Protecting our Communities from Sexual Predators Act
Protecting our Communities from Sexual Predators Act
Plain Language Summary
# Protecting our Communities from Sexual Predators Act – Summary **What the Bill Would Do:** This bill requires the Department of Justice to automatically detain non-U.S. citizens who are arrested for sexual assault crimes. It also makes sexual assault convictions an automatic grounds for deportation and bars convicted individuals from entering the United States. The law would apply to people who are in the country illegally or who obtained their immigration status through misrepresentation. **Who It Affects:** The bill primarily targets non-U.S.
citizens arrested or convicted of sexual assault crimes. It could affect immigrants at various stages—those unlawfully present, those going through the admission process, and those already in the country facing sexual assault charges. **Key Provision:** The main requirement is mandatory detention of non-citizens arrested for sexual assault (rather than allowing case-by-case detention decisions), and automatic deportation grounds upon conviction for such crimes. **Current Status:** The bill is currently in committee and has not yet been voted on by Congress. It was introduced in the 119th Congress by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL).
CRS Official Summary
Protecting our Communities from Sexual Predators ActThis bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to detain certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who have been arrested for sexual assault. The bill also provides for the inadmissibility and deportability of certain individuals convicted of sexual assault.Under this bill, the DOJ must detain an individual who (1) is unlawfully present in the United States, made certain misrepresentations, or did not possess the necessary documents when applying for admission; and (2) has been charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admits to having committed acts which constitute the essential elements of, an offense involving sexual assault.The bill also establishes under statute that a conviction for certain crimes related to sexual assault shall be grounds for (1) barring an individual from entering the United States, and (2) deportability. (Under current law, convictions for certain crimes, including crimes involving moral turpitude, are grounds for inadmissibility and deportability.)
Latest Action
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.