Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today introduced the Securing Active and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Act; two-pronged legislation that maintains protections for those qualifying for the current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and also ensures the rapid and effective deportation of criminal aliens convicted of serious and violent crimes.  

Under DACA, a person brought to the United States as a child – who has not been convicted of a crime and otherwise poses no threat to national security or public safety – may request deferred action of removal proceedings for a period of two years, subject to renewal. To ensure that enforcement resources are focused on high priority cases, the SAFE Act allows the individual to stay in the United States for three years.

Additionally, the SAFE Act includes language from Flake and Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) Criminal Alien Deportation Act that would put an end to the Obama Administration’s policy of releasing illegal immigrants with pending criminal charges from prison. Specifically, it requires Department of Homeland Security officials to detain undocumented immigrants arrested or convicted of serious crimes and deport them within 90 days.

“The SAFE Act seeks to make it safe for Dreamers and safe for Arizonans. It threads the needle between compassion for those brought into the U.S. illegally through no fault of their own and swift justice for dangerous foreign criminals,” said Flake. “I believe we should protect these Dreamers just as we need to expedite the deportation of those criminal aliens who are a threat to the safety and security of Arizonans.”

Background:

• Today, Flake also co-sponsored Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act. The BRIDGE Act would provide temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to young undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children.

• In July 2015, Flake and McCain introduced the Criminal Alien Deportation Act following the shooting of 21-year-old QuikTrip clerk Grant Ronnebeck of Mesa, Arizona by an illegal immigrant who had been prematurely released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite having been previously convicted of a felony as he awaited the outcome of his deportation proceeding. In addition, 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle was fatally shot in San Francisco, California by an undocumented immigrant with seven felony convictions who had been released due to a law that deemed him ineligible for extended detention.

• According to DHS, between 2010 and 2014, 122 undocumented immigrants who were released from prison while awaiting deportation trials were later charged with homicides.

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