Schmitt Unveils Hardline Immigration Bill Targeting Sanctuary Cities, Law Enforcement, and NGOs
YUMA, ARIZONA - MAY 11: Immigrants seeking asylum, who were apprehended at the time Title 42 expire, board a bus to a U.S. Border Patrol processing center, after crossing into Arizona from Mexico, on May 11, 2023 in Yuma, Arizona. A surge of immigrants is expected with today's end of the U.S. government's Covid-era Title 42 policy, which for the past three years has allowed for the quick expulsion of irregular migrants entering the country. About 25,000 immigrants are currently in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection with the sunset of the policy tonight. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., has proposed legislation that would tighten U.S. immigration enforcement by cracking down on sanctuary cities, enhancing federal penalties against illegal aliens, and increasing protections for law enforcement officers.
Schmitt’s Protect America Act includes four key provisions: permanently ending cities that have declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal aliens, imposing stricter penalties for illegal entry and reentry, strengthening law enforcement safeguards, and defunding rogue nongovernmental organizations.
“The rule of law is central to our Constitutional order,” Schmitt stated Thursday in a press release. “A nation that does not enforce its immigration laws cannot effectively protect its people. To secure our future, we must enforce our laws. The American people deserve no less.”
On the Senate floor Wednesday, Schmitt directly linked his bill to his broader critique of current border policies and their perceived threats to public safety and national sovereignty. “There is a war on the rule of law itself,” he declared. “It is the ‘mobocratic spirit’ that Lincoln spoke of in 1838.”
Schmitt accused local and state authorities nationwide of orchestrating and supporting what he described as an active campaign against federal immigration enforcement. His legislation would reclassify illegal entry as a felony with mandatory detention and substantial prison terms for repeat offenders, double criminal penalties for assaulting law enforcement, and expand crimes to include interference with officers performing duties.
The bill also authorizes revocation of nonprofit status for organizations the senator claims incite or finance violence against federal personnel. During his floor remarks, Schmitt condemned policies he labeled “suicidal empathy,” arguing they tolerate unchecked immigration in the name of compassion while ignoring violent incidents involving illegal aliens. He referenced specific cases—including those of Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Laken Riley—to underscore his stance.
“The radicals on the streets of Minneapolis — and their comrades in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland [Oregon] — are not driven by ‘empathy’ in any meaningful sense,” Schmitt said. “Their sphere of moral concern is vanishingly small, reserved exclusively for those who can be used as instruments for political goals.” He added, “They don’t care about what is just. They care about what is useful. They wield the language of decency and compassion as a political weapon.”
