H.R. 3486 — Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025

This section (1) increases the maximum term of imprisonment for a subsequent commission of an improper entry offense (i.e., entering at an undesignated time or place, eluding examination or inspection, or using willful misrepresentation or concealment of material facts) to 5 years (from 2 years), and (2) establishes a new mandatory minimum prison term of 5 years up to life—plus a fine—for any alien who commits such an offense and is thereafter convicted of any crime punishable by more than 1 year of imprisonment.

This section increases the maximum penalty under 8 U.S.C. 1326(a) for illegal reentry (or attempted reentry) of a previously removed alien without permission from imprisonment not more than 2 years to not more than 10 years and revises related penalties, updates statutory cross-references (e.g., section 1225(c) to 235(c), section 1231(a)(4)(B) to 241(a)(4)(B), and subchapter V to title V), substitutes the Secretary of Homeland Security for the Attorney General as the permission-granting authority, and defines "removal" to include stipulated removal agreements in criminal trials. It further specifies heightened penalties under new subsection (b) for certain aliens, as follows: (1) imprisonment not more than 15 years (from 10 years) for those convicted before removal of 3 or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against the person, or both; (2) imprisonment for 10 years (non-concurrent with other sentences) for those previously excluded under INA §235(c) due to terrorist inadmissibility or removed under title V; (3) imprisonment not more than 10 years for those removed under INA §241(a)(4)(B); and (4) imprisonment not more than 10 years for those previously denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed 3 or more times. It establishes a new mandatory minimum penalty under subsection (c) of imprisonment for not less than 10 years (up to any term of years or life) for aliens previously convicted before removal of (1) an aggravated felony, (2) any felony (as defined by the relevant jurisdiction), or (3) any crime punishable by more than 1 year of imprisonment. (Thus, these changes substantially increase baseline and enhanced penalties for repeat illegal reentries, particularly those involving criminal histories.)