S. 114 — CLEAR Act of 2025

This section provides short titles for the Act—“Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2025” or “CLEAR Act of 2025”—and sets forth the table of contents.

This section defines, for purposes of this Act, the term "Secretary" as the Secretary of Homeland Security and the term "State" as having the meaning given the term in section 101(a)(36) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(36)) (i.e., the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands).

This section reaffirms the inherent authority of states and their political subdivisions, including law enforcement personnel, to investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer aliens in the United States to federal custody—including by transporting such aliens across state lines to detention centers—for the purpose of assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration laws while carrying out routine duties. (Thus, the section states that Congress has never displaced or preempted this state authority.)

This section conditions reimbursement grants to states under INA §241(i) (8 U.S.C. 1231(i))—which reimburse states and localities for costs of incarcerating undocumented aliens convicted of felonies or three or more misdemeanors—on the absence of statutes, policies, or practices prohibiting state or local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement during routine duties, effective one year after enactment. Funds withheld from noncompliant states or localities are reallocated to compliant ones. This section includes a rule of construction clarifying that it does not require reporting or arresting victims or witnesses of criminal offenses.

This section requires the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, not later than 180 days after enactment and periodically thereafter, to provide the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) with information on aliens subject to final removal orders, voluntary departure agreements, visa overstays, or visa revocations, requiring NCIC to enter such information into the Immigration Violators File regardless of notice to the alien, prior removal, or availability of identifying information. It further amends 28 U.S.C. §534(a) by inserting a new paragraph directing NCIC to acquire, collect, classify, and preserve records of aliens' immigration law violations under the same conditions, with the Attorney General to implement the amendment not later than six months after enactment. (Thus, law enforcement nationwide querying NCIC—a criminal justice database—will have access to such immigration violation records.)

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 its jurisdiction believed to violate U.S. immigration laws, in compliance with 8 U.S.C. 1373(a) (prohibiting restrictions on sharing citizenship or immigration status information with federal authorities) and 8 U.S.C. 1644 (requiring verification of immigration status for certain purposes). 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, or vehicle details; and (6) if available, a photo or fingerprints. The Secretary must annually report to Congress the states and subdivisions that provided such information and reimburse them for all reasonable costs incurred. This section does not require submission of information related to crime victims or witnesses.

This section directs the Secretary to award grants to eligible States and political subdivisions for procuring equipment, technology, facilities, and related products—plus compliance costs—to investigate, apprehend, arrest, detain, or transport aliens who have violated U.S. immigration laws. Eligibility requires such entities to have authority and a written policy and practice of assisting in federal immigration enforcement during routine local duties, with no policy preventing inquiries about a suspect's immigration status. This section also requires the GAO to audit the grants within three years of enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to construct or acquire 20 additional detention facilities in the United States, beyond existing facilities, 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 further amends INA sec. 241(g)(1) to require expenditures from the "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement—Operations and Support" appropriation (from the permissive "Immigration and Naturalization Service—Salaries and Expenses" appropriation).

This section amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by adding a new section 240D, which defines an "alien who is unlawfully present in the United States" (i.e., one who entered without inspection or improperly; failed to maintain nonimmigrant status or comply with its conditions; failed to comply with immigrant status requirements; or failed to depart under a voluntary departure agreement or final removal order). It requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), upon request by a state or local authority that apprehends such an alien, to take the alien into federal custody within 48 hours after the conclusion of any state charging or dismissal process (or after apprehension if none is required), or to request that the state or local agency temporarily incarcerate or transport the alien; directs DHS to detain such aliens pending examination in the most suitable state or local facility meeting U.S. Marshals Service standards; requires DHS to reimburse states and localities for all reasonable incarceration costs (based on the state's average prisoner incarceration cost) and transportation costs; mandates secure federal facilities for such aliens and a regular schedule (potentially via contracts) for their prompt transfer to federal custody; and includes a conforming amendment to the INA table of contents. Separately, this section requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO), not later than three years after enactment, to audit DHS reimbursements to states and localities under new INA section 240D.

This section directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, not later than 180 days after enactment, to develop (1) a training manual for State and local law enforcement personnel 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 during duties. The manual and pocket guide must be made available to all such personnel, with development costs borne by the Secretary; nothing requires personnel to carry these materials on duty. This section further requires the Secretary to provide training through multiple means (e.g., residential training at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Center for Domestic Preparedness, onsite at State or local facilities, online via computer or teleconferencing, or DVD); establish, not later than 120 days after enactment, a secure e-learning portal through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's Distributed Learning Program (with U.S.-based servers that are scalable and survivable); prioritize funding for existing web-based immigration enforcement training systems; ensure State and local training does not displace federal personnel training; and clarify that no immigration-related training is a requirement or prerequisite for State or local officers assisting in federal immigration enforcement.

This section establishes personal and agency immunity for state and local law enforcement officers and agencies enforcing federal immigration laws. (1) Officers acting within the scope of their official duties receive personal immunity from liability to the same extent as federal law enforcement officers for duties under this Act. (2) Agencies are immune from money damages claims under federal, state, or local civil rights laws arising from such enforcement, except to the extent an officer committed a criminal violation during enforcement.

This section continues and expands the Institutional Removal Program, which identifies removable criminal aliens in federal and state correctional facilities, ensures such aliens are not released into the community, and removes them after sentence completion. The section (1) extends the program to all states, requiring any state receiving federal funds for incarcerating criminal aliens to cooperate by expeditiously identifying such aliens in its prisons and jails and promptly sharing that information as a condition of receiving those funds; (2) authorizes state and local law enforcement to detain a removable or unlawfully present criminal alien for up to 14 days after sentence completion to facilitate transfer to federal custody or to issue a detainer for such purpose; and (3) directs maximum practicable use of technologies—including video conferencing, mobile access to federal databases such as IDENT, and live scan technology—to make the program available in remote locations.

This section (1) authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary to the Department of Homeland Security for FY2025 and each subsequent fiscal year to carry out this Act; (2) revises the authorization of appropriations for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)—which reimburses states and local governments for costs of incarcerating undocumented aliens who have been convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors—to such sums as necessary for FY2025 and each subsequent fiscal year.

This section establishes a severability clause stating that the invalidation of any provision of the Act or its amendments, or its application to any person or circumstance, does not affect the remainder of the Act or its amendments, or their application to other persons or circumstances.