Keating Introduces Bill Requiring ICE to Register Sex Offenders Within Its Custody

Press Release

Last week, Congressman Bill Keating introduced legislation to remedy a loophole that allows the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release convicted sex offenders from their custody without registering them in accordance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

The bill, titled the Prevent Repeat Offenders Act of 2015, requires ICE to handle and register convicted sex offenders in the same manner as required by the federal Bureau of Prisons, including notifying local authorities.

"This is common sense legislation at its most basic," said Rep. Keating. "As a former law enforcement official myself, I was stunned to learn of this discrepancy. If we require the Bureau of Prisons to register convicted sex offenders when they are released, why would we not impose the same standard on ICE regarding convicted offenders in their custody? My legislation will ensure that local law enforcement and members of the community have the same information about a criminal released by ICE that they now have regarding a prisoner released by the federal Bureau of Prisons."

There is no existing legal requirement for ICE to notify State, local, or tribal law enforcement officers or sex offender registry authorities of the release of sex offenders within its custody. Nor is there such a requirement for ICE to ensure that sex offenders are registered on a national registry.

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