CLEAR Act of 2025

This bill would expand how much state and local police work with federal immigration agents. It says local officers can investigate, arrest, hold, and hand over people suspected of breaking immigration laws as part of their normal duties. It ties certain federal jail-cost funds to cooperation and would redirect that money away from places that block cooperation after one year. It also says victims and witnesses are not required to be reported or arrested under these rules.

States and cities would have to send detailed information to the federal government about people they detain who are believed to be violating immigration laws, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would pay the reasonable costs for that reporting. Customs and Border Protection must add records about people with final removal orders, visa overstays, or revoked visas to the national crime database, and the Justice Department must update the system within six months. The bill funds training and quick-reference materials for local officers and sets up online training within 120 days. It also directs the government to build 20 new federal detention centers and requires DHS to take custody of people who are not lawfully in the U.S. within 48 hours when local police ask, with DHS covering holding and transport costs. Officers and agencies get legal protection from money-damage lawsuits tied to enforcing federal immigration law, except when a crime is committed. The bill continues and expands a program to identify and remove noncitizens in prisons, allowing locals to hold someone up to 14 days after a state sentence to transfer them to federal custody.

Key points

• Who is affected: State and local police, state and city governments, DHS, and people in the U.S. without legal status; victims and witnesses are not covered by the reporting requirements.
• What changes: More local–federal cooperation; required data sharing; eligibility for grants only if locals help and do not forbid officers from asking about a suspect’s immigration status; 20 new detention facilities; faster federal custody transfers (within 48 hours); immunity for officers and agencies; expansion of the prison-based removal program.
• When: Funding penalties begin one year after enactment; CBP must start sending records within 180 days; Justice Department system changes within six months; training materials within 180 days and an e-learning portal within 120 days.