Rep. Derek Schmidt introduces bill to strengthen state and federal cooperation, streamline deportation of criminal aliens

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (February 26, 2026) – Earlier this week, Congressman Derek Schmidt (KS-2) introduced H.R. 7664 – the State Partnerships to Enhance Removal of Criminal Aliens Act – that would strengthen state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement for criminal aliens.

“This bill focuses on what most Kansans agree should be the top priority for immigration enforcement – swift deportation of illegal aliens who also commit crimes while present in the United States," Schmidt said. "Public safety is best served when there is common sense cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement authorities."

The bill would authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into voluntary agreements with state and local prosecutors to represent DHS in removal proceedings before immigration courts, streamlining the process to obtain removal orders for aliens convicted of crimes in state courts. 

“The vast majority of crimes in Kansas and across the country are prosecuted in state courts by capable state and local prosecutors,” Schmidt said. “It only makes sense to empower those prosecutors – who are already conversant in the facts of the case – to obtain the federal removal order soon after the state criminal conviction. This will help ensure that once criminal aliens have completed their incarceration in state prisons or jails, they can be immediately deported without waiting for the federal immigration bureaucracy to catch up.” 

In addition, H.R. 7664 closes dangerous loopholes by expanding current law’s “aggravated felony” definition to include all alien felons and clarifies that aliens who are convicted felons are ineligible for admission or asylum in the United States. 

The full text of the bill is available here.