Sponsors (16)
The bill centralizes immigration-admission authority and clarifies/removes ambiguity about prior removals to strengthen deterrence and prosecutorial consistency, but does so by raising penalties and concentrating executive discretion — increasing incarceration and costs and risking harsher, potentially unexpected punishments for some noncitizens.
Federal immigration administrators (DHS and DOJ): decision-making about consent to reapply shifts from the Attorney General to the Secretary of Homeland Security, consolidating admission authority in DHS and simplifying administrative responsibility.
Immigrants with prior removals: the bill creates clearer and tougher criminal penalties for unlawful reentry, which may deter repeat illegal reentries and reduce recidivism.
Prosecutors and courts: defining “removal” to include stipulation agreements reduces ambiguity about which prior departures count toward enhanced penalties, aiding prosecutorial consistency and charging decisions.
Immigrants who reenter after prior removals: face much longer prison terms (including up to 10 years) and mandatory minimums in some cases, substantially increasing incarceration for noncitizens.
U.S. taxpayers and federal justice/prison systems: expanding criminal penalties and mandatory minimums will likely increase prosecutions, court workloads, and prison costs, straining budgets and resources.
Immigrants and oversight stakeholders: shifting consent authority to the DHS Secretary centralizes power in an executive agency, reducing Attorney General oversight and concentrating discretionary authority.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Transfers consent-to-reapply authority to DHS, restructures 8 U.S.C. §1326, and raises/creates criminal penalties and mandatory minimums for unlawful reentry, including repeat removals.
Amends the federal unlawful-reentry statute to give the Secretary of Homeland Security the role formerly held by the Attorney General for consenting to reapply for admission, reorganizes the statutory subsections, and raises criminal penalties for people who illegally return to the United States after being removed. It creates distinct penalty categories for different reentry circumstances (including a new category for persons removed three or more times) and adds mandatory minimum penalties for reentry after certain aggravated-felony convictions or multiple prior reentry convictions, though the mandatory-minimum text appears incomplete.
Introduced January 28, 2025 by Stephanie I. Bice · Last progress January 28, 2025