Sponsors (3)
The bill expands state criminal accountability for fatal or serious-injury uses of force by federal immigration officers—giving victims clearer paths to justice and deterring abuse—while risking federal-state conflict, uneven legal outcomes across states, and potential reductions in federal immigration enforcement or cooperation.
Immigrants, victims, and their families gain a clearer route to criminal redress because State prosecutors can charge federal immigration officers who cause death or serious injury, increasing local accountability for harmful uses of force.
Immigrants and communities may face fewer instances of severe harm because the threat of state criminal prosecution could deter unlawful or excessive use of force by federal immigration officers.
Local communities and state officials gain greater ability to hold federal immigration officers accountable, increasing local oversight and responsiveness to community concerns about enforcement conduct.
Federal immigration officers and immigrants could see reduced enforcement activity because officers may avoid performing duties in jurisdictions that pursue state prosecutions, potentially lowering cooperation and overall federal enforcement.
State and federal authorities (and state and local governments) may face increased conflict and coordination problems because concurrent state prosecution authority can complicate immigration enforcement and case handling.
Immigrants and officers may experience unequal treatment and legal uncertainty because similar incidents could produce prosecutions in some States but not others, leading to uneven outcomes across jurisdictions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Affirms that people performing immigration-enforcement duties are not immune from state criminal prosecution for causing death or serious bodily injury.
Official title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to waive immunity for certain acts committed by Federal law enforcement officers.
Introduced May 15, 2026 by Mary Gay Scanlon · Last progress May 15, 2026
Removes any claim of federal immunity from State criminal prosecution for people carrying out immigration-enforcement duties who commit acts that cause death or serious bodily injury. It adds a new criminal-law provision in title 18 making clear that officers or agents engaged in enforcing immigration laws cannot invoke federal immunity to avoid state criminal charges for such conduct.