House and Senate Republicans are rallying around a comprehensive immigration reform agenda, with hopes that former President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2025 could facilitate their plans.

Several high-profile GOP lawmakers, named by the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) as “congressional champions of interior enforcement,” are leading initiatives aimed at tightening federal immigration laws and ramping up deportations.

The NICE honorees include Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), as well as Representatives Mark Green (R-TN), Byron Donalds (R-FL), and Troy Nehls (R-TX), who have been recognized for advancing legislation that emphasizes enforcement of immigration policies within the U.S.

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“Fortunately for the American people, many Republicans, especially these five lawmakers, have worked tirelessly to usher in a return to the integrity of our laws and push back against the vilification of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s mission and its agents,” NICE President RJ Hauman stated.

At the center of the reform effort is the Reshape ATD Act, led by Senator Hagerty and Rep. Donalds, with the goal of facilitating large-scale deportations.

This bill is co-sponsored by Senators Cruz and Nehls and is structured to expand existing enforcement tools within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), enabling authorities to locate, detain, and deport illegal aliens more effectively.

Hagerty accused the Biden-Harris administration of transforming DHS “from an agency that protects Americans into the antithesis of that — a social services agency for illegal aliens.”

He further outlined that a Republican-led White House and Senate would prioritize returning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to its “statutory mission,” through policies like the Reshape ATD Act.

The proposed act would require ICE to utilize all available detention resources and halt spending on what Hagerty described as “luxury accommodations for illegal aliens” under the current administration’s Shelter and Services Program.

Additionally, the proposed legislation seeks to eliminate sanctuary cities and expand resources for ICE to ensure the detention and removal of criminal illegal aliens from communities.

Hagerty noted that in 2022, every Senate Democrat opposed measures to remove criminal aliens when he introduced it for a vote, a stance that Republicans plan to challenge in upcoming sessions.

Rep. Green, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, has advocated for a significant increase in ICE’s detention capacity, emphasizing the surge of illegal border crossings since Joe Biden and Harris took office.

According to Green, the committee intends to focus on enforcing accountability within the Biden administration for what he describes as “open borders, anti-enforcement policies.”

Hauman, on behalf of NICE, voiced concerns over what he described as the administration’s failure to uphold interior immigration enforcement. “Instead, the Biden-Harris Administration has directed the very agency in charge of enforcing our immigration laws to willfully violate them,” Hauman stated.

Sens. Cruz and Nehls are also leading the Justice for Jocelyn Act, a bill named in memory of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was allegedly assaulted and killed by two Venezuelan illegal immigrants released into the U.S. interior.

The bill would mandate DHS to fill all detention beds for illegal immigrants and require GPS monitoring for those who are released until their deportation. “Every day we hear about illegal aliens assaulting or murdering another American. I’ve been fighting for justice for Jocelyn Nungaray,” Cruz said.

Looking ahead, Cruz expressed optimism about the future of the Justice for Jocelyn Act in a potential Trump administration. “Next Congress I look forward to passing and to having President Trump sign into law my Justice for Jocelyn Act,” he said.

Hauman underscored the need for Congress to ensure ICE is properly funded to support these initiatives.

He emphasized that achieving large-scale deportations under a Trump-led administration would require substantial resources from Congress to track, detain, and deport millions of individuals.

“Our champions of interior enforcement will be sure to lead the charge on Capitol Hill,” Hauman concluded, setting the stage for a high-stakes battle over immigration policy should Republicans secure the White House and Congress in 2024.

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