{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/crapo-risch-inhofe-introduce-bill-to-close-catch-and-release-loophole", "Crapo, Risch, Inhofe Introduce Bill to Close \"Catch and Release\" Loophole", "2022-06-13", "2022", "2022-06", "Republican", "Senate", "ID", "Mike Crapo", "C000880", "www.crapo.senate.gov", "crapo", "https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (both R-Idaho) joined Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) in introducing the Keep Our Communities Safe Act, legislation that would close the legal loophole that requires immigration authorities to release back into the United States illegal aliens who have not been accepted for deportation to other countries after being detained for six months \u2013 a practice also referred to as \"catch and release.\"\n\n\u201cThe historic number of encounters at the southern border can in part be attributed to the dangerous \u2018catch and release\u2019 loophole that enables violent criminals who are here illegally to disappear into our communities,\u201d said Risch. \u201cOur inability to detain criminal aliens and failure to protect the American people is unacceptable. I\u2019m proud to join my colleague from Oklahoma in introducing this common sense legislation.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe fact that this year is on pace to far exceed the record-breaking number of illegal border crossings from last year is alarming and intolerable,\u201d Crapo said. \u201cWe must close this loophole and protect national security by enforcing all immigration laws to ensure the safety of American citizens.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur immigration system is broken and President Biden won\u2019t acknowledge the crisis we are facing at the southern border,\u201d Inhofe said. \u201cThat\u2019s why my colleagues and I introduced the Keep Our Communities Safe Act this week. This legislation would close the \u2018catch-and-release\u2019 loophole, which puts law abiding citizens, local law enforcement officials and communities at risk. Our bill will ensure that illegal aliens who have been found guilty of violent crimes and aggravated felonies are not able to remain in our communities. As the current law stands, an illegal alien with a criminal record is released back into the United States after six months if no other country accepts them for deportation. This bill is a commonsense solution and it\u2019s time for it to become law.\u201d\n\nThe Keep Our Communities Safe Act closes the loophole that prevents DHS from detaining non-removable immigrants beyond the current Supreme Court-mandated six months in these specific situations:\n\nThe alien will be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future;\n\nThe alien would have been removed but for the alien\u2019s refusal to make all reasonable efforts to comply and cooperate with the Secretary\u2019s efforts to remove him;\n\nThe alien has a highly contagious disease;\n\nRelease would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences;\n\nRelease would threaten national security; or\n\nRelease would threaten the safety of the community and the alien either is an aggravated felon or has committed a crime of violence.\n\nAdditional cosponsors of the Keep Our Communities Safe Act include Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:13:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.crapo.senate.gov/media/newsreleases/crapo-risch-inhofe-introduce-bill-to-close-catch-and-release-loophole"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8122138679027557, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}