H.R. 611 — Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act. It defines (1) "alien" as having the meaning given in section 101(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(3)); (2) "sanctuary jurisdiction" as generally any state or political subdivision with a statute, ordinance, policy, or practice prohibiting or restricting government entities or officials from sharing citizenship or immigration status information or from complying with a Department of Homeland Security detainer or notification request under INA sections 236 or 287 (8 U.S.C. 1226, 1357)—except where the policy applies solely to aliens who come forward as victims or witnesses to a crime; (3) "sanctuary policy" as any such prohibiting or restricting statute, ordinance, policy, or practice; and (4) "sanctuary-related civil action" as a civil action brought against a sanctuary jurisdiction by an individual (or their estate, survivors, or heirs) injured by an alien who benefited from a sanctuary policy, where the injury would not have occurred absent that benefit.

This section establishes a private right of action allowing any individual (or the individual's spouse, parent, or child if deceased or permanently incapacitated) who is the victim of a murder, rape, or any state-defined felony—for which an alien was arrested, convicted, or sentenced to imprisonment of at least one year—to sue a state or political subdivision for compensatory damages in federal or state court if the state or subdivision failed to comply with a DHS request under INA §236 or §287 (8 U.S.C. §1226, §1357) and either ignored a detainer for the alien or failed to notify DHS of the alien's release. Actions must be brought within 10 years of the crime or resulting death, and prevailing plaintiffs recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs. This section further requires any state or political subdivision, as a condition of receiving specified federal grants, to waive sovereign immunity against such actions. Affected grants include (1) public works and economic development grants under the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. §3141(a)), which support acquisition, construction, or improvement of public facilities to foster job creation and economic growth in distressed areas; (2) planning and administrative expense grants under that Act (42 U.S.C. §3143(a)); (3) supplemental grants under that Act (42 U.S.C. §3145(b)); (4) training, research, and technical assistance grants under that Act (42 U.S.C. §3147(a)); and (5) community development block grants (CDBG) under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5301 et seq.), excluding disaster relief CDBG under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. §5170 et seq.).

This section deems a state, political subdivision, or its officer, employee, or agent that complies with a DHS detainer under INA §236 or §287 (8 U.S.C. 1226, 1357)—(1) to be acting as an agent of DHS required to comply with INA §287(d) (8 U.S.C. 1357(d)) and 8 C.F.R. §287.5(d); and (2) in any legal proceeding challenging the related seizure or detention, not liable if acting in accordance with the detainer, with the officer, employee, or agent deemed a federal employee acting within the scope of employment, the FTCA (28 U.S.C. §1346(b) et seq.) as the exclusive remedy, and the United States substituted as defendant. This section states that nothing in it provides immunity to any person who knowingly violates an individual's civil or constitutional rights.