S. 185 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jan 22, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryAllows lawsuits against sanctuary jurisdiction policies
This bill creates a way for crime victims to sue state or local governments that have policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Specifically, if someone is the victim of a felony committed by a person who was arrested or convicted and sentenced to prison for at least a year, they or their relatives could sue the jurisdiction if it didn't comply with certain federal requests to detain or notify about the release of that person. The bill also protects jurisdictions and their employees from lawsuits when they do comply with those federal detention requests.
How it affects you
This would directly affect crime victims and their families in areas with policies limiting immigration enforcement cooperation, giving them a legal avenue to pursue against those jurisdictions. It would also affect state and local governments and their employees by potentially exposing them to lawsuits while also shielding them from liability when they cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jan 22, 2025)
Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025
This bill provides a private right of action against state and local jurisdictions with certain policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts, and contains additional provisions related to such jurisdictions. Currently, such cooperation is generally not required.
An individual (or certain relatives of such an individual) who is the victim of any felony for which an alien has been arrested, convicted, or sentenced to a prison term of at least one year may sue a state or local jurisdiction if the jurisdiction failed to comply with (1) certain Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requests related to arresting and detaining aliens, and (2) a DHS request to detain the alien in question or provide a notification about the release of the alien. A jurisdiction that accepts certain federal grants may not assert immunity in such a civil action.
A jurisdiction (or employee of a jurisdiction) that complies with certain DHS detainer requests shall be deemed to be acting as an agent of DHS. A complying jurisdiction or employee of the jurisdiction shall not be liable in any lawsuit relating to compliance with such requests. In a lawsuit against an employee of the jurisdiction, the United States shall be substituted in as the defendant, and remedies shall be limited to provisions for bringing tort claims against the federal government.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 185
A BILL
Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025
Sponsor: Sen. Thomas Tillis (R-NC) · Introduced Jan 22, 2025 · Immigration · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jan 22, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.”