Sponsors (6)
The bill increases penalties and centralizes immigration enforcement to deter repeat unlawful reentry and enable tougher prosecutions, but does so by expanding criminal exposure, reducing judicial discretion, raising detention and fiscal costs, and concentrating charging power in DHS with attendant politicization and coordination risks.
People who repeatedly enter unlawfully or who commit serious felonies after removal face substantially higher maximum penalties, increasing deterrence against repeat unlawful reentry and repeat offending.
Consolidating charging/consent authority under the Secretary of Homeland Security centralizes immigration enforcement, which could streamline prosecutions, removals, and interagency operations.
Linking prior improper entry/removal history to later felony convictions gives prosecutors an explicit basis to seek aggravated charges in certain cases, potentially enabling tougher penalties for repeat offenders who commit serious crimes.
The bill broadens who can be criminally exposed by tying past immigration conduct (prior entry/removal) to later offenses and expanding covered categories, creating ambiguous new criminal liability that could unexpectedly subject many noncitizens to harsher criminal penalties.
Mandatory minimums and higher mandatory penalty exposures remove judicial discretion and sentencing flexibility, increasing the risk of disproportionately harsh sentences for individuals with prior immigration or felony histories.
Substantially increased maximum and mandatory penalties will raise incarceration costs and likely increase the number and length of detentions, creating significant additional costs for taxpayers and strain on local jails and federal detention capacity.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Raises penalties and creates aggravated-offense and mandatory-minimum rules for illegal entry/reentry, expands categories that trigger multi-year sentences, and moves references from the Attorney General to DHS Secretary.
Introduced May 19, 2025 by Stephanie I. Bice · Last progress September 15, 2025
Increases criminal penalties for improper entry and unlawful reentry into the United States, creates new aggravated-offense and mandatory-minimum rules tied to certain prior convictions and repeat removals, and transfers several enforcement references from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Homeland Security. The changes raise maximum prison terms for repeat improper entry and add new multi-year maximums and mandatory minimums for specified categories of prior convictions, repeat removals, and multiple misdemeanor convictions, expanding criminal exposure for noncitizens who reenter or remain after removal.