WASHINGTON — Legislation to push for the return of fugitives from foreign countries, including convicted cop-killer Joanne Chesimard, was introduced Monday by U.S. Reps. Chris Smith and Albio Sires.

The Walter Patterson and Werner Foerster Justice and Extradition Act, named for two New Jersey residents whose killers escaped from prison and are now living abroad, would require the federal government to annually submit reports on the number of fugitives who fled the U.S. and the efforts being made to extradite them.

"In many cases around the world, efforts to extradite convicted criminals have simply stalled, leaving surviving families without closure and our efforts to seek justice in limbo," said Smith (R-4th Dist.). "Instead of continuing to allow violent criminals to live openly abroad — apparently outside of our government's reach — we must strengthen the executive branch's ability to take action to resolve such failed extraditions."

Chesimard, the first woman named to the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists, was convicted of killing Foerster after a car carrying her and other members of the Black Liberation Army was stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. She escaped prison and now lives in Cuba. Members of the state's congressional delegation have opposed President Obama's efforts to re-establish relations with Cuba until she is extradited to the U.S.

"The administration should be pushing for the extradition of Joanne Chesimard and all fugitives that Cuba continues to harbor," said Sires (D-8th Dist.). "This legislation takes steps towards extraditing fugitives that have evaded justice for far too long by hiding under the Castro brothers' protection."

Patterson was a World War II veteran who was killed in 1962 at a Wall Township gas station he co-owned. His killer, George Wright, escaped from prison and later was one of the Black Liberation Army members who hijacked a Delta Air Lines plane in 1972 and sought asylum in Algeria. His compatriots eventually were found and arrested but he remained at large until he was discovered in Portugal in 2011. He was arrested there but the Portuguese government refused to send him back to the U.S. to finish out his prison term.

Patterson's daughter, Ann, said that convicted criminals "should not be allowed to live free, just because they choose to flee to, and reside in, a country that refuses to extradite."

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.