Sponsors (2)
Introduced February 5, 2026 by Eric Stephen Schmitt · Last progress February 5, 2026
The bill trades stronger federal enforcement, higher penalties for immigration violations, and greater protection for federal officers for expanded federal oversight and data-sharing, increased fiscal and legal risks to state/local governments, significant civil‑liberties and free‑speech risks, and higher costs and burdens on immigrants, nonprofits, and taxpayers.
Law enforcement and federal officers will get faster access to noncitizen detainees and stronger criminal penalties (including higher penalties for repeat reentry and limits on release), which federal authorities say will improve immigration enforcement and deter repeat illegal entry.
State and local jurisdictions that cooperate with federal immigration authorities will be able to retain federal grants and funding they rely on, preserving program dollars and avoiding penalties for compliant jurisdictions.
Victims (or estates) of serious violent felonies committed by removable aliens are given a private right to sue jurisdictions that maintained sanctuary policies, potentially providing compensatory damages and attorneys' fees to victims.
States and localities that fail to meet the bill's cooperation standards risk losing DOJ, DHS, HUD, and DOT grants, may be required to repay funds (including up to five years prior), and face waiver of sovereign immunity and joint-and-several liability that can expose them to large judgments and fiscal strain.
Noncitizens charged with illegal entry or repeat reentry face mandatory detention without bond, steep civil fines per entry ($25,000–$100,000 potential civil assessments), and substantially higher criminal mandatory minimums (including very long sentences), producing severe harms to individuals and families and expanding the criminal-justice impact on immigrant communities.
Jurisdictions and detention facilities are required to collect and share sensitive identity and biometric data on immigrants, raising privacy and civil‑liberties concerns for immigrants and possibly other residents.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Conditions federal grants and some visa issuance on strict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, requires jurisdictions and detention facilities to share immigration status and honor detainers, and creates a new federal private right of action against jurisdictions with so-called sanctuary policies when a removable alien commits a serious violent felony. It sharply increases criminal and civil penalties for illegal entry and illegal reentry, mandates detention for many charged entrants, expands criminal penalties for interfering with federal officers (including by creating loud noise), and removes tax-exempt status for charitable organizations that "promote, incite, or provide material support for criminal violence." Many enforcement and compliance deadlines take effect immediately or on enactment, with some tax and sentencing provisions tied to taxable years or offenses occurring after enactment.