Sponsors
The bill strengthens federal–local immigration cooperation and preserves funding and legal tools for enforcement—speeding federal custody and protecting officers from liability—while reducing local discretion, raising privacy and civil‑liberties risks, and exposing jurisdictions to funding loss or litigation that could weaken local public safety.
State and local law enforcement agencies will be required to notify DHS and receive DHS verification responses, enabling faster federal assumption of custody for noncitizens and improving coordination between local and federal authorities.
State and local governments that comply with federal immigration-cooperation requirements will retain eligibility for DOJ law-enforcement grants, preserving funding for local public-safety programs.
Extending federal-style immunity shields state and local officers from personal liability when they cooperate with immigration enforcement, reducing legal risk for routine information sharing and transfers.
Immigrants (and people in local custody) face faster detection, transfer to federal custody, and mandatory holds (up to 48 hours after unscheduled judicial releases), increasing risk of detention, removal, and prolonged deprivation of liberty without additional procedural safeguards.
State and local jurisdictions risk losing DOJ law-enforcement grant funding if deemed in 'knowing' violation, which could reduce local policing resources and public-safety capacity in affected communities.
Mandated broad information-sharing and verification requirements limit local policy flexibility to withhold or restrict immigration-related data, undermining community trust, local public‑safety strategies, and community-policing efforts.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Buddy Carter · Last progress February 9, 2026
Prohibits state and local laws, policies, or practices that bar or materially restrict sharing immigration- or custody-related information with federal, state, or local governments. Requires jurisdictions to notify DHS before scheduled releases (within 48 hours) and immediately for unscheduled court-ordered releases, allows up to a 48-hour hold for unscheduled judicial releases, obligates DHS to respond to verification requests, extends federal-style immunity to state and local officers acting under these duties, and authorizes the Attorney General to sue to enforce compliance and to make courts’ findings of knowing noncompliance a basis to bar jurisdictions from Department of Justice law-enforcement grants.