Republican senators led by U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, introduced a bill that would require illegal foreign nationals who assault law enforcement officers to be deported.
The Protect Our Law Enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act of 2025 would strengthen federal law by specifying that assaulting a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or other first responders is a deportable offense.
The two-page bill states, “Any alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of, any offense involving assault of a law enforcement officer is deportable.”
It stipulates that the law enforcement officer would have been assaulted performing official duties or simply for being a law enforcement officer. It also would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to annually report to Congress the number of illegal foreign nationals who were deported who assaulted a police officer.
Budd filed the bill after a Wake County deputy sheriff was killed in the line of duty “by illegal aliens who should have never been in this country,” he said.
“One of the best ways we can support law enforcement officers, and protect the public, is by deporting dangerous people who do them harm,” Budd said. “If a migrant commits the crime of assaulting an officer or other first responder, they should be subject to immediate deportation. Our lawmakers must always back the men and women who protect and serve our communities. We must act on this vital proposal.”
Budd previously filed the bill in the 118th Congress and twice pushed for it to be passed in the Senate. Both times he was blocked by Senate Democrats, including by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT, who called the bill “nothing.”
“I believe that if an illegal alien commits the crime of assaulting a police officer, he or she must be subject to immediate deportation. Any senator who claims to support the police should have no problem supporting my amendment,” Budd said last year when the language from his bill was added to a funding package but blocked by Democrats.
U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-NY, filed a similar bill in the U.S. House in 2023, which passed with bipartisan support.
“As the Biden Border Crisis rages on, I have serious concerns about the ramifications for law enforcement officers who are on the front lines dealing with migrants,” he said when he filed the bill. “Whether on Long Island or at the southern border, there should be no ambiguity that assaulting a police officer is a deportable offense for non-citizens. The POLICE Act would ensure that we can hold criminals accountable for violence against law enforcement officers who are simply doing their jobs.”
Garbarino filed the bill after two law enforcement officers were injured when responding to a disturbance at MercyFirst, where roughly 50 unaccompanied minor illegal border crossers were placed on Long Island. One officer suffered a concussion and the other a broken hand.
The bills have multiple Republican cosponsors in the U.S. Senate and House.
Police officers continue to be assaulted by illegal border crossers nationwide, including by violent Venezuelan gang members released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. Several made headlines last year after assaulting New York Police Department officers and a judge released them shortly after they were arrested and charged.
“When illegal aliens commit violent crimes against a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or first responder, they must be held fully accountable and be swiftly deported,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX, a cosponsor of the bill, said, adding that it’s “commonsense legislation.”
Cruz also filed a bill to increase penalties for those who target law enforcement officers after Texas lost the most officers in the line of duty last year, The Center Square reported. The bill adds provisions to be considered when deciding whether to impose the death penalty in a federal charge, including the defendant killing or attempting to kill state and local police officers, firefighters and other first responders.
