II 

Calendar No. 252 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2146 

To hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for defying Federal law, to increase penalties for individuals who illegally reenter the United States 

after being removed, and to provide liability protection for State and 

local law enforcement who cooperate with Federal law enforcement and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 6, 2015 

Mr. VITTER (for himself, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Mr. INHOFE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read the first time 

OCTOBER 7, 2015 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

A BILL 

To hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for defying Federal law, to increase penalties for individuals who illegally 

reenter the United States after being removed, and to 

provide liability protection for State and local law enforcement who cooperate with Federal law enforcement 

and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Sanctuary Poli3 cies and Protect Americans Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SANCTUARY JURISDICTION DEFINED. 

5 In this Act, the term ‘‘sanctuary jurisdiction’’ means 

6 any State or political subdivision of a State, including any 

7 law enforcement entity of a State or of a political subdivi8 sion of a State, that— 

9 (1) has in effect a statute, ordinance, policy, or 

10 practice that is in violation of subsection (a) or (b) 

11 of section 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform 

12 and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

13 1373); or 

14 (2) has in effect a statute, ordinance, policy, or 

15 practice that prohibits any government entity or offi16 cial from complying with a detainer that has been 

17 lawfully issued or a request to notify about the re18 lease of an alien that has been made by the Depart19 ment of Homeland Security in accordance with sec20 tion 236 and 287 of the Immigration and Nation21 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226 and 1357) and section 

22 287.7 of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations. 

23 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON GRANTS TO SANCTUARY JURISDIC24 TIONS. 

25 (a) INELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.— 

26 (1) LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANTS.— 


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1 (A) SCAAP GRANTS.—A sanctuary juris2 diction shall not be eligible to receive funds pur3 suant to the State Criminal Alien Assistance 

4 Program under section 241(i) of the Immigra5 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)). 

6 (B) COPS GRANTS.—No law enforcement 

7 entity of a State or of a political subdivision of 

8 a State that has a departmental policy or prac9 tice that renders it a sanctuary jurisdiction, and 

10 such a policy or practice is not required by stat11 ute, ordinance, or other codified law, or by 

12 order of a chief executive officer of the jurisdic13 tion, or the executive or legislative board of the 

14 jurisdiction, shall be eligible to receive funds di15 rectly or indirectly under the ‘Cops on the Beat’ 

16 program under part Q of title I of the Omnibus 

17 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

18 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd et seq.). 

19 (C) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney Gen20 eral, in consultation with the Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security, shall terminate the funding 

22 described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) to a 

23 State or political subdivision of a State on the 

24 date that is 30 days after the date on which a 

25 notification described in subsection (d)(2) is 


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1 made to the State or subdivision, unless the 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

3 with the Attorney General, determines the State 

4 or subdivision is no longer a sanctuary jurisdic5 tion. 

6 (2) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK

7 GRANTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Housing 

9 and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 

10 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (i) in section 102 (42 U.S.C. 5302), 

12 by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(25) The term ‘sanctuary jurisdiction’ means 

14 any State or unit of general local government that— 

15 ‘‘(A) has in effect a statute, ordinance, pol16 icy, or practice that is in violation of subsection 

17 (a) or (b) of section 642 of the Illegal Immigra18 tion Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act 

19 of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1373); or 

20 ‘‘(B) has in effect a statute, ordinance, 

21 policy, or practice that prohibits any govern22 ment entity or official from complying with a 

23 detainer that has been lawfully issued or a re24 quest to notify about the release of an alien 

25 that has been made by the Department of 


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1 Homeland Security in accordance with section 

2 236 and 287 of the Immigration and Nation3 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226 and 1357) and section 

4 287.7 of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations.’’; 

5 and 

6 (ii) in section 104 (42 U.S.C. 5304)— 

7 (I) in subsection (b)— 

8 (aa) in paragraph (5), by 

9 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

10 (bb) by redesignating para11 graph (6) as paragraph (7); and 

12 (cc) by inserting after para13 graph (5) the following: 

14 ‘‘(6) the grantee is not a sanctuary jurisdiction 

15 and will not become a sanctuary jurisdiction during 

16 the period for which the grantee receives a grant 

17 under this title; and’’; and 

18 (II) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(n) PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUALS AGAINST CRIMI21 NAL ALIENS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No funds authorized to be 

23 appropriated to carry out this title may be obligated 

24 or expended to any State or unit of general local 

25 government that is a sanctuary jurisdiction. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RETURNED AMOUNTS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) STATE.—If a State is a sanctuary ju3 risdiction during the period for which the State 

4 receives amounts under this title, the Sec5 retary— 

6 ‘‘(i) shall direct the State to imme7 diately return to the Secretary any such 

8 amounts that have not been obligated by 

9 the State as of the date on which the State 

10 became a sanctuary jurisdiction; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) may use any returned amounts 

12 under clause (i) to make grants to other 

13 States that are not sanctuary jurisdictions 

14 in accordance with this title. 

15 ‘‘(B) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN16 MENT.—If a unit of general local government is 

17 a sanctuary jurisdiction during the period for 

18 which the unit of general local government re19 ceives amounts under this title, any such 

20 amounts that have not been obligated by the 

21 unit of general local government as of the date 

22 on which the unit of general local government 

23 became a sanctuary jurisdiction— 

24 ‘‘(i) in the case of a unit of general 

25 local government that is not in a nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 07, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2146.PCS S2146

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1 entitlement area, shall be returned to the 

2 Secretary to make grants to States and 

3 other units of general local government 

4 that are not sanctuary jurisdictions in ac5 cordance with this title; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a unit of general 

7 local government that is in a nonentitle8 ment area, shall be returned to the Gov9 ernor of the State to make grants to other 

10 units of general local government that are 

11 not sanctuary jurisdictions in accordance 

12 with this title. 

13 ‘‘(o) ENFORCEMENT AGAINST FUNDING FOR SANC14 TUARY JURISDICTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall verify, 

16 on a quarterly basis, the determination of the Sec17 retary of Homeland Security and the Attorney Gen18 eral as to whether a State or unit of general local 

19 government is a sanctuary jurisdiction and therefore 

20 ineligible to receive a grant under this title for pur21 poses of subsections (b)(6) and (n). 

22 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary verifies 

23 that a State or unit of general local government is 

24 determined to be a sanctuary jurisdiction under 

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall notify the State 


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1 or unit of general local government that it is ineli2 gible to receive a grant under this title.’’. 

3 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

4 made by subparagraph (A) shall only apply with 

5 respect to community development block grants 

6 made under title I of the Housing and Commu7 nity Development Act (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) ALLOCATION.—Any funds that are not allocated 

10 to a State or political subdivision of a State pursuant to 

11 subsection (a) and the amendments made by subsection 

12 (a) shall be allocated to States and political subdivisions 

13 of States that are not sanctuary jurisdictions. 

14 (c) NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 

15 days after a determination is made pursuant to subsection 

16 (a) to terminate a grant or to refuse to award a grant, 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the 

18 Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on the 

19 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Appropria20 tions and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

21 of Representatives a report that fully describes the cir22 cumstances and basis for the termination or refusal. 

23 (d) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—Not 

24 later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 Act, and quarterly thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland 

2 Security and the Attorney General shall— 

3 (1) determine the States and political subdivi4 sions of States that are sanctuary jurisdictions; 

5 (2) notify each such State or subdivision that it 

6 is determined to be a sanctuary jurisdiction; and 

7 (3) publish on the website of the Department of 

8 Homeland Security and of the Department of Jus9 tice— 

10 (A) a list of each sanctuary jurisdiction; 

11 (B) the total number of detainers and re12 quests for notification of the release of any 

13 alien that has been issued or made to each 

14 State or political subdivision of a State; and 

15 (C) the number of such detainers and re16 quests for notification that have been ignored or 

17 otherwise not honored, including the name of 

18 the jurisdiction in which each such detainer or 

19 request for notification was issued or made. 

20 (e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may be 

21 construed to require law enforcement officials of a State 

22 or a political subdivision of a State to provide the Sec23 retary of Homeland Security with information related to 

24 a victim or a witness to a criminal offense. 


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1 SEC. 4. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND INDIVIDUAL 

2 COMPLIANCE WITH DETAINERS. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO CARRY OUT DETAINERS.—A 

4 State, a political subdivision of a State, or an officer, em5 ployee, or agent of such State or political subdivision that 

6 complies with a detainer issued by the Department of 

7 Homeland Security under section 236 or 287 of the Immi8 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226 and 1357)— 

9 (1) shall be deemed to be acting as an agent of 

10 the Department of Homeland Security; and 

11 (2) shall have the authority available to employ12 ees of the Department of Homeland Security with 

13 regard to actions taken to comply with the detainer. 

14 (b) LIABILITY.—In any legal proceeding brought 

15 against a State, a political subdivision of State, or an offi16 cer, employee, or agent of such State or political subdivi17 sion, which challenges the legality of the seizure or deten18 tion of an individual pursuant to a detainer issued by the 

19 Department of Homeland Security under section 236 or 

20 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

21 1226 and 1357)— 

22 (1) no liability shall lie against the State or po23 litical subdivision for actions taken in compliance 

24 with the detainer; 


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1 (2) if the actions of the officer, employee, or 

2 agent of the State or political subdivision were taken 

3 in compliance with the detainer— 

4 (A) the officer, employee, or agent shall be 

5 deemed to be an employee of the Federal Gov6 ernment and an investigative or law enforce7 ment officer and to have been acting within the 

8 scope of his or her employment under section 

9 1346(b) and chapter 171 of title 28, United 

10 States Code; 

11 (B) section 1346(b) of title 28, United 

12 States Code, shall provide the exclusive remedy 

13 for the plaintiff; and 

14 (C) the United States shall be substituted 

15 as defendant in the proceeding. 

16 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act may be 

17 construed— 

18 (1) to provide immunity to any person who 

19 knowingly violates the civil or constitutional rights of 

20 an individual; or 

21 (2) to limit the application of the doctrine of of22 ficial immunity or of qualified immunity in a civil 

23 action brought against a law enforcement officer act24 ing pursuant to a detainer issued by the Department 

25 of Homeland Security under section 236 or 287 of 


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1 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226 

2 and 1357). 

3 SEC. 5. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR REENTRY OF RE4 MOVED ALIEN. 

5 Section 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

6 (8 U.S.C. 1326) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

8 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; 

9 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in10 serting the following: 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and 

12 (c), any alien who— 

13 ‘‘(1) has been denied admission, excluded, de14 ported, or removed or has departed the United 

15 States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or 

16 removal is outstanding; and 

17 ‘‘(2) thereafter enters, attempts to enter, or is 

18 at any time found in, the United States, unless— 

19 ‘‘(A) prior to the alien’s reembarkation at 

20 a place outside the United States or the alien’s 

21 application for admission from foreign contig22 uous territory, the Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity has expressly consented to such alien’s 

24 reapplying for admission; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) with respect to an alien previously de2 nied admission and removed, such alien shall 

3 establish that the alien was not required to ob4 tain such advance consent under this Act or 

5 any prior Act; 

6 shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or 

7 imprisoned not more than five years, or both. 

8 ‘‘(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR REENTRY OF CER9 TAIN REMOVED ALIENS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the pen11 alty provided in subsection (a), and except as pro12 vided in subsection (c), an alien described in sub13 section (a)— 

14 ‘‘(A) who was convicted before such re15 moval or departure of three or more mis16 demeanors involving drugs, crimes against the 

17 person, or both, or a felony (other than an ag18 gravated felony), shall be fined under title 18, 

19 United States Code, imprisoned not more than 

20 10 years, or both; 

21 ‘‘(B) who has been excluded from the 

22 United States pursuant to section 235(c) be23 cause the alien was excludable under section 

24 212(a)(3)(B) or who has been removed from 

25 the United States pursuant to the provisions of 


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1 title V, and who thereafter, without the permis2 sion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, en3 ters the United States, or attempts to do so, 

4 shall be fined under title 18, United States 

5 Code, and imprisoned for a period of 10 years, 

6 which sentence shall not run concurrently with 

7 any other sentence; 

8 ‘‘(C) who was removed from the United 

9 States pursuant to section 241(a)(4)(B) who 

10 thereafter, without the permission of the Sec11 retary of Homeland Security, enters, attempts 

12 to enter, or is at any time found in, the United 

13 States (unless the Secretary of Homeland Secu14 rity has expressly consented to such alien’s re15 entry) shall be fined under title 18, United 

16 States Code, imprisoned for not more than 10 

17 years, or both; and 

18 ‘‘(D) who has been denied admission, ex19 cluded, deported, or removed 3 or more times 

20 and thereafter enters, attempts to enter, crosses 

21 the border to, attempts to cross the border to, 

22 or is at any time found in the United States, 

23 shall be fined under title 18, United States 

24 Code, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or 

25 both. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REMOVAL DEFINED.—In this subsection 

2 and subsection (c), the term ‘removal’ includes any 

3 agreement in which an alien stipulates to removal 

4 during (or not during) a criminal trial under either 

5 Federal or State law. 

6 ‘‘(c) MANDATORY MINIMUM CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR

7 REENTRY OF CERTAIN REMOVED ALIENS.—Notwith8 standing the penalties provided in subsections (a) and (b), 

9 an alien described in subsection (a)— 

10 ‘‘(1) who was convicted before such removal or 

11 departure of an aggravated felony; or 

12 ‘‘(2) who was convicted at least two times be13 fore such removal or departure of illegal reentry 

14 under this section; 

15 shall be imprisoned not less than five years and not more 

16 than 20 years, and may, in addition, be fined under title 

17 18, United States Code.’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para19 graph (1)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘section 242(h)(2)’’ and in21 serting ‘‘section 241(a)(4)’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and in23 serting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 

2 If any provision of this Act or the application of such 

3 provision to any person or circumstance is held invalid for 

4 any reason, the remainder of this Act, and the application 

5 of such provision to other persons not similarly situated 

6 or to other circumstances, shall not be affected by such 

7 invalidation. 


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Calendar No. 252 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2146 

A BILL 

To hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for 

other purposes. cooperate with Federal law enforcement and for tection for State and local law enforcement who after being removed, and to provide liability prodividuals who illegally reenter the United States defying Federal law, to increase penalties for inOCTOBER 7, 2015 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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