Bills
| 3.23.22

Do People Who Repeatedly Enter the Country Illegally Need Longer Prison Sentences? (S. 2193)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is S. 2193?

(Updated May 10, 2019)

This bill would establish federal mandatory minimum prison terms for people who re-enter the U.S. illegally after being deported, denied admission, excluded, or removed. 

Under current law, there is no mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering the U.S. This bill would establish a minimum five year prison term for a person’s second offense.

It also establishes maximum prison sentences for both a first offense, third offenses and all subsequent offenses:

  • The maximum prison term for a first offense would be raised from two to five years.
  • Those with three or more offenses would face a 10-year maximum sentence following all illegal re-entries after the person’s third conviction.
  • A 10-year maximum would also apply if an offender is removed from the country for committing an aggravated felony.

This legislation is known as Kate's Law, named after Kate Steinle, a woman who was murdered in a sanctuary city by an unauthorized immigrant who had been deported five times and had seven felony convictions.

Argument in favor

Longer prison sentences will help deter people who’ve been deported or barred from entering the U.S. from trying to illegally re-enter the country, and keep criminals off the streets.

Argument opposed

Increasing prison terms for people who illegally re-enter the country will only keep U.S. prisons full and cost taxpayers more money to keep repeat offenders incarcerated.

Impact

People who illegally re-enter the U.S. after being deported or barred from entry, their families, U.S. immigration and law enforcement agencies, and the Dept. of Justice.

Cost of S. 2193

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced this legislation to serve as a deterrent to those who’ve illegally re-entered the U.S. after being deported or barred from entering the country:

“Too many Americans have been victimized by illegal aliens who had previously been deported. We must send the message that defiance of our laws will no longer be tolerated.”

This legislation has been referred to as Kate’s Law, and was also introduced to Congress under other guises. It is named for Kate Steinle, a woman who was murdered in a sanctuary city by an unauthorized immigrant who had been deported five times and had seven felony convictions.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: By U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), www.ice.gov. Please credit by saying "Photo Courtesy of ICE". - Image. Raid described in this press release, which is listed here together with the photo. This photo is captioned 'ICE agents with some of the suspects arrested in operation "Night Moves."'. Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by User:Logan using CommonsHelper., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16133898)