Trump does not fulfill pledge for mandatory minimum sentences for criminals re-entering US illegally

President Donald Trump has not delivered on his pledge to have mandatory minimum sentences for criminals caught trying to re-enter the United States illegally.

Trump supported a 2017 U.S. House of Representatives proposal, Kate's Law, that sought to increase penalties for immigrants who came back into the country illegally and had criminal records. That bill passed largely along party lines, with Republicans supporting it and Democrats opposing it. But the Senate has not approved related proposals.

Federal law prohibits immigrants from coming into the United States without permission. The first illegal entry offense is a misdemeanor that carries a six-month maximum penalty. Subsequent illegal re-entry after deportation, removal, exclusion, or denial of admission is a felony and carries greater penalties, especially if the person has a criminal history.

The law — unchanged during Trump's time in office — says that an immigrant convicted of illegally re-entering the country and who has no criminal history can face a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Immigrants convicted of illegally re-entering the country and who have criminal convictions can face up to 20 years in prison. (Someone with convictions for three or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against the person, or both, or a felony conviction can face up to 10 years in prison; someone with an aggravated felony conviction can face up to 20 years in prison.)

Overall, illegal re-entry offenses increased nearly 40% from fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2019, and the average sentence imposed decreased from 16 months in 2015 to nine months in 2019, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Congress has not passed a law setting mandatory minimum sentences for criminals coming to the United States illegally, despite Trump's early advocacy for it. Given that this promise has not been fulfilled, we rate it Promise Broken.