On Thursday, freshman Congressman Rep. Mark Harris, N-C08, led a group of his Republican colleagues in introducing the No Asylum for Criminals Act. If this legislation becomes law, individuals convicted of a crime in a foreign country will be barred from seeking asylum in the United States.
“Asylum should be reserved for individuals who need it because of persecution – not granted to violent criminals,” said Harris. “After the Biden administration abused the law to intentionally let illegal aliens in our country, it’s clear we need to strengthen asylum law. Allowing convicted felons to enter the U.S. not only risks the safety of American citizens, but it also risks the safety of other asylum seekers and adds to the backlog of claims. That’s why I introduced the No Asylum for Criminals Act to end the abuse of our asylum laws and restore the integrity of our immigration system. We must send a clear message: America is not a refuge for the world’s violent criminals.”
This legislation would “amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien who has been convicted of a crime is ineligible for asylum, and for other purposes,” the bill reads.
The bill, if passed, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act.
According to the current version of the Act, an individual is ineligible for asylum if they meet any of the following exceptions:
- They have been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime and are considered a danger to the U.S. community.
- They committed a serious nonpolitical crime outside the United States before arriving.
- There are reasonable grounds to believe they pose a threat to U.S. security.
- They were firmly resettled in another country before reaching the United States.
The bill is also co-sponsored by Rep. Chuck Edwards, NC-11.
“It’s time we stop importing criminals from across the world into America,” Edwards told the Carolina Journal. “The No Asylum for Criminals Act will help address one of the gaps in a broken immigration system by making sure that no one with a felony or misdemeanor is granted asylum in our country. America is a refuge for those genuinely fleeing persecution, but known criminals should not be allowed to flee one country to cause violence in another.”