II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 890 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase penalties for 

individuals who illegally reenter the United States after being removed, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2021 

Mr. CRUZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase 

penalties for individuals who illegally reenter the United 

States after being removed, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Illegal Reentry 

5 Act’’ or as ‘‘Kate’s Law’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR REENTRY OF RE7 MOVED ALIEN. 

8 Section 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1326) is amended— 


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

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

3 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in4 serting the following: 

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

6 (c), any alien who— 

7 ‘‘(1) has been denied admission, excluded, de8 ported, or removed or has departed the United 

9 States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or 

10 removal is outstanding; and 

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

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

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

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

15 application for admission from foreign contig16 uous territory, the Secretary of Homeland Se17 curity has expressly consented to such alien’s 

18 reapplying for admission; or 

19 ‘‘(B) with respect to an alien previously de20 nied admission and removed, such alien shall 

21 establish that the alien was not required to ob22 tain such advance consent under this Act or 

23 any prior Act, 

24 shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, 

25 imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR REENTRY OF CER2 TAIN REMOVED ALIENS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the pen4 alty under subsection (a), and except as provided in 

5 subsection (c), an alien described in subsection (a)— 

6 ‘‘(A) who was convicted before such re7 moval or departure of 3 or more misdemeanors 

8 involving drugs, crimes against the person, or 

9 both, or a felony (other than an aggravated fel10 ony), shall be fined under title 18, United 

11 States Code, imprisoned not more than 10 

12 years, or both; 

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

14 United States pursuant to section 235(c) be15 cause the alien was inadmissible under section 

16 212(a)(3)(B) or who has been removed from 

17 the United States pursuant to title V, and who 

18 thereafter, without the permission of the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security, enters the United 

20 States, or attempts to do so, shall be fined 

21 under title 18, United States Code, and impris22 oned for a period of 10 years, which sentence 

23 shall not run concurrently with any other sen24 tence; 


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

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

3 thereafter, without the permission of the Sec4 retary of Homeland Security, enters, attempts 

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

6 States, shall be fined under title 18, United 

7 States Code, imprisoned for not more than 10 

8 years, or both; and 

9 ‘‘(D) who has been denied admission, ex10 cluded, deported, or removed 3 or more times 

11 and thereafter enters, attempts to enter, crosses 

12 the border to, attempts to cross the border to, 

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

14 shall be fined under title 18, United States 

15 Code, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or 

16 both. 

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

18 and in subsection (c), the term ‘removal’ includes 

19 any agreement in which an alien stipulates to re20 moval during (or not during) a criminal trial under 

21 either Federal or State law. 

22 ‘‘(c) MANDATORY MINIMUM CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR

23 REENTRY OF CERTAIN REMOVED ALIENS.—Notwith24 standing the penalties provided in subsections (a) and (b), 

25 an alien described in subsection (a)— 


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

2 departure of an aggravated felony; or 

3 ‘‘(2) who was convicted at least two times be4 fore such removal or departure of illegal reentry 

5 under this section, 

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

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

8 18, United States Code.’’; and 

9 (3) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para10 graph (1)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘section 242(h)(2)’’ and in12 serting ‘‘section 241(a)(4)’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and in14 serting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’. 

Æ 


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