H.R. 1927 — CLEAR Act of 2025

This section establishes short titles for the Act as the "Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2025" or the "CLEAR Act of 2025" and provides a table of contents.

This section defines, for purposes of the Act, (1) the term "Secretary" as the Secretary of Homeland Security, and (2) the term "State" as having the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(36) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (i.e., the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States).

This section affirms the inherent authority of states and their political subdivisions, including law enforcement personnel, to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer aliens to federal custody—including across state lines to detention centers—to assist in enforcing federal immigration laws during routine duties. (This authority has not been displaced or preempted by Congress.)

This section withholds funds otherwise allocated to states and political subdivisions under INA §241(i) (8 U.S.C. 1231(i))—which reimburses costs of incarcerating undocumented aliens convicted of state or local offenses—beginning one year after enactment, if the state or subdivision prohibits law enforcement officers from assisting federal immigration enforcement during routine duties. Funds are reallocated to compliant states and subdivisions, with a rule of construction preserving discretion not to report or arrest crime victims or witnesses.

This section requires the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner to provide the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) with information on aliens subject to final removal orders, voluntary departure agreements, overstays of authorized stay, or visa revocations within 180 days of enactment and periodically thereafter. NCIC must enter such information into the Immigration Violators File regardless of whether the alien received notice, has been removed, or sufficient identifying information is available. The section also amends 28 U.S.C. 534(a) to require NCIC to acquire, collect, classify, and preserve records of aliens' immigration law violations under the same conditions, with implementation by the Attorney General within six months of enactment. (Thus, the information becomes accessible to federal, state, and local law enforcement via routine NCIC queries.)

This section requires each state and political subdivision to submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security, in a timely manner, specified information on each alien apprehended in their jurisdiction believed to violate U.S. immigration laws, in compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373(a) (prohibiting restrictions on sharing immigration status information) and 8 U.S.C. 1644 (requiring verification of citizenship or immigration status for certain federal benefits). The required information includes (1) the alien’s name; (2) address or place of residence; (3) physical description; (4) date, time, location, and reason for the encounter; (5) if applicable, driver’s license number and issuing state, other identification documents, and vehicle information; and (6) if available or readily obtainable, a photo and fingerprints. This section further directs the Secretary to submit an annual report to Congress listing complying states and localities and to reimburse them for all reasonable costs incurred; it specifies that the requirement does not apply to information on crime victims or witnesses.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary awards grants to states and political subdivisions for equipment, technology, facilities, and other products that facilitate investigating, apprehending, arresting, detaining, or transporting aliens who have violated U.S. immigration laws, including additional administrative costs to comply with the Act. To receive grants, states or subdivisions must have authority and a written policy and practice of assisting in immigration enforcement during routine law enforcement duties and must lack any policy or practice preventing inquiry into a suspect's immigration status. Not later than three years after enactment, the Comptroller General of the United States must audit funds distributed under the program.

This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to construct or acquire 20 additional detention facilities in the United States for aliens detained pending removal or a decision on removal, with each facility having sufficient beds to effectuate the purposes of the Act and locations determined by the Assistant Director of the Custody Management Division of the Enforcement and Removal Directorate. It also amends INA §241(g)(1) (8 U.S.C. 1231(g)(1)) to require expenditures from the "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—Operations and Support" appropriation (from the "Immigration and Naturalization Service—Salaries and Expenses" appropriation using "may expend").

This section establishes new section 240D of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which defines an "alien who is unlawfully present in the United States" (i.e., one who entered without inspection, failed to maintain nonimmigrant or immigrant status, or failed to depart under a voluntary departure agreement or final removal order) and requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, upon request by a state or local law enforcement agency, to take such an alien into federal custody not later than 48 hours after the state or local charging or dismissal process concludes (or after apprehension if no such process is required), or to request temporary state or local incarceration or transport for transfer. It directs detention of such aliens pending examination in the most suitably located state or local facility meeting U.S. Marshals Service standards; requires reimbursement to states and localities for average state incarceration costs plus transportation expenses; mandates secure federal facilities and a regular transfer schedule (potentially via contracts); and requires a Government Accountability Office audit of such reimbursements three years after enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, not later than 180 days after enactment, to develop and make available to all State and local law enforcement personnel (1) a training manual on the investigation, identification, apprehension, arrest, detention, and transfer to federal custody of aliens unlawfully present in the United States (including transportation across State lines and identification of fraudulent documents) and (2) an immigration enforcement pocket guide for quick reference, with the Secretary responsible for all development costs (and without requiring personnel to carry these materials on duty). It further requires the Secretary to provide such training through flexible means (e.g., residential training at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Center for Domestic Preparedness, onsite sessions, online courses, teleconferencing, videotape, or DVD); not later than 120 days after enactment, to establish a secure, scalable, U.S.-server-based e-learning portal through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's Distributed Learning Program; to prioritize funding for existing web-based immigration training systems; to ensure such training does not displace federal personnel training; and to clarify that no immigration-related training is a prerequisite for State or local officers assisting in federal immigration enforcement.

This section establishes two forms of immunity for state and local law enforcement in enforcing federal immigration laws under this Act: (1) personal immunity for officers acting within the scope of their official duties, to the same extent as federal law enforcement officers, from personal liability arising out of such duties; and (2) agency immunity from money damages claims based on federal, state, or local civil rights laws for incidents arising out of such enforcement, except to the extent an officer committed a violation of federal, state, or local criminal law in the course of enforcement.

This section continues and expands the Institutional Removal Program (IRP), under which the Department of Homeland Security identifies removable criminal aliens in federal and state correctional facilities, prevents their release into the community, and removes them after sentence completion. It requires all states receiving federal funds for incarcerating criminal aliens to cooperate by expeditiously identifying such aliens in prison and jail populations and promptly reporting them to IRP officials as a condition of those funds. (As background: IRP, operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prioritizes the removal of criminal noncitizens serving sentences.) The section authorizes state and local law enforcement to detain a removable criminal alien (or one not lawfully present) for up to 14 days after sentence completion to facilitate transfer to federal custody or to issue a detainer for such transfer. It directs maximum practicable use of technologies—including video conferencing, mobile access to federal databases such as IDENT (i.e., DHS's biometric identification system), and live scan—to extend IRP services to remote locations and state and local law enforcement.

This section (1) authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary to the Department of Homeland Security for FY2025 and each subsequent fiscal year to carry out this Act; and (2) revises the authorization of appropriations for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)—which reimburses states and localities for costs of incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens—to such sums as may be necessary for FY2025 and each subsequent fiscal year.

This section provides a severability clause, stating that if any provision of the Act or its amendments, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and amendments, and their application to other persons or circumstances, remains unaffected.