Sponsor
Ben Ray Luján
Senator · D-NM
Senator · D-NM
The bill markedly expands immigrants' ability to obtain compensation and accountability for unlawful immigration enforcement, but does so by imposing large, mandatory federal liabilities that could strain the budget, change agency behavior, and affect enforcement operations.
Immigrants subjected to unconstitutional or unlawful immigration enforcement can sue the United States directly and recover significant damages (including a mandatory $2,000,000 punitive award) without first exhausting administrative FTCA claims, speeding access to relief.
Federal agencies will be financially responsible for misconduct by their immigration-enforcement officers, creating stronger institutional accountability incentives for agencies and potentially driving reforms in oversight and conduct.
Victims retain the ability to pursue remedies against individual officers in addition to suing the government, preserving criminal and civil liability options and multiple paths to accountability.
Taxpayers and the federal budget will face large, mandatory payouts (including $2,000,000 per judgment), increasing federal costs and creating a direct fiscal burden.
Agencies may face increased liability exposure even when officers were following official policy, raising defense and insurance costs and potentially diverting funds from other programs or services.
Large mandatory punitive damages could incentivize defensive policies such as reduced immigration enforcement activity or greater use of contractors to limit agency exposure, which may weaken enforcement capacity or shift risks.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a civil cause of action against the United States for constitutional or statutory violations during federal immigration enforcement, waives administrative exhaustion, and mandates $2,000,000 punitive damages when liability is found.
Creates a private civil cause of action against the United States for constitutional or statutory violations that occur during federal immigration-enforcement actions. The bill makes the federal government (and the employing agency) liable for damages without regard to whether the conduct followed official policy, waives the usual administrative-claim requirement, preserves suits against individual officers, and mandates a $2,000,000 punitive damages award when liability is found.
Official title: Provide a civil remedy for any individual whose rights have been violated by a Federal law enforcement officer carrying out an immigration-related enforcement action.
Introduced April 16, 2026 by Ben Ray Luján · Last progress April 16, 2026