subject to imprisonment of up to two years. If a subject’s flight results in serious bodily injury or death, the penalties increase to a maximum of 20 years or life in prison, respectively. —>READ MORE HERE

154 Democrats Oppose New Criminal Penalties for Illegal Aliens Leading Border Agents on High-Speed Chases:

A majority of House Democrats voted against legislation this week that would impose new criminal penalties for illegal aliens leading Border Patrol agents on often deadly high-speed chases.

On Tuesday, just 56 House Democrats joined 215 House Republicans to pass the “Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act,” which would establish new criminal penalties for illegal aliens and others driving vehicles who try to evade Border Patrol agents within 100 miles of the United States-Mexico border.

“We appreciate House Republicans’ efforts to secure our lawless and chaotic border, protect the men and women on the frontlines, and make our communities safer,” Hector Garza, Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council, said in a statement.

The legislation, introduced by Rep. Jaun Ciscomani (R-AZ), also establishes a new criminal penalty, including a mandatory minimum prison sentence, for those who cause death or serious injury to a Border Patrol agent in a high-speed chase near the border.

Illegal aliens convicted of the crime, the legislation dictates, would be ineligible to claim asylum and deported from the U.S. —>READ MORE HERE

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