II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1812 

To protect public safety by incentivizing State and local law enforcement 

to cooperate with Federal immigration law enforcement to prevent the 

release of criminal aliens into communities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2015 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect public safety by incentivizing State and local 

law enforcement to cooperate with Federal immigration 

law enforcement to prevent the release of criminal aliens 

into communities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Cooperation 

5 with States and Local Governments and Preventing the 

6 Catch and Release of Criminal Aliens Act of 2015’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 For purposes of this Act: 


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1 (1) CRIMINAL ALIEN.—The term ‘‘criminal 

2 alien’’ means any alien who— 

3 (A) was arrested, charged, or convicted of 

4 an offense described in section 101(a)(43) of 

5 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

6 1101(a)(43)); 

7 (B) is described in paragraph (2), (3), 

8 (9)(A), (9)(C)(i)(II), or (10)(C) of section 

9 212(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); 

10 (C) is removable under paragraph (2) or 

11 (4) of section 237(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 1227(a)); 

13 (D) is described in section 276 of such Act 

14 (8 U.S.C. 1326); or 

15 (E) was arrested, charged, or convicted of 

16 any felony or misdemeanor offense relating to 

17 driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. 

18 (2) SANCTUARY JURISDICTION.—The term 

19 ‘‘sanctuary jurisdiction’’ means a State or a political 

20 subdivision of a State that has in effect a statute, 

21 policy, or practice that prohibits law enforcement of22 ficers of the State, or of the political subdivision, 

23 from assisting or cooperating with Federal immigra24 tion law enforcement in the course of carrying out 

25 the officers’ routine law enforcement duties. 


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1 SEC. 3. LIMITS ON FEDERAL FUNDING FOR STATE AND 

2 LOCAL JURISDICTIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—A jurisdiction may not receive any 

4 of the funding described in subsection (b) if the jurisdic5 tion does not cooperate with Federal officials with respect 

6 to criminal aliens or other aliens deemed to be a priority 

7 for removal by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in8 cluding by refusing— 

9 (1) to detain or transfer custody of such aliens 

10 pursuant to detainers placed upon such aliens; or 

11 (2) to notify a Federal law enforcement agency, 

12 upon request, of the release of such aliens. 

13 (b) RESTRICTED FUNDING.—The funding described 

14 in this subsection consists of— 

15 (1) any of the funds that would otherwise be al16 located to the State or political subdivision under 

17 section 241(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)); 

19 (2) any grant funding authorized under the 

20 Second Chance Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–199); 

21 and 

22 (3) any other law enforcement related grants or 

23 contracts awarded by the Department of Homeland 

24 Security or Department of Justice, which may be 

25 designated by the relevant Secretary or the Attorney 

26 General. 


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1 (c) TERMINATION OF INELIGIBILITY.—A jurisdiction 

2 shall become eligible to receive funds, grants, or contracts 

3 described in subsection (b) after the Secretary of Home4 land Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, 

5 certifies that— 

6 (1) the jurisdiction no longer fails to cooperate 

7 with Federal officials regarding detentions, trans8 fers, and notifications described in subsection (a); 

9 and 

10 (2) the statute, policy, or practice of that State 

11 or political subdivision prohibiting law enforcement 

12 officers from assisting or cooperating with Federal 

13 immigration law enforcement with respect to crimi14 nal aliens has been repealed, rescinded, or termi15 nated. 

16 (d) REALLOCATION.—Any funds that are withheld 

17 from a jurisdiction pursuant to this section shall be reallo18 cated by the Secretary of Homeland Security or by the 

19 Attorney General, in consultation with each other, equally 

20 among— 

21 (1) States and political subdivisions of States, 

22 which— 

23 (A) cooperate with Federal officials regard24 ing the detentions, transfers, and notifications 

25 described subsection (a); and 


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1 (B) submit an application to the appro2 priate Department for such unobligated funds; 

3 and 

4 (2) any statutorily authorized Federal grant 

5 program designed to protect victims of violence. 

6 SEC. 4. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 

7 (a) ANNUAL PUBLICATION.—Not later than 60 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 

9 thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the 

10 Attorney General shall jointly publish, on the websites of 

11 their respective departments— 

12 (1) a list of sanctuary jurisdictions; and 

13 (2) a list of jurisdictions that do not grant Fed14 eral immigration law enforcement officers regular 

15 access to jails or detention facilities. 

16 (b) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF DETAINERS OR RE17 QUESTS FOR NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 60 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly 

19 thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall pub20 lish, on the website of the Department of Homeland Secu21 rity— 

22 (1) the total number of detainers and requests 

23 for notification of the release of any alien that has 

24 been issued to each State or political subdivision; 

25 and 


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1 (2) the number of such detainers, and requests 

2 for notification that have been ignored or otherwise 

3 not honored. 

4 SEC. 5. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR REENTRY BY REMOVED 

5 ALIEN. 

6 Section 276(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act (8 U.S.C. 1326(a)) is amended, in the undesignated 

8 matter following paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘shall be 

9 fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned 

10 not more than 2 years, or both’’ and inserting ‘‘shall be 

11 imprisoned for not less than 5 years and may also be fined 

12 under title 18, United States Code’’. 

13 SEC. 6. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

14 Nothing in this Act may be construed— 

15 (1) to require law enforcement officials of a 

16 State or a political subdivision of a State to report 

17 or arrest victims or witnesses of a criminal offense; 

18 or 

19 (2) to limit the ability of State and local law en20 forcement to cooperate with Federal immigration 

21 law enforcement with regard to aliens who are not 

22 criminal aliens. 

Æ 


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