HR2056-119

What This Bill Does

The District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act of 2025 prohibits D.C. from having any statute, ordinance, policy, or practice that restricts District government entities or officials from sending, receiving, maintaining, or exchanging information about a person's lawful or unlawful citizenship or immigration status with any federal, state, or local government entity. It also bars D.C. policies that restrict compliance with lawful Department of Homeland Security requests under Immigration and Nationality Act sections 236 or 287 to honor an immigration detainer or notify DHS about an individual's release. The bill preserves a narrower exception: D.C. is not treated as violating the bill solely because it has a policy under which officials do not share information about, or comply with a DHS detainer for, a person who comes forward as a victim or witness to a criminal offense.

Who Benefits and How

The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, federal immigration prosecutors, state and local agencies seeking immigration-status information, House oversight committees, and supporters of federal-local immigration cooperation benefit because D.C. government entities must share citizenship or immigration-status information and comply with lawful detainer or release-notification requests. Immigrant victims and witnesses also benefit from the retained exception that allows D.C. to protect people who come forward to report or witness crimes.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The District of Columbia government, D.C. police officials, D.C. corrections staff, D.C. agency database administrators, D.C. legal counsel, undocumented immigrants in D.C., immigrant families using District services, immigrant-service nonprofits, and local officials who prefer sanctuary policies must change information-sharing practices, comply with lawful DHS detainers or release notices, manage privacy and trust concerns, and face increased risk of immigration enforcement when individuals interact with District agencies outside the victim-or-witness exception.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits D.C. policies restricting immigration-status information sharing with federal, state, or local government entities.
• Requires D.C. officials to comply with lawful DHS detainer and release-notification requests under INA sections 236 and 287.
• Preserves an exception for D.C. policies concerning individuals who come forward as crime victims or witnesses.
• Limits D.C.'s ability to maintain sanctuary-jurisdiction practices that block federal immigration cooperation.