Sponsors (6)
The bill substantially strengthens federal–local immigration enforcement coordination and shields cooperating jurisdictions from litigation while creating a new remedy for certain victims — but it raises deportation risk for immigrants, reduces local control and judicial accountability, and shifts legal and fiscal burdens in ways that could strain governments and taxpayers.
State and local law enforcement agencies can transfer custody of suspected removable noncitizens to DHS within a defined 48–96 hour window and freely share immigration-status information, improving federal–local coordination and increasing the chance DHS takes custody before local release.
State and local officials and contracted detention providers that comply with DHS detainers receive immunity and federal substitution in suits, reducing their exposure to monetary damages and litigation costs for cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
Jurisdictions that cooperate with federal immigration enforcement may receive reallocated federal law-enforcement grants previously withheld from noncompliant areas, creating a funding incentive for cooperation.
Noncitizens — including those stopped or arrested for minor offenses — face a substantially increased risk of transfer to federal immigration custody and deportation because of broad probable-cause definitions and expanded local cooperation.
The bill preempts local sanctuary policies and limits local control over policing priorities, eroding municipal and state discretion about whether and how to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
Jurisdictions deemed restrictive risk losing key DOJ and DHS law-enforcement grants for at least one year, which could strain local budgets and public-safety programs.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Requires broad cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, mandates DHS detainers on defined probable-cause bases, allows DHS to withhold grants from noncompliant jurisdictions, and grants immunity to compliant actors.
Official title: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to improve public safety through the enforcement of Federal immigration law in the interior of the United States, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 23, 2026 by Tom McClintock · Last progress February 23, 2026
Requires state and local governments, officials, and personnel to cooperate fully with federal immigration enforcement and expands federal tools to enforce that cooperation. It broadens the statutory right of federal, state, and local actors to query, maintain, and share immigration-citizenship information, requires DHS to issue detainers when probable cause exists, and lets DHS withhold federal grants and reallocate funds from jurisdictions that limit cooperation. Creates new liability protections and federal-substitution rules so state/local entities and contracted detention providers acting under the law are treated as acting under federal authority and generally immune from monetary damages for compliance with detainers or information-sharing, while preserving remedies for mistreatment. It also adds procedural removal of state suits to federal courts and specifies severability and effective-date rules.