The Be Gone Act would force the deportation of immigrant sex offenders

There are currently more than 15,000 illegal immigrants roaming the United States with sexual assault convictions. And a new Republican-backed bill would force ICE to track and deport them.

The bill, called the “Be Gone Act,” comes after the acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief told Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales last week that there are more than 600,000 migrants with criminal convictions in the U.S.

This includes those who were allowed entry despite having committed crimes in their home countries, as well as migrants who were convicted here.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced the bill Tuesday to expedite the deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of sexual assault and aggravated sexual violence, according to bill text first obtained by The Post.

“These violent criminals would never have entered America if we had real border security, but now that they are in our communities, they must be GONE,” Ernst said in a statement shared with the Post.

“Since Border Czar Kamala Harris will not protect this country, I will. “My legislation will combat sexual violence by ensuring perpetrators are identified, stopped and deported,” she added.

It is not clear how many of the 15,000 convicted migrants entered the U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration, when illegal border crossings reached record levels and authorities were forced to expel an unprecedented number of them into the U.S. with little or no vetting to release.

It is also not known how many of those convicted are in the custody of another law enforcement agency or how many are on the streets.

According to federal data, more than 8,000 of the approximately 37,000 migrants currently in ICE custody are convicted criminals.

They are often held pending the outcome of appeals and other immigration court proceedings. Or in the case of Venezuelans and others: They are being held because their home countries are currently not accepting deportation flights.

Meanwhile, ICE says a major obstacle in its efforts to detain illegal migrants convicted of crimes is sanctuary laws that prevent local jurisdictions from communicating with the agency’s officials.

“ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions fear that cooperation with federal immigration authorities will undermine trust in immigrant communities and make it more difficult for local law enforcement to serve these populations,” Patrick Lechleitner, acting director of ICE, wrote to Gonzales .

“However, ‘safe zone’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals who often prey on the same communities.”

In addition to the migrants convicted of sex crimes, ICE also revealed that about 13,000 migrants who are not in custody are convicted murderers.

According to the Congressional Research Service, under the Biden-Harris administration, illegal border crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border reached their highest level, with more than 2.2 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2022, which ran from October 2021 to September 2022 since records began.

However, in June, migrant encounters fell to their lowest level under the Biden-Harris administration. The Border Patrol recorded about 83,000 illegal border crossings after new federal restrictions on asylum access at the border were implemented.

According to the Associated Press, the Biden-Harris administration tightened the rule on Monday, saying illegal border crossings would have to average below 1,500 per day for migrants to avoid deportation. Previously, the rule called for restrictions to remain in place until illegal border crossings averaged 1,500 per day for a week.