S. 3921 — Sanctuary Jurisdiction Event Security Enhancement Act

This section states congressional findings concerning the Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) program administered by the Department of Homeland Security, including that sanctuary jurisdictions' limits on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement hinder intelligence sharing and increase vulnerabilities at major events from individuals such as illegal aliens potentially involved in terrorism; notes more than 382 border encounters with terrorist watch list individuals in FY2021 through FY2024 and historical cases of foreign-born terrorists entering illegally; and asserts that conditioning SEAR support on immigration law compliance promotes public welfare, is unambiguous and directly related to event risks, complies with the Constitution, does not coerce compliance, and is consistent with South Dakota v. Dole (483 U.S. 203 (1987)).

This section defines, for purposes of this Act, (1) "sanctuary jurisdiction" as a state or political subdivision with a statute, ordinance, policy, or practice that prohibits or restricts sharing citizenship or immigration status information with government entities or complying with a Department of Homeland Security detention request under INA §236 or §287 (8 U.S.C. 1226, 1357); and (2) "SEAR support" as DHS funds, grants, or resources for Special Event Assessment Rating activities (e.g., risk assessments, explosive detection teams, cyber support) for voluntarily submitted events.

This section makes sanctuary jurisdictions ineligible to receive federal funds for SEAR support for events taking place in such jurisdictions, including funding from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Operations Coordination or related grant programs such as the Homeland Security Grant Program. The ineligibility takes effect only if 30 days have elapsed since the Secretary of Homeland Security notified the jurisdiction of its sanctuary status and the jurisdiction failed to certify full compliance with the immigration laws (as defined in section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act), including section 642 of the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1373).

This section reallocates to Enforcement and Removal Operations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement an amount equal to the reduction in expenditures resulting from the ineligibility of certain sanctuary jurisdictions under section 4. Of those amounts, it (1) gives priority to immigration enforcement activities in response to public safety threats, including arrests, detentions, and deportations of convicted criminal noncitizens, gang members, and individuals on terrorist watch lists; and (2) requires at least 50% to be expended for border-related removals and enforcement operations.

This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit semiannual reports to Congress detailing (1) the amount of funds withheld pursuant to section 4; (2) the amount of funds reallocated pursuant to section 5; (3) the impact of such reallocations on enforcement outcomes, including the number of arrests, detentions, and deportations; and (4) the impact of this Act on reducing risks from illegal aliens at major events.

This section establishes a severability clause, providing that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this section and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.