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- Utah Sen. Mike Lee has introduced legislation meant to prevent certain immigrants suspected of federal crimes from fleeing the country before they can be tried.
- The proposal targets immigrants in the country illegally facing felony charges and class A misdemeanors in federal court.
- Under the change, impacted immigrants "shall be presumed" to be flight risks, the legislation reads.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Sen. Mike Lee wants to make it tougher for immigrants in the country illegally who face federal charges to secure release from detention pending resolution of their cases.
The Republican lawmaker introduced legislation Thursday, the Flight Risk Reduction Act, meant to prevent such suspects "from fleeing and failing to appear for trial," his office said in a statement. His statement cited the case of a man from Peru arrested Monday in Salt Lake City on suspicion of rape.
"Our communities are unsafe when non-U.S. citizens exploit loopholes to escape our justice system and continually break our laws," Lee said in a statement. The proposal, he went on, "ensures courts have the necessary power to detain noncitizen criminals before trial, unless they can prove they are not a flight risk."
The change wouldn't apply to legal permanent residents.
The suspect in the rape case, Julio Arroyo Mendoza, 39, told investigators that he's from Peru and that he planned to return to the country, according to a police booking statement. Arroyo Mendoza, who hasn't been formally charged as of Friday, is an Uber driver and is accused of raping a woman he was transporting. The affidavit doesn't specify the man's migratory status.
Lee's proposal would give federal prosecutors more leeway to seek detention of immigrants here illegally for a broader range of crimes — any federal felony or class A misdemeanor. The law already gives prosecutors leeway to seek detention of suspects, regardless of migratory status, charged with certain serious and violent crimes.
Moreover, it would make it tougher for impacted immigrants to make the case why they aren't a flight risk when a judge is considering prosecutors' requests for detention.
If a suspect isn't a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, the proposed legislative change reads, "it shall be presumed that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community, subject to rebuttal by the person by clear and convincing evidence."
Family ties in the United States or U.S. employment "shall not be grounds" to rebut the presumption such suspects are a flight risk, the proposed legislation says.
Lee charged that more than 150,000 immigrants in the country illegally "skipped their criminal hearings in 2023," during the administration of President Joe Biden. That, the senator said, is eight times the rate before Biden took office.
The measure has 11 Republican co-sponsors in the Senate. Several of them touted the measure as a means of protecting U.S. citizens.
"It should be common sense that an illegal alien facing federal charges poses a flight risk and a danger to the community and should never be released on bail," said U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, from Tennessee.
"We need to put the safety of Americans first," said Sen. Josh Hawley, from Missouri. "It's time to close the loopholes illegal aliens use to exploit our judicial system and get back on the street, which endangers Americans."
