Sponsors (59)
The bill increases protections for U.S. citizens against wrongful detention or transport by ICE in civil cases, but does so at the cost of tighter procedural limits on enforcement that can complicate operations and raise administrative costs and delays.
U.S. citizens (including naturalized citizens) are protected from being detained or transported out of the country by ICE during civil immigration enforcement, reducing risk of wrongful detention or removal.
ICE officers and other federal employees may have reduced operational flexibility and face additional procedural constraints when a person's citizenship is disputed, complicating civil immigration enforcement.
Noncitizens may experience slower removals and taxpayers could face higher enforcement costs because officers may need extra steps to verify citizenship before detaining or removing someone.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits ICE from using federal funds to detain a U.S. citizen or to transport a U.S. citizen outside the U.S. during civil immigration enforcement.
Official title: To provide that no Federal funds made available to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may be used, in carrying out any civil immigration enforcement activities under the immigration laws, to detain United States citizens or transport such citizens outside the United States, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 16, 2025 by Pramila Jayapal · Last progress July 16, 2025
Prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from using federal funds to detain a U.S. citizen or to transport a U.S. citizen outside the United States when carrying out civil immigration enforcement under the immigration laws. The bill is narrowly focused: it sets a funding restriction on ICE's civil immigration activities rather than creating new criminal penalties or altering the statutory immigration definitions. The legislation affects how ICE may use its appropriated funds for civil enforcement operations, limits certain agency actions involving people who are citizens, and would change internal agency practice and oversight of fund use for those activities.