II
Calendar No. 615
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2738
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 10, 2008
Mr. Coburn introduced the following bill; which was read the first time
March 11, 2008
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
A BILL
To identify and remove criminal aliens incarcerated in correctional facilities in the United States and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as
the Criminal Alien Removal Act of
2008
.
Definitions
In this Act:
Criminal alien
Except as otherwise provided, the term criminal
alien
means an alien who—
is inadmissible by reason of having committed any offense covered in section 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 182(a)(2));
is deportable by reason of having committed any offense covered in subparagraph (A)(ii), (A)(iii), (B), (C), or (D) of section 237(a)(2) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2));
is deportable under section 237(a)(2)(A)(i) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A)(i)) on the basis of an offense for which the alien has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of at least 1 year; or
is inadmissible under section 212(a)(3)(B) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)) or deportable under section 237(a)(4)(B) (8 U.S.C.1227 (a)(4)(B)).
Criminal Alien Program
The term Criminal Alien Program
means the
Criminal Alien Program required by section 3.
Secretary
The
term Secretary
means the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Criminal Alien Program
Requirement for Criminal Alien Program
The Secretary shall carry out a program
known as the Criminal Alien Program
for the purposes described
in subsection (b).
Purposes
The purposes of the Criminal Alien Program are to—
identify criminal aliens who are incarcerated in a Federal, State, or local correctional facility;
ensure that such aliens are not released into the community upon the alien's release from such incarceration, 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; and
remove such aliens from the United States upon such release.
Technology usage
To carry out the Criminal Alien Program in remote locations, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable—
employ technology, such as videoconferencing in such locations;
utilize mobile access to Federal databases of aliens, such as the Automated Biometric Fingerprint Identification System (IDENT); and
utilize electronic Livescan fingerprinting technology in order to make such resources available to State and local law enforcement agencies in such locations.
Participation by States
In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a State shall not be eligible to receive funds pursuant to a program described in paragraph (2) unless the appropriate officials of such State—
cooperate with the Secretary to carry out the Criminal Alien Program;
expeditiously and systematically identify criminal aliens who are incarcerated in a prison or jail located in such State; and
promptly convey the information collected under subparagraph (B) to the Secretary to carry out the Criminal Alien Program.
Programs
The programs described in this section are any law enforcement grant program carried out by personnel of any element of the Department of Justice, including the program described in section 241(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)).
Other authorities
To assist States in participating in the Criminal Alien Program, appropriate officials of a State—
are authorized to hold an illegal alien for a period of up to 14 days after the date such alien completes a term of incarceration within the State in order to effectuate the transfer of such alien to Federal custody if the alien is removable or not lawfully present in the United States; and
are authorized to issue a detainer that would allow an alien who completes a term of incarceration within the State to be detained by the State prison until personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is able to take the alien into custody.
Evaluation of incarcerated alien populations
The Secretary, acting in conjunction with the Attorney General and the appropriate officials of the States, as appropriate, shall carry out the Criminal Alien Program as follows:
Not later than December 31, 2010, identify each criminal aliens who—
is incarcerated in a Federal correctional facility; and
will be deportable or removable upon release from such incarceration.
Not later than December 31, 2012, identify each criminal alien who—
is incarcerated in State or local correctional facility;
is serving a term of 3 or more years; and
will be deportable or removable upon release from such incarceration.
Redesignation
Section 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1373) is—
redesignated as section 296 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; and
inserted into such Act after section 295 of such Act.
Annual reports to Congress
The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report on the implementation of the Criminal Alien Program and the other provisions of this Act, including the Secretary's progress in meeting the deadlines set out in section 3(e).
March 11, 2008
Read the second time and placed on the calendar