Kate's Law

Summary

Makes illegal entry and certain reentry offenses federal felonies with longer prison terms. It raises the maximum penalty for unlawful entry, creates a new offense when an unlawfully present alien later is convicted of a serious crime and had entered by certain means (e.g., at non-designated times, eluding inspection, or by fraud), and restructures and stiffens penalties for reentry after removal, including multiple new mandatory minimums and higher maximum sentences for specific prior-conviction histories.

• Increases the maximum prison term for unlawful entry from 2 to 5 years.
• Creates a new offense linking unlawful presence plus a later serious felony conviction to criminal liability when entry involved evasion, off‑hours crossing, or fraud/concealment.
• Rewrites reentry statute to define the core offense and narrow consent exceptions for DHS-approved return.
• Adds multiple higher maximum sentences, including a 15-year maximum for reentry after three or more qualifying misdemeanors.
• Imposes mandatory minimum and mandatory 10-year sentence rules for persons with certain prior aggravated-felony or other felony convictions.
• Transfers or clarifies some authorities and references to the Secretary of Homeland Security in place of the Attorney General.
• Likely increases federal prosecutions, longer sentences, and federal prison population for covered offenses.
• Does not change civil removal procedures or create new immigration benefits; it expands criminal penalties and predicates.