Cotton, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Report Illegal Alien Attempts to Purchase Firearms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
April 19, 2024

Cotton, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Report Illegal Alien Attempts to Purchase Firearms

Washington, D.C. - Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), along with Senators Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cynthia Lummis, (R-Wyoming), and John Boozman (R-Arkansas), today introduced the Illegal Alien NICS Alert Act. The legislation would require the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement (ICE) and relevant local law enforcement when an illegal alien tries to purchase a gun.

"Those who come into America illegally should be detained and deported. They certainly shouldn't be able to purchase a firearm. Our bill is necessary to ensure the proper authorities are notified when an illegal immigrant attempts to buy a gun," said Senator Cotton.

"The National Instant Criminal Background Check system is an important tool to ensure firearms stay out of the wrong hands, which is why I co-introduced the Fix NICS Act. It is already against the law for an illegal immigrant to purchase a firearm, and this legislation would notify the appropriate authorities when an illegal immigrant tries to break the law," said Senator Tillis.

"Our local law enforcement and immigration officials should have the tools to know if folks are in our country illegally. Instead of taking every opportunity to crack down on lawful FFLs just trying to earn a living, the Biden administration should capitalize on their dutiful work by using their resources to prevent unlawful actions by illegal immigrants. In the face of the border crisis of its own making, President Biden's priorities again are out of touch. This bill will help officials do their job and keep our communities safe," saidSenator Ernst.

"I have no confidence in this administration's willingness or ability to prevent illegal aliens from unlawfully entering our country, let alone in preventing them from illegally obtaining a firearm," said Senator Lummis. "If this administration refuses to enforce our existing immigration laws, we must empower law enforcement and immigration officials to hold them accountable and take appropriate action to keep our communities safe."

"Alerting the proper authorities when illegal immigrants seek to obtain firearms is commonsense. I'm proud to join Senator Cotton and our colleagues on this legislation to help protect our communities," said Senator Boozman.

Bill text may be found here.

Background:

• When a person tries to buy a firearm from a store, the firearm seller, known as a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), contacts the NICS to conduct a background check. That background check verifies the buyer is not ineligible to purchase or own a firearm.
• The FBI maintains a record of prohibited persons which currently includes the names of 14.8 million illegal aliens. NICS is not, however, required to notify immigration authorities if an applicant is in the country illegally.
• Since November 30, 1998, NICS has issued denials for 49,411 attempted firearm purchases by illegal aliens.

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