Sponsors
The bill prioritizes speeding identification, case processing, and removal of noncitizens with criminal convictions and incentivizes local cooperation to reduce backlogs and improve enforcement, while substantially reducing procedural protections, increasing risks of wrongful detention and family separation, and shifting costs and operational burdens onto local and federal systems.
Noncitizens convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors (and related criminal cases) will be processed and, where applicable, removed faster, reducing immigration-court backlogs and shortening prolonged detention/uncertainty for those cases.
Federal and local law-enforcement (including DHS) gain clearer statutory authority and better, standardized information flows (24‑hour reporting and integrated databases) to identify and prioritize noncitizens with serious or multiple convictions, improving coordination and the accuracy of enforcement records.
State and local agencies will have a standardized reporting process and clearer notification procedures, which can reduce uncertainty about obligations and improve coordination with federal immigration authorities.
Noncitizens (including lawful permanent residents) face faster deportation and expanded use of expedited removal, with shorter deadlines and retroactive application in some cases, substantially reducing time to prepare defenses and access full hearings.
Families and local social services may experience sudden separations and related harms—child-welfare, housing, and short-term economic costs—if faster or retroactive removals occur without added safeguards.
Automated and accelerated reporting/detainer processes increase the risk that lawful residents or other noncitizens will be misidentified, subject to wrongful detainers, unnecessary custody, and subsequent legal challenges.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Expands expedited removal to any felony or two misdemeanors, mandates 24‑hour conviction reporting to DHS, speeds appeals, funds cooperating jurisdictions, and withholds highway funds from "sanctuary" areas.
Introduced January 14, 2026 by Thomas Bryant Cotton · Last progress January 14, 2026
Requires state and local courts and law enforcement to report every criminal conviction of a non‑U.S. citizen to DHS within 24 hours and directs DHS to initiate removal proceedings when convictions make a person removable. Expands expedited removal to any noncitizen convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors (including retroactive cases), shortens immigration appeal and processing timeframes, creates grant funding for jurisdictions that fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, and withholds a portion of federal highway funds from jurisdictions labeled as "sanctuary."