The BE GONE Act (Senate 1517) — or Better Enforcement of Grievous Offenses by un-Naturalized Emigrants Act — was reintroduced this week in Congress by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst. U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), of Brookhaven, is an original cosponsor of the bill.

“Supporters of the Biden open border policies downplay the violence associated with allowing illegal immigrants to surge across the border, but there have been numerous recorded instances of sexual violence committed by these criminals across the country,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. “The fact that our main immigration law does not currently make sexual violence a deportable offense is a glaring issue that must be corrected immediately.”

The BE GONE Act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to explicitly include sexual assault and other forms of aggravated sexual violence as a disqualifying crime for foreign applicants for residence in the United States, and deportable for non-citizen resident immigrants. It would make a conviction of an aggravated felony grounds for barring entry into the United States, deportation, and deprivation of other immigration-related benefits.

Hyde-Smith, who has traveled to the southern border, has consistently supported legislation to tighten the nation’s immigration laws to more effectively target criminal illegal aliens. This includes the Laken Riley Act, which President Trump signed into law earlier this year.