Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) in reintroducing legislation to close a legal loophole that generally requires the release of illegal aliens, including those with criminal records, from immigration detention into American communities after six months if no country has accepted them for deportation. The Keep Our Communities Safe Act addresses the six-month legal loophole created by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 2001 Zadvydas v. Davis ruling. The legislation would amend Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to expand the authority of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain criminal aliens. “I am again supporting this commonsense legislation because closing this ‘catch and release’ loophole will ultimately keep dangerous illegals detained instead of being freed to put law-abiding Americans, law enforcement, and our communities at risk. It’s time to finally fix the current law that permits illegal aliens with criminal records to be released back into the United States after six months simply because no other country will accept them for deportation,” Hyde-Smith said.