(ConservativeSense.com) – Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas makes a bold proposal to hand out life sentences to any illegal migrants responsible for the death of a Border Patrol agent, as well as other federal penalties.
Cruz introduced a new bill on Wednesday called the Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act. The bill is named after a 38-year-old patrol officer who was killed in a crash at the border last year in Texas while pursuing a suspect. It proposed to designate failure to comply with border patrol officers as a felony, which could result in life in prison if the officer loses their life in the process of trying to apprehend the suspect.
The bill will also require the Justice Department to report the rate and frequency at which illegal border crossers are charged for endangering the lives of Border Patrol agents. Cruz appeared on Fox News to speak about the legislation and noted that “these agents are risking their lives” every day while “serving an administration” that “doesn’t have their backs” and instead undermines them.
Cruz said that people are “killed regularly” in incidents involving traffickers driving truckloads of illegal immigrants engaging in high-speed car chases with Border Patrol and law enforcement officers, resulting in crashes and shootouts. He said such situations are among “the worst consequences” of the border crisis.
The test of the bill makes it a felony to evade Border Patrol officers and could lead to a sentence of up to two years behind bars. If the agent or officer is injured, a sentence of five to 20 years will follow. If the agent or officer dies in pursuit, 10 years to life in prison will be the sentence. Accompanying each offense will be a fine, which could be as high as $250,000.
Cruz doesn’t “expect any Democrats” who are on the Judiciary Committee to get behind the bill, which he said is “a shame because it means… they are prioritizing partisan politics” over protecting life and “the communities” being “ravaged” by “open border policies.” Cruz emphasized the importance of the bill and described the “illegal immigration crisis” as the worst in American history.
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