Eric Schmitt

Schmitt-Authored Fund to Arrest, Deport Criminal Illegal Aliens Passes U.S. Senate - Senator Schmitt

Position: Senator Schmitt supports increased federal funding for ICE to arrest and deport criminal undocumented immigrants released by sanctuary jurisdictions that refuse to honor ICE detainers.

$350 Million Fund Provides ICE the Resources Needed to Arrest Illegal Aliens Released from Local Custody in Sanctuary Cities U.S. SENATE — Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) released the following statement after the Senate passed his provision to give U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) an additional $350 million for dedicated resources to arrest criminal illegal aliens who are released from local custody after sanctuary cities refuse to honor ICE detainers, provide release notice, or coordinate safe jail-to-ICE transfers. Schmitt’s provision passed as part of the Senate reconciliation bill to fund ICE and Customs Border Patrol (CBP). “Sanctuary cities created one of the most indefensible public-safety failures in America. These are criminal illegal aliens already sitting in jail. ICE has already identified them. Federal officers are ready to take custody. And sanctuary politicians let them walk out the door and back into American neighborhoods. That madness ends now. Senate Republicans just passed my provision to give ICE the resources to meet these criminals at the jailhouse door and take them into federal custody the moment sanctuary jurisdictions release them. In 2025 alone, sanctuary cities and states released nearly 18,000 aliens from custody instead of transferring them to ICE. That is a betrayal of every American family forced to live with the consequences. This is about commonsense immigration enforcement in our country. It targets illegal aliens, already in custody, identified by ICE, released because the Left would rather protect sanctuary politics than American citizens. If sanctuary cities will not protect their people, ICE will have the resources to do the job. This is a major victory for public safety, border security, and the rule of law,” said Senator Schmitt. The Schmitt-authored Fundprovides dedicated ICE resources for detainer management, release monitoring, custodial transfer, transportation, arrests, and detention connected to criminal aliens released from local custody.

Senator Schmitt Chairs Hearing on Denaturalization: “American Citizenship is Sacred” - Senator Schmitt

Position: Senator Schmitt advocates for expanding denaturalization authority through his SCAM Act to revoke citizenship from individuals who obtained it through fraud, concealment of criminal conduct, or ties to terrorist organizations, arguing that denaturalization is necessary to protect the integrity of American citizenship.

Schmitt Calls for Passage of His SCAM Act to Denaturalize Fraudsters, Terrorists, Gangsters WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, held a hearing titled Protecting American Citizenship III: Denaturalization and its Constitutional Limits. Schmitt highlighted our nation’s legal immigration problems and argued why denaturalization is a critical safeguard to protect the sanctity of American citizenship. Schmitt previously introduced the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation (SCAM) Act to restore integrity to the naturalization process by expanding and clarifying grounds to revoke the citizenship of certain individuals who demonstrate through their involvement with fraud, espionage, or terrorist organizations that they never met the statutory requirements for citizenship. Watch the Senator’s opening remarks HERE. “American Citizenship is sacred. It is the highest civic honor this country can give. It carries rights, duties, allegiance, memory, inheritance, and obligation. It means joining the American people and accepting responsibility for the future of the nation. But for too long, Washington treated naturalization like paperwork. Check the boxes. Say the words. Get the passport. Collect the welfare check or federal tax credit. Move on. That approach desecrates American citizenship. It insults every immigrant who came here honestly, followed the law, learned our history, embraced our Constitution, and took the oath in good faith. The Constitution gives Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. Congress used that power to require more than residency and forms. Instead, applicants must show good moral character. They must be attached to the principles of the Constitution. They must be well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States. When someone lies during that process, conceals material facts, hides criminal conduct, masks allegiance to a foreign enemy, or swears loyalty with mental reservation, he commits fraud against the United States and the American people. Fraud has desecrated American citizenship. But that desecration did not happen overnight. It built up over decades of lax enforcement, cheapened standards, and political cowardice. Re-consecrating citizenship requires a remedy strong enough to remove those who abused it: Denaturalization. Denaturalization cancels citizenship that should never have been granted. It enforces the conditions Congress placed on naturalization. It protects the American people from those who abused our generosity and turned the oath into a scam. The Supreme Court has made the rule clear: no alien has the slightest right to naturalization unless every statutory requirement is met. Citizenship obtained by fraud is stolen status. Stolen status should be revoked…” In Senator Schmitt’s line of questioning, he highlighted the cases of Mirsad Ramic and Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, two naturalized citizens who were convicted of terrorism offenses related to ISIS. After being released from his ISIS-related sentence in federal prison, Jalloh went on to kill Lt. Col. Brandon Shah in a terrorist attack on an ROTC classroom. Schmitt asked the witnesses about the federal government's ability under to current law to denaturalize people who have proven through actions like these horrific crimes that they never met the requirements for naturalization and American citizenship in the first place. Schmitt’s SCAM Act would give the Trump Administration the ability to denaturalize and deport individuals who are involved with terrorist organizations. Watch the Senator’s line of questioning HERE.

Senator Schmitt: Congress Has a Responsibility to Protect College Sports  - Senator Schmitt

Position: Senator Schmitt advocates for federal intervention through the Protect College Sports Act to establish governance structures and revenue-sharing mechanisms that preserve college athletics, particularly to maintain funding for women's and Olympic sports programs.

Highlights Congress’ Role in Implementing Key Reforms to Preserve a Uniquely American Institution WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on the Protect College Sports Act, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) discussed Congress’ role in preserving and strengthening the integrity of college athletics amid the chaos and instability of the current college sports system. Watch the Senator’s opening remarks HERE. “There [are] so many great lessons to be learned in life through college athletics, and I truly believe we are on the precipice of that going away… you certainly won’t have 500,000 student-athletes being able to learn those lessons every year. It’ll be something very different, very different than what we’ve grown accustomed to. I think college sports—college football in particular—is such a uniquely American institution and it really is worth fighting for. It’s worth preserving, but it’s not going to happen by itself anymore…” said Senator Schmitt. “People have asked me, ‘Why is Congress getting involved in this? And it’s a legitimate question… Why in the world would the federal government have anything to do with college sports? Well the truth is Congress is the only entity on the planet that can provide the anti-trust exemption status to empower a governing body to set the rules, and to enforce the rules… No one else can do it. It is up to us… “The way I view this thing is there's two buckets: you have the governance issue, and you have the revenue issue. The governance issue is granting that authority, to have the rules to protect the student-athletes, for there to be enforcement. On the revenue side, look, the business model of college sports forever has been—basically—you make money on your football program, and it subsidizes all the other non-revenue sports, the women's sports, the Olympic sports. We will lose out if this thing continues down the path. We will not have the same level of athletes competing in the Olympics.” Schmitt is an original cosponsor of the Protect College Sports Act. The bill includes Schmitt’s framework to allow conferences to pool media rights to generate new revenue and preserve opportunities for women’s and Olympic athletics programs.

Senator Schmitt Defends First Amendment Rights of UCLA Law Students - Senator Schmitt

What’s wrong with College Sports? Tell me here. Schmitt Calls Out UCLA Administration for Violating Conservative Students’ First Amendment Rights U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, sent a letter to UCLA Chancellor Dr. Julio Frenk and UCLA Dean Michael Waterstone demanding answers following recent violations of students’ First Amendment and civil rights following the disruption of a student event hosted by the Federalist Society. On April 21, the UCLA Law student chapter of the Federalist Society faced repeated disruptions from left-wing students while hosting a campus event. Although the disruptions violated multiple UCLA student-conduct policies, UCLA Law failed to discipline the students responsible, instead threatening Federalist Society students with disciplinary action if they released information about the disruptive student-activists. “Rather than remedy that First Amendment violation and punish the students who violated school policy to disrupt their fellow classmates’ event, UCLA Law instead compounded its First Amendment violation when Assistant Dean Bayrex Martí sent a threatening email to the Federalist Society students. That email to the Federalist Society students threatened them with “campus [disciplinary] process” if they released the names of the student-activists who disrupted the event.3 That email further violated the Federalist Society students’ First Amendment rights because it was an attempt to impose a prior restraint on them through a viewpoint-discriminatory threat of retaliation if they engaged in constitutionally protected speech,” wrote Senator Schmitt. In the letter, Senator Schmitt requested responses to the following questions: 1. In a statement after the April 21 event, UCLA Law “is reviewing all policies and will take necessary steps to ensure student groups can host speakers in an environment of civil engagement.” a. What is the nature of this “review”? b. What “necessary steps” will UCLA Law take to ensure that student groups can exercise their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association? 2. UCLA Law sent a follow-up email suggesting it could punish students for publishing the names of the disrupting students. Does UCLA Law continue to assert it can punish students for the protected speech of releasing the names of the disrupting students? 3. Will UCLA Law investigate whether Assistant Dean Martí or other administrators have engaged in other violations of the First Amendment, such as viewpoint discrimination? Read Senator Schmitt’s full letter HERE. [1] Letter from Jessie Appleby, Program Counsel, Campus Rights Advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, to Michael Waterstone, Dean of UCLA School of Law (April 27, 2026) (FIRE Letter), www.fire.org/research-learn/fire-letter-university-california-los-angeles-school-law-april-27-2026.

Following Schmitt’s Request, DOJ Commits to Ending All Districts Drawn Based on Race - Senator Schmitt

Position: Senator Schmitt calls on the Department of Justice to conduct a comprehensive review of all congressional districts drawn under prior interpretations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and to enforce the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais ruling nationwide, arguing that Section 2 should be applied as an anti-discrimination law rather than as a mandate for race-based districting.

What’s wrong with College Sports? Tell me here. Schmitt Sent a Letter Calling for Nationwide Enforcement of Louisiana v. Callais Ruling U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon calling for both a full review of all pending redistricting litigation and an examination of all districts created due to prior misinterpretation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais. After sending the letter, Assistant Attorney General Dhillon confirmed the Department of Justice (DOJ) will conduct a full review of all potentially racially gerrymandered districts drawn under prior misinterpretations of Section 2 of the VRA prior to Callais. “The Department should not wait for private litigants to identify every race-based district one by one. The Civil Rights Division has participated in, monitored, or influenced redistricting litigation for years. It should therefore identify the universe of districts created, preserved, or defended under the old Section 2 regime and determine whether they survive Callais. “The Department should act swiftly with urgency: issue guidance implementing Callais, review every pending and prior, yet still in effect, Section 2 redistricting matter, and use its authority to stop the VRA from continuing to be used as a pretext for continued unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. I look forward to working with you to ensure the Civil Rights Division enforces Section 2 as an anti-discrimination law—not as a racial districting mandate,” wrote Senator Schmitt. Read Senator Schmitt’s letter HERE.

Senator Schmitt Applauds Secretary of War Hegseth for Promoting President Trump’s America First Agenda, Forcing Europe to Step Up - Senator Schmitt

Position: Senator Schmitt supports realigning U.S. defense priorities toward the Western Hemisphere and China, with reduced focus on Europe, and endorses ending DEI policies in the military to boost morale and recruitment through merit-based advancement.

What’s wrong with College Sports? Tell me here. Schmitt Praises Hegseth for Ending DEI Policies WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), applauded the Trump Administration and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for realigning American priorities to the Western Hemisphere and forcing European allies to step up for their own security in a more meaningful way. Schmitt also praised Secretary Hegseth for his leadership in boosting morale and recruitment by ending DEI policies and strengthening our military might through merit. Watch the Senator’s opening remarks HERE. “I'm all for the America first agenda. I'm all for us realigning our priorities. I'm all for the national defense strategy that says our core strategic interests are the homeland, the Western Hemisphere, and the rising threat in China, and that means our European allies should step up… We better start demanding that, because if we want to meet the challenges of the 21st Century and China, our priorities, our focus, has to be somewhere else. It doesn't mean abandonment. It just means a true partnership with our European allies, who, for very, very long time, have not stepped up”, said Senator Schmitt during his opening remarks. Senator Schmitt asked Secretary Hegseth about the riding the Department of woke DEI policies and boosting morale. Watch HERE.

Senator Schmitt Introduces Bill to Unlock Private Donations, Renovate White House East Wing - Senator Schmitt

What’s wrong with College Sports? Tell me here. Bill Would Enhance Security Amid Rising Left Wing Violence U.S. SENATE — Following the third attempt on President Trump’s life, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) introduced the “White House Safety and Security Act,”to unlock the funds donated by Americans and American companies for the purpose of building the presidential ballroom in the East Wing of the White House. Americans donated funds for the White House East Wing renovations, and those donated funds are deposited in designated government accounts at the Treasury. But a flawed judicial ruling is currently preventing those donated funds from being expended for the renovations. This bill authorizes the President to use those privately donated funds from the Treasury to complete the renovations through an express appropriation. “The third attempt on President Trump’s life this past weekend is not an isolated incident. It is the latest warning flare in a growing pattern of violent, politically motivated attacks. In this climate, the President and his guests must be able to gather safely on White House grounds. That should not be controversial. It should be basic common sense. Protecting the President of the United States is one of the most fundamental obligations of our government, and this bill will help ensure that no future president has to fear for his life simply for hosting events, meeting with supporters, or welcoming guests at the White House,” said Senator Schmitt. Schmitt joined Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Katie Britt (R-AL) in introducing this piece of legislation. Read the full text of the bill HERE. Watch Senator Schmitt’s remarks at a recent press conference about the bill HERE.

Senator Schmitt Condemns Rising Left Wing Political Violence on Fox News - Senator Schmitt

What’s wrong with College Sports? Tell me here. WASHINGTON, D.C — Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) joined Fox News’ America Reports to call out Democrats violent rhetoric against Republicans, condemning the political violence their words have inspired, and to emphasize the pressing need to build a White House ballroom to keep future presidents safe from harm. Watch the full interview HERE. Senator Schmitt on the National Security Need for a White House Ballroom: “You need to have a safe, secure facility on the White House grounds for these big events, even with King Charles in town, if you're going to have more than, you know, a couple 100 people anywhere, it's very difficult to do it in the current configuration. This is something that's been talked about for a long time, but I think Dana, it's also important to put this in perspective of why we're talking about it. Certainly, we're reminded of it this weekend. 25 percent of those who describe themselves as very, very liberal believe that political violence is justified, compared to 3 percent of those describe themselves as very conservative. That's 3 percent too many, but let's not pretend this is the same thing. 55 percent of those who describe themselves as liberal believe it's at least somewhat justified to murder President Trump. We came, you know, an inch of his life in Butler. I played golf on the golf course with President Trump on the golf course for the second assassination attempt took place where, if a Secret Service agent a hole before, wouldn't have seen the glistening of the sun on that barrel, that assassination would have been broadcast on GoPro. And then we have, of course, what happened this weekend. The Luigi left is obsessed with this assassination culture, and it's time we start calling it out. This isn't a both sides thing. We should condemn political violence, but the Democrats Dana, they won't do it. If you listen to Hakeem Jeffries yesterday, he refused to do it. He sort of doubling down on this. It's very dangerous.” Senator Schmitt on Democrats’ Radical, Violent Language: “I think the Trump Derangement Syndrome has metastasized, and it is the central focal point of everything that the Democrats obsess on in this town. It's really bizarre. When they use terms like Nazi and Gestapo and Hitler and existential threat to our democracy, I mean, they know exactly what they're doing, Bill, but they can't get away from it, like this ICE thing, this ICE funding. They can't. They ginned up their base now so much that they can never vote to fund law enforcement, and so it's gone to the next level. And again, one last point I'll make here is, if you read that manifesto, okay, from this guy, it sounds like what you would hear on a normal segment on MSNBC. I mean, it's not like this is language that's being used that you don't hear on Morning Joe. So they got a problem, and it's time they deal with it.” “It’s totally irresponsible. I mean, Jasmine Crockett is kind of a nut job, but that is kind of the lexicon that's used by rank-and-file Democrats all over Washington, DC, and they go on the shows, and it's been, it's repeated by these hosts again. This is like what used to be kind of a fringe point of view on all this is now entered the mainstream for Democrats, and it's why, by the way, they're driving away people in places like Missouri and everywhere else, because it's just unhinged and they're obsessed with President Trump. They don't have any ideas, guys, this is all they have is this visceral hatred for one man, and again, I think for Republicans, we need to, we need to lead, but we should call this out. Let's not let them make this a both sides thing. This is on the radical left here. This is becoming an epidemic, whether it's Charlie Kirk or President Trump or a lot of the shooters that we've seen recently in schools that have this kind of leftist ideology, it's real and it's metastasized, and they're glorifying this Luigi guy. We've entered a new phase of all this, and we got to pump the brakes.”

Senator Schmitt Chairs Senate Judiciary Hearing on Arctic Frost, Reveals New Bombshell Documents Exposing Biden Administration’s Political Weaponization of Justice Department - Senator Schmitt

What’s wrong with College Sports? Tell me here. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, held a hearing titled "Arctic Frost: Conspiracy and Coordination Against President Trump and the American Right.” Schmitt worked with Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) to release new records exposing the existence of “Operation Rampart Twelve,” another Biden FBI investigation that targeted Republican Members of Congress. The FBI secretly obtained Members’ phone toll records as part of the investigation, despite text messages showing Justice Department prosecutors expressing concerns about the legal requirements for doing so. FBI Headquarters closed the investigation one year later after failing to uncover credible evidence to support the case. The Senators also released documents revealing the Biden White House’s coordination with Fani Willis’ Fulton County District Attorney’s Office amid Willis’ criminal investigation into President Trump. Watch the Senator’s opening remarks HERE. “In this country, law enforcement is supposed to investigate crimes. It's not supposed to investigate political movements. It's not supposed to map the opposition. It's not supposed to use subpoenas, search warrants, non-disclosure orders, telecom records, bank records, device searches and secrecy tools to build a profile of one side of American politics. But that is what the evidence increasingly suggests happened here. The Biden administration was not just investigating a crime; they were seeking to dismantle a political movement. The American people deserve to know what Arctic frost really was. Arctic frost and the effort to take down the American right was broader, darker and far more dangerous than anything we've seen in modern political history. The Biden administration launched a whole of government effort to identify, intimidate, bankrupt and jail the people and institutions that made up President Trump's political world. It looks like a dragnet, a fishing expedition. It reached President Trump. It reached his lawyers. It reached former officials. It reached Republican organizations. It reached conservative institutions. It reached communications records. It reached members of Congress. It reached people and groups whose real offense appears to have been associated with President Trump and the American Right”, said Senator Schmitt during his opening remarks. Schmitt questioned the witnesses on the importance of uncovering the truth of the Biden Administration’s political weaponization and what future charges should be brought to hold those accountable. Schmitt: “You also raised the possibility that this just wasn't a bad judgment or even just political bias, but that this was potentially unlawful conduct, correct? Could a conspiracy against rights be one of those kinds of charges under federal law?” Professor Daniel Z. Epstein: “Under Section 241, absolutely. And you know, I think this committee has done very good work on investigating that. I think, as you pointed out, the process is the punishment, and when you have very aggressive bureaucrats who want to coordinate with prosecutors in a way that doesn't follow the process doesn't follow fair procedures that raises the significant risk of conspiracy against rights”. Watch the Senator’s full questioning HERE. The documents released can be accessed here:

Senator Schmitt Calls for Impeachment of Rogue Judge Boasberg, More Funding for ICE - Senator Schmitt

Position: Senator Schmitt calls for the impeachment of Judge Boasberg, alleging judicial misconduct and bias against the Trump administration, and advocates for full funding of ICE through reconciliation to enable mass deportations.

What’s wrong with College Sports? Tell me here. ST. LOUIS, MO — Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) joined Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures to discuss his call for impeachment of Judge Boasberg and to emphasize the need to fully fund ICE to continue mass deportations. Senator Schmitt on Calling for the Impeachment of Judge Boasberg: “Judge Boasberg is the poster child for a rogue judge. The facts run really deep, Maria. Before he received any case in March of last year, in a secret conference with other judges in that district, He warned about President Trump, made false allegations, tried to poison the well, and then, if you remember the turn the planes around case, he inserted himself into that case in the middle of the night. He was not the emergency docket judge. He found his way, perhaps he was tipped off, he found his way to that case. He ruled against the president, but was ultimately slapped down by the United States Supreme Court. But he wasn't done there. Since then, he has still has tried to throw Trump administration officials in prison for contempt. He was slapped down again. This guy traded in his black robe, which is supposed to signify neutrality, for a blue jersey a long time ago. He was also front and center in the Arctic frost investigation with Jack Smith rubber-stamping these subpoenas. So, I called for his impeachment. There should be a trial in the Senate. Impeachment should not be a scarecrow. It should be used for instances just like this. I hope our friends in the house will move forward on it, and I don't, I don't call for this lightly, Maria, as a lawyer and former Attorney General, I don't think we should be impeaching judges just because they rule against you know, we disagree with the ruling. But this goes to the conduct and the character of the man, and he has disqualified himself, in my view, from being able to see these cases.” Senator Schmitt on Funding ICE through Reconciliation: “I think the President has called for this thing to get done, and I think that's the genesis of the slim package, the reconciliation bill, because I think we need to fulfill the promise made to the American people on deportations. The Democrats opened the border, Maria, as you know, 15 million people who are here illegally. They want amnesty, de facto amnesty by not being able to enforce our immigration laws. And so, they effectively try to defund ICE. I think we need to use the majority here, through reconciliation with a simple majority vote, to make sure ICE and border patrol have the tools they need to execute their mission of deportations…”