To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase penalties for individuals who illegally reenter the United States after being removed, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Grassley, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Stop Illegal Reentry Act toughens criminal penalties for people who illegally reenter the United States after being deported, excluded, or removed. The bill creates a tiered system of punishments based on how many times someone has been removed and whether they have prior criminal convictions. Basic illegal reentry would carry up to 5 years in prison, while those with serious criminal records or multiple deportations could face 5 to 20 years with mandatory minimum sentences.
Who Benefits and How
Private prison companies and detention facility operators benefit from increased demand for incarceration services as more people face longer prison sentences for immigration violations. Immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security gain stronger legal tools to pursue criminal charges against repeat border crossers. Immigration defense attorneys may see increased caseload as more defendants face serious felony charges requiring legal representation.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Undocumented immigrants who have been previously removed face substantially higher criminal penalties - up to 20 years in prison - if they attempt to reenter the United States, even without committing additional crimes. Taxpayers bear the financial burden of significantly increased incarceration costs, as mandatory minimum sentences of 5-20 years for certain categories will greatly expand the federal prison population. Immigrant advocacy organizations face increased challenges helping clients who now face severe criminal penalties rather than civil deportation proceedings.
Key Provisions
- Establishes base penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment for any person who reenters after being removed
- Increases penalty to up to 10 years for those with 3+ misdemeanors or non-aggravated felonies, or who have been removed 3+ times
- Creates mandatory minimum sentence of 5-20 years for those previously convicted of an "aggravated felony" or with two prior illegal reentry convictions
- Expands definition of "removal" to include stipulated removals during criminal trials
- Specifies that certain 10-year sentences must run consecutively with any other sentences (cannot be served concurrently)
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
Increases criminal penalties for individuals who illegally reenter the United States after being removed, deported, or excluded.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Deter illegal immigration by substantially increasing criminal penalties for repeat border crossers and those with prior criminal convictions"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Department of Homeland Security enforcement agencies
- Immigration enforcement contractors
- Private prison operators
- Border security industries
Likely Burden Bearers
- Undocumented immigrants (especially those previously removed)
- Immigration defense attorneys
- Immigrant advocacy organizations
- Taxpayers (increased incarceration costs)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security
Note: None identified - 'The Secretary' consistently refers to Secretary of Homeland Security throughout
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes any agreement in which an alien stipulates to removal during (or not during) a criminal trial under either Federal or State law
Any alien who has been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed or has departed the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding
As defined in Immigration and Nationality Act (referenced but not defined in this bill)
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.
Learn more about our methodology