Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., has proposed legislation that would tighten U.S. immigration enforcement by cracking down on sanctuary cities, enhancing federal penalties against illegal aliens, and increasing protections for law enforcement officers.
Schmitt's Protect America Act has four key planks: permanently ending cities that have declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal aliens, enhancing penalties for illegal entry and reentry, protecting law enforcement, and defunding rogue nongovernmental organizations.
"The rule of law is central to our Constitutional order," Schmitt said Thursday in a statement.
"A nation that does not enforce its immigration laws cannot effectively protect its people. ... To secure our future, we must enforce our laws," the statement continued.
"The American people deserve no less."
On the Senate floor Wednesday, Schmitt linked the bill directly to his broader critique of existing border policies and the consequences he said they have had for public safety and national sovereignty.
"There is a war on the rule of law itself. It is the 'mobocratic spirit' that Lincoln spoke of in 1838," he said.
"Some of the Democratic Party politicians in this city might want to pretend that's not what's going on here, but their friends on the streets out there are very clear about what this is all about," Schmitt continued.
"This war is organized, coordinated, and actively aided and abetted by local and state authorities across the country."
The bill's framework reflects a hard-line Republican approach to immigration enforcement that emphasizes strict border control and punitive measures for unlawful entry.
Schmitt's plan rejects catch-and-release policies by reclassifying illegal entry as a felony with mandatory detention and significant minimum prison terms for repeat violators.
Schmitt also contended the legislation would "double the criminal penalty for assaulting federal law enforcement" and expand crimes to include interference with federal officers carrying out their duties.
It would further empower the government to revoke the nonprofit status of NGOs that the senator says incite or finance violence against law enforcement.
During his prepared floor remarks, Schmitt framed his legislative push against what he described as ideological policies that undermine the rule of law and societal order.
He invoked the term "suicidal empathy" to characterize policies he said tolerate unchecked immigration in the name of compassion.
He cited multiple cases of violent crimes involving illegal aliens in arguing for a tougher federal stance, evoking the names of Rachel Morin, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Laken Riley.
"The radicals on the streets of Minneapolis — and their comrades in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland [Oregon] — are not driven by 'empathy' in any meaningful sense of the term," Schmitt said.
"These are not bleeding-heart humanitarians, paralyzed by an overwhelming concern for the welfare of mankind," he continued.
"Quite the opposite: Their sphere of moral concern is vanishingly small, and it is reserved exclusively for those who can be used as instruments for their political goals," Schmitt said.
"They don't care about what is just. They care about what is useful," he continued.
"They wield the language of decency and compassion as a political weapon."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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