WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan introduced legislation to ensure that violent criminal illegals are immediately deported and never allowed to enter the country again. Buchanan’s Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act prohibits aliens in criminal gangs from entering the U.S. and ensures they are eligible for immediate deportation if they are already here. The legislation also disqualifies these dangerous individuals from receiving asylum or temporary protected status (TPS).
“Violent criminal illegals have no place in our country,” said Buchanan. “If the Biden administration had been doing its job, Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray and countless others murdered by criminal illegals would still be alive. Congress needs to pass my Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act to make sure violent criminal illegals are immediately deported and never allowed to enter our country again.”
Buchanan’s bill is cosponsored by Reps. Riley Moore and Randy Weber.
In order to protect Americans from violent gangs, the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act ensures that alien gang members are kept off our streets by barring them from entering the U.S. in the first place and detaining and deporting them if they are already here and found to be members of a criminal gang or participate in gang activity. Currently, it is not possible to deport gang members until they are convicted of an independent crime.
Additionally, the bill ensures that criminal alien gang members are not eligible for immigration benefits, such as asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, and temporary protected status (TPS), which are reserved for those around the world most in need of protection.
In Fiscal Year 2024, U.S. Border Patrol arrested over 17,000 illegal aliens with criminal convictions, up nearly 700% since Fiscal Year 2020. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) makes thousands of gang-related arrests annually. ICE reportedly arrested more than 10,000 known or suspected gang members in Fiscal Year 2018, including more than 2,000 MS-13 gang members.
Buchanan’s legislation is supported by NumbersUSA, a leading immigration policy group.
“Rep. Buchanan’s legislation will assist with removing criminal gang members, many of which streamed in by the thousands during the Biden/Harris Administration, into our country. As a nation our goal should be as close to zero people crossing our borders illegally and we should especially have no tolerance for criminal gang members entering America illegally,” said a spokesperson for NumbersUSA.
Buchanan is a national leader in the fight to protect Americans from dangerous illegal aliens. In January 2025, he introduced the Protecting Our Communities from Sexual Predators Act (H.R. 134), which ensures illegal aliens convicted of sexual assault are detained, deported and permanently banned from the United States. He was a cosponsor of the Laken Riley Act (H.R. 29), which President Trump signed into law to detain illegal aliens arrested for burglary.
