Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025

Senate Bill

S. 185

119th Congress

Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 22, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Thomas Tillis

Senator

Republican

NC

Cosponsors

10

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Immigration

Summary

This bill allows crime victims to sue sanctuary jurisdictions that fail to cooperate with DHS immigration detainer requests. Victims of felonies committed by aliens can sue if the jurisdiction refused to honor detention or notification requests. Jurisdictions receiving federal grants cannot claim immunity. The bill also protects jurisdictions and employees who comply with detainers by deeming them federal agents and shielding them from liability.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

SponsorThomas Tillis (R-NC)

Introduced1/22/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

ChamberSenate

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025

This bill allows crime victims to sue sanctuary jurisdictions that fail to cooperate with DHS immigration detainer requests. Victims of felonies committed by aliens can sue if the jurisdiction refused to honor detention or notification requests. Jurisdictions

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill allows crime victims to sue sanctuary jurisdictions that fail to cooperate with DHS immigration detainer requests. Victims of felonies committed by aliens can sue if the jurisdiction refused to honor detention or notification requests. Jurisdictions receiving federal grants cannot claim immunity. The bill also protects jurisdictions and employees who comply with detainers by deeming them federal agents and shielding them from liability.

Bill Number: 185
Sponsor: Thomas Tillis (R-NC)
Introduced: 1/22/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy Area: Immigration

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025
Bill Number: 185
Sponsor: Thomas Tillis (R-NC)
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced: 1/22/2025
Summary: This bill allows crime victims to sue sanctuary jurisdictions that fail to cooperate with DHS immigration detainer requests. Victims of felonies committed by aliens can sue if the jurisdiction refused to honor detention or notification requests. Jurisdictions receiving federal grants cannot claim im

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill allows crime victims to sue sanctuary jurisdictions that fail to cooperate with DHS immigration detainer requests. Victims of felonies committed by aliens can sue if the jurisdiction refused to honor detention or notification requests. Jurisdictions receiving federal grants cannot claim immunity. The bill also protects jurisdictions and employees who comply with detainers by deeming them federal agents and shielding them from liability.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025This 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.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Creates private right of action against sanctuary jurisdictions
Victims of felonies by aliens can sue non-compliant jurisdictions
Removes sovereign immunity for grant-receiving jurisdictions
Protects compliant jurisdictions as federal agents
Shields compliant employees from personal liability

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This legislation creates financial liability for sanctuary policies by enabling lawsuits from crime victims. It aims to pressure jurisdictions to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement by exposing them to civil damages. The immunity protections for complying jurisdictions incentivize cooperation. Critics argue it unfairly scapegoats immigrants and interferes with local law enforcement priorities.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Immigration

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

185, 119th Congress (2025). "Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-185