Sponsors (11)
The bill provides new financial support and a centralized federal coordination point for some families of homicide victims, improving help for eligible people but tying benefits to perpetrators' immigration/criminal status — which excludes many victims, raises privacy and equity concerns, and imposes administrative and fiscal costs.
Families of homicide victims whose perpetrators meet the bill's criteria (so-called "angel families") will receive expanded direct support: coverage for medical and mental-health care tied to emotional injury, lost-wage compensation for emotional distress, and funeral expense assistance.
Victims and their family members (including immigrants) will get a centralized DHS hotline and a formal Office point of contact that provides referrals, custody‑status notices, and immediate support services, improving continuity of care and connections to local social-service providers.
Congress and policymakers will receive annual aggregated data on victim demographics, crime types, locations, and repeat offenders to better inform resource allocation and policy decisions.
Families of homicide victims where the perpetrator is not unlawfully present or not part of specified transnational criminal groups will be excluded from the new benefits, creating unequal access and prioritizing certain victims' families over others.
Collecting and reporting demographic and immigration-related information about victims and families could raise privacy and safety concerns and deter immigrant victims and communities from seeking help.
Expanding compensation categories (mental-health care, emotional-distress wages, funeral assistance) will increase pressure on state victim compensation funds and may require higher state matching, reallocations, or cuts to other services.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Adds immediate family of homicide victims killed by certain noncitizens to eligible recipients of state victim compensation and creates a DHS office to assist victims of crimes by unlawfully present or removable aliens.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Troy E. Nehls · Last progress May 13, 2025
Expands who can receive state victim-compensation benefits by allowing immediate family members of homicide victims (defined as "angel families") to get compensation for medical and mental-health expenses, funeral costs, and loss of wages tied to emotional distress when the perpetrator is an unlawfully present alien or a member of an international drug-trafficking organization. Creates a new Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VICOE) inside the Department of Homeland Security to provide a hotline, referrals, custody-status assistance, releasable criminal/immigration history, and other services to victims of crimes committed by removable or unlawfully present aliens, and to report annually to Congress with case-study findings and victim/offsender data. The measure changes the federal definition of eligible compensation recipients, directs DHS to stand up a centralized victims office with outreach, data collection, and reporting duties, and requires an initial and yearly report to Congress summarizing services provided and demographic and crime-related information about victims and the criminal aliens involved.