A bill to discontinue a Federal program that authorizes State and local law enforcement officers to investigate, apprehend, and detain aliens in accordance with a written agreement with the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to clarify that immigration enforcement is solely a function of the Federal Government.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 3, 2017
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that the authority to inquire about or verify immigration or citizenship status and to investigate, apprehend, arrest, or detain an individual for a violation of such Act is restricted to immigration officers and authorized employees of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and subject to limits set forth in other provisions of law.
DHS authority to enter into written agreements with a state or state subdivision to perform immigration-related investigations, apprehensions, or detentions of aliens in the United States is eliminated. The bill exempts from the restriction under this bill DOJ authority to enter into other state and local agreements: (1) in the event of an actual or imminent mass influx of aliens representing urgent circumstances; and (2) with respect to immigration-related detentions in non-federal facilities, including personnel and facilities construction. The bill also exempts from such restriction state and local enforcement authority to arrest and detain certain previously-deported illegal aliens who have been convicted of a felony.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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