Cornyn Calls for Death Penalty for Illegal Aliens Convicted of Murder

Sen. John Cornyn on Thursday announced legislation that would create an option to pursue the death penalty in federal court for illegal aliens convicted of murdering Americans. Typically, the death penalty for murder is meted out by the individual states where the crime occurs. 

However, the Texas Republican’s legislation, the Justice for American Victims of Illegal Aliens Act, would add “an additional aggravating factor to be considered in determining whether a sentence of death is warranted,” with that factor being that the perpetrator is an illegal alien.

That term illegal alien is defined in the bill as an alien who “came to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of federal law.” The aggravating factor can only be triggered if the illegal alien defendant “has been convicted of killing, attempting to kill, or conspiring to kill a United States citizen.’’

This legislation would codify President Donald Trump’s executive order on the topic, preventing a subsequent president from undoing the policy goal of the Trump administration.

At a press conference for the bill, Cornyn was joined by co-sponsors of the bill, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.

Daines highlighted a case of a 19-year-old man who was fatally stabbed by an illegal alien in the senator’s hometown of Bozeman, Montana. 

“I commend the strong and bold leadership of Sen. John Cornyn for getting tough on illegal immigration and crime to make our communities safe again,” Daines said.

Cornyn emphasized that Trump had secured the southern border, but noted that there were still many illegal aliens who had committed additional crimes living within the U.S. 

“But unfortunately, there are a lot of people still in the country who are committing heinous crimes, including murder of innocent American citizens, and that needs to stop,” the Texas lawmaker said. 

“So, what we are doing here today is announcing a bill that will provide the option and the death penalty to a federal prosecution against an illegal alien for killing an American citizen,” the Texas lawmaker continued. 

The new Republican majority in Congress has attempted to pass legislation designed to crack down on illegal aliens who commit depraved acts of violence. Most recently, the Congress enacted, and the president signed into law, the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of illegal aliens charged with theft, larceny, burglary, or assaulting a police officer.

The Daily Signal asked Cornyn how confident he was about receiving bipartisan support for the bill.

“Well, we’ll see. I’m pretty confident that the Judiciary Committee that I sit on, that [Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa] will bring this up for a vote on the committee, and we’ll see where our Democratic colleagues are,” said Cornyn, who is up for reelection in 2026 and is facing a GOP primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“Unfortunately, they’ve been very, they’ve been apologists for the failed policies of the Biden administration. I don’t know whether that extends to excusing this sort of conduct, heinous conduct by an illegal immigrant against one of their own citizens, or not. We’ll find out,” the Texas senator explained. 

The Daily Signal asked Cornyn about how important it was to increase the number of federal judges to handle cases dealing with illegal aliens.

“Well, it varies, because some federal courts are very busy, and other federal courts don’t have enough to do. And so, part of that is how the caseload is distributed … . The Texas courts are very busy from handling immigration cases and could use some help,” he said.

The post Cornyn Calls for Death Penalty for Illegal Aliens Convicted of Murder appeared first on The Daily Signal.