Sponsors
The bill increases federal clarity and enforcement tools (and strengthens protections for officers and crime victims) at the cost of reduced local autonomy, greater legal and fiscal exposure for state and local governments and taxpayers, and narrower practical remedies and protections for immigrants.
State and local governments (and DHS/courts) gain clearer statutory standards and a defined basis to identify and challenge or litigate with jurisdictions labeled as 'sanctuary,' reducing ambiguity about federal expectations.
Victims of murder, rape, and qualifying felonies (and close relatives) can sue States/localities that ignore DHS detainers or release notifications and recover attorney and expert fees, increasing access to compensation and legal remedies.
Federal and state/local law enforcement officers gain stronger legal protection through tougher mandatory penalties for serious assaults and killings against officers, and DOJ reporting requirements increase congressional oversight of enforcement outcomes.
States and localities — and therefore local taxpayers — face substantially increased legal and fiscal exposure (expanded litigation risk, fee-shifting, long statute of limitations, and potential penalties) tied to detainer compliance and information-sharing rules.
Immigrants in affected jurisdictions may lose local protections, face greater enforcement attention, and have fewer effective avenues to remedy unlawful detentions or seizures (impaired civil‑liberties protections and constrained remedies).
Local law enforcement resources and priorities may be diverted toward immigration enforcement and defending litigation, reducing capacity for community policing and other local public-safety services.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates private suits against jurisdictions with qualifying sanctuary policies for harms by certain noncitizen offenders, ties federal grants to immunity waivers, treats detainer compliance as federal action, and increases penalties for assaults/murders of officers.
Introduced February 5, 2026 by Thomas Roland Tillis · Last progress February 5, 2026
Allows victims (or their close relatives) of murder, rape, or certain felonies committed by noncitizens to sue States or localities that have "sanctuary" policies if those jurisdictions failed to honor DHS detainer requests or notify DHS of an alien’s release. Conditions many federal economic and community development grants on waiver of sovereign immunity for these suits. Declares that State or local officers who comply with DHS detainers are treated as acting on behalf of DHS (with the United States substituted as the defendant under the Federal Tort Claims Act for related claims) while preserving liability for knowing civil-rights violations. Also creates tougher federal criminal penalties: a 20-year mandatory minimum for assaults causing serious injury to law enforcement officers in covered cases and treating the murder of such officers as federal first-degree murder; requires an Attorney General report on prosecutions under these changes within three years.