Empowering Local Law Enforcement Act 2016-07-14 Introduced in House Empowering Local Law Enforcement Act

This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into a written agreement with a state or a subdivision thereof pursuant to which a state or local officer or employee may carry out immigration-related investigations, apprehensions, or detentions of aliens in the United States at state or local expense. (Under current law, such agreements are discretionary and carried out by the Department of Justice.)

The bill prohibits a state or local agreement request from being denied, or an agreement from being terminated, without a compelling reason.

DHS shall ensure that information is provided to the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) and the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) regarding the identity of any individual:
  • with an active order of removal;
  • who has been removed from the United States based upon engaging in terrorism or espionage, attempting to unlawfully enter the United States, being convicted of participation in a criminal street gang, being convicted of a felony other than a state or local offense for which an essential element was the alien's immigration status, or being convicted of an aggravated felony; and
  • for whom a detainer was issued within the previous year but who was not taken into federal custody.

If a state of local law enforcement official apprehends an individual for a crime and the officer has reason to believe that the individual is an alien, the officer may: (1) verify, using the information provided to the NCIC and the LESC, whether the individual is an individual described in this bill; (2) if so, issue a federal detainer; and (3) transport the individual for transfer to federal custody. DHS shall prioritize such an individual for removal.

]]> text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.