UPLIFT Act
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Evans of Colorado (for himself, Mr. Crank, Ms. Boebert, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The UPLIFT Act (Unhandcuffing Police to Locate and Interdict Foreign Transgressors Act) prohibits "sanctuary" policies at the federal, state, and local level. It requires all government entities to cooperate fully with federal immigration enforcement, including honoring ICE detainers that request local authorities to hold individuals suspected of being deportable until federal agents can take custody.
Who Benefits and How
Federal immigration agencies (ICE and DHS) gain expanded authority to issue detainers and receive mandatory cooperation from state and local law enforcement. Private immigration detention facility operators benefit from provisions that explicitly allow governments to contract with them, sell them property, and pay for their services - removing any state or local restrictions on these business relationships. State and local entities that comply with detainers receive immunity from civil liability lawsuits.
Who Bears the Burden and How
States and local governments with sanctuary policies must dismantle them or face potential lawsuits from local entities and annual public non-compliance reports to Congress. Crime victims and their families gain the ability to sue jurisdictions that declined to honor detainers if a released individual later commits murder, rape, or other felonies - creating significant litigation risk for non-compliant jurisdictions. Individuals detained under these provisions may be held up to 96 hours beyond their normal release date.
Key Provisions
- Bans any federal, state, or local policy that restricts cooperation with immigration enforcement or sharing of immigration status information
- Authorizes ICE to issue detainers based on biometric matches, ongoing removal proceedings, prior removal orders, or statements indicating deportability
- Grants immunity from monetary damages to jurisdictions that comply with detainers (the federal government becomes the defendant in such suits)
- Prohibits restrictions on government contracts with private detention facility operators
- Creates a private right of action allowing crime victims to sue jurisdictions that released aliens who later committed serious crimes, with a 10-year statute of limitations and mandatory attorney fee awards
- Requires annual DHS reports to Congress identifying non-compliant jurisdictions
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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