Sponsors (11)
The bill provides targeted financial and counseling support plus a centralized victims' hotline for families of homicide victims killed by unlawfully present noncitizens or international traffickers, improving access to services and information, but does so by narrowly tying benefits to offender immigration/trafficking status—creating exclusions, administrative burdens, privacy/stigma risks, and additional federal costs.
Families of homicide victims killed by unlawfully present noncitizens or members of international drug‑trafficking organizations become eligible for compensation for medical bills, mental‑health care, lost wages from emotional distress, and funeral costs, directly helping grieving families (including low‑income households).
State victim‑compensation programs get explicit authority to cover mental‑health counseling costs for families of victims, improving access to trauma care and counseling services.
Creates a central hotline and DHS office to provide immediate information, referrals, custody‑status alerts, and services to crime victims and family members, making help more accessible and easier to navigate.
Many homicide survivors will be excluded because eligibility is limited to families whose loved one was killed by unlawfully present noncitizens or certain international traffickers, leaving victims of citizens, lawful residents, or other offenders without these targeted benefits.
Tying benefits and services to immigration or trafficking status risks stigmatizing immigrant communities and could deter victims or witnesses in immigrant communities from cooperating with law enforcement or seeking services.
States may face administrative complexity and new verification requirements to confirm a suspect's immigration or trafficking status before paying benefits, which could delay payments to grieving families.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Makes certain immediate family members of homicide victims eligible for state crime‑victim compensation when offenders are unlawfully present or international drug traffickers, and creates a DHS office to assist such victims and report data to Congress.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Troy E. Nehls · Last progress May 13, 2025
Expands federal definition of eligible state crime-victim compensation programs to allow payment to immediate family members of homicide victims killed by aliens unlawfully present or by members of international drug‑trafficking organizations, covering medical costs, funeral expenses, and lost wages tied to emotional distress. Establishes a new Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office within the Department of Homeland Security to provide a hotline, referrals, custody-status help, releasable criminal/immigration history information, immediate services, data collection, a case study, and annual reports to Congress on crimes by unlawfully present aliens and their victims.