Title: Diamond and Silk Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
End Sanctuaries and Help Our American Homeless and Veterans Act or the Diamond and Silk Act
This bill imposes penalties on any state or local jurisdiction that has an ordinance, policy, or practice that prohibits or restricts federal, state, or local government entities, officials, or other personnel from enforcing or assisting with enforcing immigration laws.
Such a jurisdiction shall be barred from receiving any federal financial assistance, and certain funds that would have gone to the jurisdiction shall be reallocated to programs to reduce homelessness and address mental illness.
A victim (or certain family members if the victim is deceased) of any felony for which an alien was convicted and sentenced to at least one year in prison may sue a state or local jurisdiction if (1) the jurisdiction knew the alien was unlawfully present in the United States and released the alien prior to the crime's commission, or (2) the crime was a consequence of the jurisdiction refusing to honor a detainer or warrant issued for an alien believed to be unlawfully present and in violation of controlled substances laws. A prevailing plaintiff shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
A jurisdiction that receives federal financial assistance shall waive sovereign immunity against such lawsuits.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3218 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3218

    To prohibit certain Federal funds from being made available to 
            sanctuary jurisdictions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2019

 Mr. King of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
  the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit certain Federal funds from being made available to 
            sanctuary jurisdictions, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as--
            (1) the ``End Sanctuaries and Help Our American Homeless 
        and Veterans Act''; or
            (2) the ``Diamond and Silk Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) According to United States law, found at section 274 of 
        the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324), it is 
        illegal to bring or harbor illegal immigrants in our Nation.
            (2) In contravention of this law, cities, counties, 
        parishes, other political subdivisions, and States in our 
        Nation have adopted policies specifically oriented to bring in, 
        harbor, and even attract illegal aliens into their 
        jurisdictions.
            (3) Although the Federal Government, and specifically the 
        Congress of the United States, is constitutionally charged with 
        establishing ``an uniform Rule of Naturalization'', in certain 
        cases States and political subdivisions, including cities, have 
        been assuming the role of immigration authorities, clearly in 
        violation of both the Constitution and Federal statute.
            (4) Historically, the Federal Government has proven 
        lackadaisical about enforcing its sole jurisdiction in the 
        serious matter of illegal immigration and taking action against 
        those jurisdictions that knowingly or recklessly disregard the 
        Rule of Law to conceal, harbor, attempt to, or actually shield 
        from detection, such illegal aliens, or that prohibit their 
        officers from gathering information for, or cooperating with, 
        Federal officials.
            (5) In these wanton acts, such jurisdictions break the law 
        that its citizens are held to, violate the trust of the 
        taxpayers who are already charged with a $22 trillion dollar 
        Government debt that grows daily, and--perhaps worst--subject 
        those they should protect and serve to death by deliberate 
        murderous acts and traffic accidents by those who should not be 
        in the country at all.
            (6) In this way, such jurisdictions aid and abet American 
        deaths that are 100 percent preventable.
            (7) Such tragic, preventable American deaths have been 
        suffered by ``Angel Families'' who have lost spouses, sons, 
        daughters, grandchildren, parents, and grandparents at the 
        hands of illegal aliens.
            (8) These families are left to suffer deaths that should 
        not have been, according to the law of the land, while too 
        often complicit public officials, cities, States, and the 
        Federal Government are not held accountable.
            (9) Meanwhile, our Nation's American homeless and veterans 
        are too often left out in the cold, without the basic 
        necessities and care that they need and deserve as citizens of 
        this country.
            (10) Our American homeless and veterans must be prioritized 
        and cared for by law and in fact.
            (11) Jurisdictions' responsibilities must be taken 
        seriously, and never aid and abet, violations of immigration 
        law.
            (12) These are dual injustices that the law, as is, 
        dictates must end.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``sanctuary 
jurisdiction'' means a State or any political subdivision of a State 
that the Attorney General determines has in effect a statute, 
ordinance, policy, or practice that prohibits or in any way restricts, 
a Federal, State, or local government entity, official, or other 
personnel from--
            (1) complying with the immigration laws (as defined in 
        section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1101(a)(17))), or from assisting or cooperating with 
        Federal law enforcement entities, officials, or other personnel 
        regarding the enforcement of these laws; or
            (2) undertaking any of the following law enforcement 
        activities as they relate to information regarding the 
        citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, the 
        inadmissibility or deportability, or the custody status, of any 
        individual:
                    (A) Making inquiries to any individual in order to 
                obtain such information regarding such individual or 
                any other individuals.
                    (B) Notifying the Federal Government regarding the 
                presence of individuals who are encountered by law 
                enforcement officials or other personnel of a State or 
                political subdivision of a State.
                    (C) Complying with requests for such information 
                from Federal law enforcement entities, officials, or 
                other personnel.
                    (D) Complying with detainers.
    (b) Ineligibility of Sanctuary Jurisdictions for Federal Funds.--
            (1) States.--No sanctuary jurisdiction that is a State may 
        be allocated or receive any Federal financial assistance (as 
        such term is defined in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United 
        States Code).
            (2) Political subdivisions.--No sanctuary jurisdiction that 
        is a political subdivision of a State may be allocated or 
        receive any funds made available to the Attorney General, 
        including those made available from the account ``Department of 
        Justice--Office of Justice Programs--State and Local Law 
        Enforcement Assistance''.
            (3) Sovereign immunity.--Each State and political 
        subdivision of a State shall, as a condition on receipt of any 
        Federal financial assistance (as such term is defined in 
        section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United States Code), waive the 
        sovereign immunity of the State or political subdivision with 
        respect to actions authorized under section 4.
            (4) Reallocation of funds.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, any funds not allocated to a sanctuary 
        jurisdiction from the account ``Department of Justice--Office 
        of Justice Programs--State and Local Law Enforcement 
        Assistance'' pursuant to this subsection shall be made 
        available for activities carried out under the Justice and 
        Mental Health Collaboration Program of the Office of Justice 
        Programs of the Department of Justice, to reduce homelessness 
        in order to improve outcomes for individuals with mental 
        illnesses or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse 
        disorders who encounter the justice system, thereby reducing 
        mental health disorders and homelessness among our citizens.

SEC. 4. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.

    (a) Cause of Action.--Any individual, or a spouse, parent, or child 
of that individual (if the individual is deceased), who is the victim 
of a murder, rape, or any felony, as defined by the State, for which an 
alien (as defined in section 101(a)(3) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(3))) has been convicted and sentenced 
to a term of imprisonment of at least 1 year, may bring an action 
against a State or political subdivision of a State in the appropriate 
Federal or State court--
            (1) if the State or political subdivision released the 
        alien from custody prior to the commission of such crime, and 
        had knowledge that the alien was unlawfully present in the 
        United States; or
            (2) the crime was a consequence of the State or political 
        subdivision declining to honor a detainer or warrant issued 
        pursuant to section 287(d)(1) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357(d)(1)).
    (b) Application.--Subject to subsection (c), subsection (a) shall 
apply without regard to whether the crime was committed before, on, or 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Limitation on Bringing Action.--
            (1) In general.--An action brought under this section may 
        not be brought later than 10 years following the occurrence of 
        the crime, or death of a person as a result of such crime, 
        whichever occurs later.
            (2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to an action 
        brought under this section based on a crime committed before 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Attorney's Fees and Other Costs.--In any action or proceeding 
under this section the court shall allow a prevailing plaintiff a 
reasonable attorneys' fee as part of the costs, and include expert fees 
as part of the attorneys' fee.
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