Deport migrants who assault police, says New Jersey Rep.

⭕ Migrants continue to be bussed into New Jersey

⭕ Assaults on police in New York prompt calls for immigration reforms

⭕ New Jersey congressman says an attack on law enforcement should mean immediate deportation

A New Jersey congressman is leading efforts to reform U.S. immigration laws to automatically deport any migrant who is charged with assaulting a police officer.

There is no reason that an illegal alien who attacks our law enforcement should remain in our country - Rep. Jeff Van Drew

The amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act was prompted by an incident in New York City where several migrants attacked police officers. Video shows several men kicking officers who had subdued another man on the street.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ2) is the sponsor of the Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault Cops Act.

"There is no reason that an illegal alien who attacks our law enforcement should remain in our country," Van Drew said in a statement, "That shows zero respect for our rule of law or our institutions, and they will not be positive contributors to society."

Van Drew's bill would require that federal law enforcement detain these individuals until they are deported from the country. It would also create a new category for migrant inadmissibility, which specifically bars illegal aliens from remaining in the U.S. after having been charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admitting to committing assault against law enforcement officers.

"Our police put their lives on the line every day to keep our citizens safe," Van Drews says, "You do not get to break our law by crossing the border illegally, attack those whose job is to protect and defend the public, and then expect to stay in the United States. Unfortunately, until our borders are closed and secured, these types of laws are necessary to protect our nation and its citizens."

Incident that prompted legislation

On January 27, 2024, NYPD officers attempted to disperse a group of men outside a migrant shelter who were blocking a sidewalk. Police say everyone in the group dispersed except 24-year-old Yohenry Brito, who got confrontational with police.

When police attempted to subdue Brito, the rest of the men returned to the scene and started brawling with police.

Brito was taken into custody, and remains jailed on $15,000 bail.

Since the incident, more video has been released by investigators that seems to contradict what the NYPD initially said was the cause of the incident.

New York's Police Reform Organizing Project has questioned why police confronted the men in the first place, and claims video released by the Manhattan District Attorney's office "is not what was portrayed or presented when we first got the story."

Migrant crisis yields calls for reform

While Republicans have been calling for tighter immigration controls for years, the incident in New York City has prompted sharp reaction from Democrats.

Mayor Eric Adams, whose city has been overrun by busloads of migrants arriving from the southern border, has been asking for federal help to stop the flow and better police the migrants that are being housed in New York.

New York Gov. Governor Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, said all the men seen in the video should be rounded up and sent back across the border.

Migrants in New Jersey

New Jersey has also been dealing with an influx of migrants arriving by bus.

Gov. Phil Murphy has refused to provide any specific details, including how many have remained in New Jersey, what the state is doing to provide care and how much it has cost taxpayers.

Murphy has asked bus companies to notify New Jersey of their arrival times in the Garden State and provide details about how many migrants are on the bus, but not information about their legal status to be in the U.S.

Earlier this month, Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ7) posted on X (formerly Twitter) he was very concerned about migrants arriving in his district.

"The ongoing influx of unvetted illegal migrants being bused in New Providence, Fanwood, and now Westfield is deeply troubling," Kean wrote.

The Mayor of Westfield hit back at Kean, posting her town has had "ZERO issues with the few migrant buses that came thru Westfield."

Mayor Shelley Brindle, a Democrat, accused Kean of "TRUMPing up the security risks to our towns."

While Brindle claims there are no issues with migrants in Westfield, other mayors who have seen migrant arrivals in their towns have a different view.

Edison Mayor Sam Joshi, a Democrat, says his town does not have the resources to deal with an influx of migrants. In January, Joshi took to Facebook and vowed to send any migrant busses right back to the southern border.

Much of the division among state, local and federal officials is due to the lack of hard information about migrant arrivals, their status and their intent once they are here.

That is why, Rep. Van Drew says, reforms to federal laws are needed.

"Unfortunately, until our borders are closed and secured, these types of laws are necessary to protect our nation and its citizens," Van Drew said.

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