Justice for Angel Families Act

Summary

Expands eligibility in federal victim-compensation law to include immediate family members of homicide victims when the alleged perpetrator is unlawfully present or linked to certain international drug-trafficking groups, allowing those family members to receive medical (including mental-health) benefits, funeral costs, and lost wages tied to emotional distress. Creates a new office inside the Department of Homeland Security to provide proactive services and a hotline for victims of crimes by aliens who are inadmissible, deportable, or unlawfully present, and to produce an initial case study and annual reports to Congress with demographic and incident data.

• State victim-compensation programs are permitted to provide payments to "angel families"—immediate family of homicide victims—when the alleged perpetrator is unlawfully present or linked to certain international drug-trafficking groups.
• Compensation for angel families covers medical expenses (including mental-health counseling), funeral costs, and lost wages tied to emotional distress.
• Traditional victims and survivors of criminal violence retain existing eligible benefits (medical, lost wages from physical injury, funeral expenses).
• Creates a Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office within DHS to provide services, operate a hotline, and collect data about crimes involving aliens who are inadmissible, deportable, or unlawfully present.
• The DHS office must produce a case study and submit an initial report to Congress within one year and annual reports thereafter with victim/offender demographics and crime data.
• The bill defines key terms tying eligibility and office responsibilities to specific immigration grounds and criminal-organization involvement.
• No specific appropriations are included; the measure sets duties and reporting without explicit funding amounts.
• States will need to adapt or expand their compensation program rules and DHS will need to allocate staff and resources to stand up the new office and hotline.