S. 3782 — Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities and Fallen Law Enforcement Act of 2026

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) "alien," which has the meaning given in section 101(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(3)); (2) "sanctuary jurisdiction," generally meaning a state or political subdivision with a statute, ordinance, policy, or practice prohibiting or restricting government entities or officials from sending, receiving, maintaining, or exchanging information on an alien's citizenship or immigration status with federal, state, or local entities, or from complying with a DHS detainer or notification request under INA §§236 or 287 (8 U.S.C. §§1226, 1357)—with an exception for policies not sharing such information or complying with detainers for aliens who come forward as victims or witnesses to a criminal offense; (3) "sanctuary policy," meaning such a statute, ordinance, policy, or practice; and (4) "sanctuary-related civil action," meaning a civil action against a sanctuary jurisdiction by an individual (or their estate, survivors, or heirs) injured by an alien who benefited from a sanctuary policy of that jurisdiction and who would not have been injured absent such benefit.

This section establishes a private right of action in federal or state court for compensatory damages against a state or political subdivision by any individual victim—or the victim's spouse, parent, or child if the victim is deceased or permanently incapacitated—of murder, rape, or any state-defined felony for which an alien was arrested, convicted, or sentenced to at least one year imprisonment, 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 comply with an immigration detainer for the alien or notify DHS of the alien's release. Actions must be brought within 10 years after the crime or any resulting death, and prevailing plaintiffs recover reasonable attorney's fees, including expert fees. This section requires states and political subdivisions to waive sovereign immunity against such actions as a condition of receiving federal grants for (1) public works and economic development under §201(a) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. §3141(a)); (2) planning and administrative expenses under §203(a) (42 U.S.C. §3143(a)); (3) supplemental grants under §205(b) (42 U.S.C. §3145(b)); (4) training, research, and technical assistance under §207(a) (42 U.S.C. §3147(a)); or (5) community development block grants under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. §5301 et seq.), excluding disaster relief grants under the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. §5170 et seq.).

This section deems states, political subdivisions, and their officers, employees, or agents who comply with a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detainer under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sections 236 or 287 (8 U.S.C. 1226, 1357)—which authorize detention of aliens pending removal decisions or during investigations—to be acting as DHS agents required to follow specified INA and regulatory provisions on information disclosure. In legal proceedings challenging such detention, the section (1) shields the state or subdivision from liability if actions accord with the detainer; and (2) deems the officer, employee, or agent a federal employee acting within the scope of employment, making Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) provisions (28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), chapter 171) the exclusive remedy with the United States substituted as defendant. The section does not provide immunity for knowing violations of civil or constitutional rights.

This section (1) amends section 111 of title 18, United States Code, by adding a new subsection (d) that establishes a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 20 years for any act described in subsection (a)(1)—such as assaulting, resisting, or impeding—resulting in serious injury to a federal law enforcement officer or to a state or local law enforcement officer if the perpetrator plans or facilitates the act with an instrument of interstate commerce or commits the act with a weapon that has traveled in interstate commerce; and (2) adds a new section 1123 to chapter 51 of title 18, United States Code, providing that whoever murders such an officer shall be sentenced as provided under section 1111 for first-degree murder (i.e., death or life imprisonment). Additionally, this section requires the Attorney General to submit to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, not later than three years after enactment, a report on prosecutions conducted pursuant to these amendments.