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PRESS
RELEASE
For Immediate Release: September 21, 2006
Contact: Christy Grubbs/Abigail Shilling (202) 225-6365
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Forbes’ Gang Bill Passes the House |
Washington, D.C. – Today, with bipartisan support, the House of
Representatives passed H.R. 6094, the Community Protection Act of
2006, by a vote of 328 to 95. The bill includes the Alien Gang
Removal Act, introduced by Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04),
which makes any illegal alien found to be a member of a criminal
gang detainable, deportable and ineligible to receive political
asylum or temporary protected status (TPS).
“We cannot allow our communities to live in fear because of the
actions of illegal aliens involved in criminal gangs. It is time
that we end the abuse of the immigration system and put alien gang
members on the track to deportation,” said Forbes. “The passage of
this bill is a great victory in improving our immigration system.
I’m excited that Congress is taking this step towards ensuring the
safety of our communities and tightening the security of our
borders.”
The Community Protection Act of 2006 :
• Allows the Department of Homeland Security the authority to detain
dangerous alien gang members;
• Ensures the removal of criminal aliens by using the same expedited
procedures available for the removal of aggravated felons;
• Combats alien gang crime by making alien gang members subject to
detention and deportation, and ineligible for receiving political
asylum or TPS.
Presently, many illegal immigrants detained by the Department of
Homeland security are unable to be deported for a variety of
reasons, and alien gang members who have been granted TPS cannot be
returned to their native country without first being convicted of a
criminal offense. This legislation would expand the grounds for
detaining and deporting aliens who are members of criminal gangs.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, there are currently over
25,000 gangs and over 750,000 gang members who are active in more
than 3,000 jurisdictions across the United States. Gang activity has
been directly linked to the narcotics trade, human trafficking,
identification document falsification, violent maiming and assault,
and the use of firearms to commit deadly shootings. For more
information on the bill visit
www.house.gov/forbes.
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