State Partnerships to Enhance Removal of Criminal Aliens Act

This legislation, titled the "State Partnerships to Enhance Removal of Criminal Aliens Act," authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Attorney General, to enter into written agreements with states. These agreements permit qualified state-licensed attorneys to perform certain Department of Homeland Security counsel functions in specific removal proceedings, at the state's expense. State attorneys operating under these agreements must adhere to federal law, receive adequate training, and function under the direct supervision of the Secretary of Homeland Security, without independent prosecutorial or policymaking discretion. A major component of the bill significantly expands the definition of "aggravated felony" within the Immigration and Nationality Act. This expansion includes a broader range of offenses such as certain drug trafficking crimes, firearms offenses, child pornography, and a redefinition of "crime of violence" and "burglary or theft" to encompass more acts and lower thresholds for imprisonment. Notably, it adds war crimes, torture, genocide, and the use of child soldiers, and broadly includes any offense defined as a felony by the jurisdiction of conviction or punishable by more than one year imprisonment. Furthermore, it classifies conspiracy, attempt, or solicitation to commit any aggravated felony as an aggravated felony itself. These amendments also make conviction of an aggravated felony a specific ground for inadmissibility into the United States. For asylum and withholding of removal purposes, an alien convicted of an aggravated felony shall now be considered to have committed a particularly serious crime , which can bar eligibility for such relief. The bill specifies that these changes, including the expanded definition of aggravated felony, apply to offenses committed and removal proceedings commenced before, on, or after the date of its enactment.