Republican North Carolina Rep. Brad Knott aims to deter criminal illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. through legislation imposing stricter consequences, telling the Daily Caller in an exclusive interview that his message is, “Don’t come here to harm Americans.”
Knott’s bill, the “Punishing Illegal Immigrant Felons Act,” would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to impose tougher prison sentences — up to 10 years — for illegal immigrants convicted of felonies prior to deportation.
Knott previously served as a former federal prosecutor and has firsthand experience prosecuting organized crime. (RELATED: Here’s How Schools Are Catering To Illegal Immigrants While Avoiding Federal Scrutiny)
“That means that to really hammer people who are here to harm Americans through crime … you have to catch them committing a crime after they are here illegally or after they return illegally,” Knott explained.
“There’s two functions. It is a deterrent. These illegals would be very, very apt not to come back if they knew they’d be locked up mandatory,” he said.
Knott outlined the second function by posing the question, “How do you protect society?”
“When the people do come back it’s not an 8-month sentence and they’re released,” Knott said. “It is you plucking them away for a long, long time — and in the message: Don’t come here to harm Americans.”
Knott’s bill was introduced just days after “The Dignity Act,” a bill introduced by fellow Republican Rep. Maria Salazar that includes a path to citizenship or legal status for some illegal immigrants who arrived prior to the start of the Biden administration. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Caller in response to a question about the Dignity Act, “The president has made it very clear: he will not support amnesty for illegal aliens in any way.”
“Number one, I’m against amnesty,” Knott agreed. “But number two, in historical context, whenever you dangle the carrot without getting the stick right, there’s a massive incentive to come up illegally.”
“We can’t have that,” he asserted. “We have to deter illegal immigration.”
Knott stipulated that illegal immigration affects nearly every part of American life, including healthcare, public safety, housing, entitlements and education. (RELATED: ICE Will Reportedly Track Migrants Using Huge Trove Of Medicaid Data)
There are an estimated 995,000 immigrants in North Carolina, including 562,000 who are non-citizens, and among those an estimated 325,000 who are in the country illegally, according to data from a North Carolina Budget and Tax Center report.
North Carolina has more illegal aliens living in the state than border states New Mexico and Arizona combined.
“North Carolina is no outlier. They have crippling problems because of illegal immigration just like every other state in the country,” Knott explained. “I don’t know of any state that doesn’t have that and it’s 100% avoidable. That’s the tragedy of it.”
Knott also explained how his legislation differs from the Laken Riley Act — which mandates the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain non-citizens arrested for certain crimes and allows states to sue the federal government over immigration enforcement failures. His bill is “more broad” and “front-ended,” he noted.
He went on to clarify his stance on whether current apprehensions are strong enough to stop re-entry, noting that his bill is just one part of a broader enforcement toolkit.
“Am I bullish that just the apprehensions will get rid of the problem? No,” he answered.
“It’s a necessary cog in the wheel, but the worst criminals are the most calculating and they are the smartest in terms of embedding themselves in a very benign setting,” he continued. “I prosecuted cleaning ladies. That sounds harsh, but when you raid a cleaning lady’s house and she has millions of dollars hidden away in the floorboards … she didn’t make that cleaning houses.”
Knott further clarified that based on his experience the illegal immigration issue in the United States isn’t as clear as people make it out to be.(RELATED: Trump DHS Lists More Criminal Illegals It Nabbed In LA Raids)
“In today’s political discourse, the Tik Tok-ing of America, people break down the immigration issue in black and white,” he said. “You’re either a hardened criminal or you’re a benefit to the country.”
“It’s not clear at all in that,” he concluded.
