U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt-R, Missouri, introduced several ideas dealing with immigration.
Schmitt said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents should not be required to identify themselves, arguing that ICE officers are already targeted and harassed — and that such a requirement would only make that worse.
“No one would demand this of narcotics officers, counter-terrorism agents, or fugitive task forces, because we understand that exposing law enforcement to retaliation is sabotage,” Schmitt said last week in the U.S. Senate.
Schmitt said he wants to end sanctuary cities permanently, arguing that sanctuary policies are “acts of defiance.”
“They announce openly that federal law will be ignored within certain jurisdictions and that those who violate immigration law will be protected from its consequences,” said Schmitt. “This creates A two-tiered system, one set of rules for citizens and lawful residents and another for those who enter or remain illegally.”
Schmitt is also calling for tougher penalties on people who enter or reenter the country illegally, and said that under current law, entering the United States illegally is only a misdemeanor.
“It’s time to increase that penalty and make it a felony,” said Schmitt. “And for illegal re-entry, we’re going to meet that lawless behavior with swift, predictable consequences for that violation.”
Schmitt said he wants tougher penalties for anyone who attacks ICE agents, introducing his legislation that would make those consequences more severe.
“Law must protect those who uphold it or will not be upheld at all,” said Schmitt. “We must pass my ‘Protect and Respect ICE Act’ that increases federal penalties for assaulting ICE agents. But we must also be serious about interference and escalation tactics that are becoming more common.”
As part of his proposal, it would double the federal penalties for assaulting, resisting, or impeding an ICE officer — increasing the maximum prison term and fines under federal law for anyone convicted of attacking an agent.
Meanwhile in Missouri, State Rep. Ray Reed-D, St. Louis, has introduced a bill that would require ICE agents operating in the state to clearly identify themselves, a proposal he told Missourinet is aimed at improving transparency and public safety.
Missouri Congressman Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis, has pushed back on federal immigration tactics, recently saying “ICE should leave Minneapolis” and warning that masked, unidentified agents “put public safety at risk.”
State Sen. Barbara Washington, D-Kansas City, has pushed back on efforts to increase criminal penalties for people without legal status, warning that such proposals encourage profiling based on “skin color or English proficiency” and fail to address “real issues.”
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