A plan by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), provided to Breitbart News exclusively ahead of its public release, would notify federal immigration officials when illegal aliens attempt to purchase firearms.
Known as the Illegal Alien NICS Alert Act, Cotton’s plan — introduced in the House by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) — would require the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local and state law enforcement agencies when an illegal alien attempted to purchase a firearm.
Currently, when an individual attempts to purchase a firearm, the seller must contact NICS and the buyer must fill out a form for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The buyer’s information is then relayed to NICS.
From there, NICS runs a background check on the buyer of the firearm and guarantees that the buyer does not have a criminal record or is ineligible to purchase a firearm.
However, NICS is not required to contact ICE if the buyer is revealed to be an illegal alien. Federal law prohibits illegal aliens from owning firearms.
According to Cotton’s office, NICS has issued more than 36,000 denials to illegal aliens who attempted to purchase firearms since November 1998. Likewise, from January 2020 to March 2021, NICS has issued more than 7,300 denials to illegal aliens who attempted to purchase firearms.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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