[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7415 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7415
To reauthorize the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, and for
other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 20, 2024
Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
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A BILL
To reauthorize the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Detain Illegals until Repatriated or
Expelled Act'' or the ``DIRE Act''.
SEC. 2. STATE CRIMINAL ALIEN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
Section 241(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1231(i)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by inserting ``Authorization.--'' before ``If
the chief'';
(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
inserting ``and medical expenses'' after
``incarceration''; and
(C) by inserting ``or an alien with an unknown
status'' after ``undocumented criminal alien'' each
place that term appears;
(2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the
following:
``(2) Compensation.--
``(A) Compensation of state for incarceration.--The
Attorney General shall compensate a State or political
subdivision of a State referred to in paragraph (1)(A),
in accordance with subparagraph (B), for the
incarceration of an alien--
``(i) whose immigration status cannot be
verified by the Secretary of Homeland Security;
and
``(ii) who would otherwise be an
undocumented criminal alien if the alien is
unlawfully present in the United States.
``(B) Calculation of compensation.--Compensation
under subparagraph (A) shall be equal to the average
cost of incarceration of a prisoner in the relevant
State, as determined by the Attorney General.
``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Alien with an unknown status.--The term
`alien with an unknown status' means an individual--
``(i) who has been incarcerated by a
Federal, State, or local law enforcement
entity; and
``(ii) whose immigration status cannot be
definitively identified.
``(B) Incarceration.--The term `incarceration'
means the confining in a correctional facility or
county jail of an alien with unknown status or an
undocumented criminal alien.
``(C) Undocumented criminal alien.--The term
`undocumented criminal alien' means an alien who--
``(i) has been charged with or convicted of
a felony or 2 misdemeanors; and
``(ii)(I) entered the United States without
inspection or at any time or place other than
as designated by the Secretary of Homeland
Security;
``(II) was the subject of exclusion or
deportation or removal proceedings at the time
he or she was taken into custody by the State
or a political subdivision of the State; or
``(III) was admitted as a nonimmigrant and,
at the time he or she was taken into custody by
the State or political subdivision--
``(aa) failed to maintain the
nonimmigrant status in which the alien
was admitted or to which it was changed
under section 248; or
``(bb) failed to comply with the
conditions of any such status.'';
(3) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``and aliens with an
unknown status'' after ``undocumented criminal aliens'' each
place that term appears; and
(4) by striking paragraphs (5) and (6) and inserting the
following:
``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--
``(A) In general.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $950,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2025 through 2029 to carry out this subsection.
``(B) Limitation.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to
subparagraph (A) that are distributed to a State or a
political subdivision of a State, including a
municipality, may be used only for correctional
purposes.
``(6) Distribution of reimbursement.--Any amounts provided
to a State or a political subdivision of a State as
compensation under paragraph (1)(A) for a fiscal year shall be
distributed to such State or political subdivision not later
than 120 days after the last day of the period specified by the
Attorney General for the submission of requests under that
paragraph for that fiscal year.''.
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