[House Report 118-442]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                          HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      118-442

======================================================================


 
                              SARAH'S LAW

                                _______
                                

 April 5, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Jordan, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 661]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 661) to require U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement to take into custody certain aliens who have been 
charged in the United States with a crime that resulted in the 
death or serious bodily injury of another person, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do 
pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     3
Hearings.........................................................     9
Committee Consideration..........................................     9
Committee Votes..................................................     9
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................    12
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................    12
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................    12
Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects..........................    13
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................    13
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................    13
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................    13
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................    13
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................    14
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................    14
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................    14
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............    14
Dissenting Views.................................................    17

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all that follows the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as ``Sarah's Law''.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY DETENTION OF CERTAIN ALIENS CHARGED WITH A CRIME 
                    RESULTING IN DEATH OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.

  Section 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1226(c)) is amended--
          (1) in paragraph (1)--
                  (A) in subparagraph (C)--
                          (i) by striking ``sentence'' and inserting 
                        ``sentenced''; and
                          (ii) by striking ``or'';
                  (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the comma at the 
                end and inserting ``, or''; and
                  (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the 
                following:
                  ``(E)(i)(I) is inadmissible under paragraph (6)(A), 
                (6)(C), or (7) of section 212(a),
                  ``(II) is deportable under section 237(a)(1)(B) as an 
                alien whose nonimmigrant visa (or other documentation 
                authorizing admission into the United States as a 
                nonimmigrant) has been revoked under section 221(i), or
                  ``(III) is deportable under section 237(a)(1)(C)(i), 
                and
                  ``(ii) is charged with, is arrested for, is convicted 
                of, admits having committed, or admits committing acts 
                which constitute the essential elements of any offense 
                that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury (as 
                defined in section 1365(h)(3) of title 18, United 
                States Code) of another person,''; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following:
          ``(3) Notification requirement.--Upon encountering or gaining 
        knowledge of an alien described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 
        of Homeland Security shall--
                  ``(A) obtain information from law enforcement 
                agencies and from other available sources regarding the 
                identity of any victims of the crimes for which such 
                alien was charged, arrested, or convicted; and
                  ``(B) provide the victim or, if the victim is 
                deceased, a parent, guardian, spouse, or closest living 
                relative of such victim, with information, on a timely 
                and ongoing basis, including--
                          ``(i) the alien's full name, aliases, date of 
                        birth, and country of nationality;
                          ``(ii) the alien's immigration status and 
                        criminal history;
                          ``(iii) the alien's custody status and any 
                        changes related to the alien's custody; and
                          ``(iv) a description of any efforts by the 
                        United States Government to remove the alien 
                        from the United States.
          ``(4) Detainer.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        issue a detainer for an alien described in paragraph (1)(E) 
        and, if the alien is not otherwise detained by Federal, State, 
        or local officials, shall effectively and expeditiously take 
        custody of the alien.''.

SEC. 3. SAVINGS PROVISION.

  Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, may be 
construed to limit the rights of crime victims under any other 
provision of law, including section 3771 of title 18, United States 
Code.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 661, Sarah's Law, introduced by Rep. Randy Feenstra 
(R-IA), would mandate immigration detention for illegal aliens 
who are charged with, are arrested for, are convicted of, admit 
having committed, or admit committing acts that constitute the 
essential elements of any offense that resulted in the death or 
serious bodily injury of another person. H.R. 661 also would 
mandate that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notify 
the victim or the victim's family about the alien's identity, 
immigration status, criminal history, custody status, and any 
efforts by the United States government to remove the alien 
from the country. The bill would require DHS to issue a 
detainer for such aliens and take custody of them ``effectively 
and expeditiously.''

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    On January 31, 2016, as 21-year-old Sarah Root drove home 
after a day of celebrating her college graduation, an illegal 
alien who was street racing while drunk slammed into Sarah's 
SUV.\1\ Sarah passed away on February 4, 2016.\2\ A judge later 
set the illegal alien's bond at $50,000.\3\ The illegal alien 
posted bond and was released.\4\ To this day, the illegal alien 
responsible for Sarah's murder remains at large.\5\ This bill 
closes a glaring loophole in immigration law by mandating 
immigration detention for certain aliens, like Sarah Root's 
killer, who are arrested for, are charged with, or are 
convicted of any crime that resulted in someone's death or 
serious bodily injury. In doing so, H.R. 661 seeks to prevent 
avoidable tragedies caused by illegal aliens and ensures that 
dangerous criminal aliens are more quickly removed from the 
United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Kathy A. Bolten, Trump uses Iowan's death as reason to 
strengthen immigration laws, Des Moines Register (Apr. 16, 2016, 7:35 
p.m.), https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/
2016/04/16/sarah-root-eswin-mejia/82902280/.
    \2\Id.
    \3\Id.
    \4\Id.
    \5\Sen. Joni Ernst, Prioritize the safety of the public over 
illegal immigrants, Wash. Examiner (Feb. 1, 2024, 6:00 a.m.), https://
www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/2829732/prioritize-safety-
public-over-illegal-immigrants/.
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THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION'S FAILURE TO DETAIN AND REMOVE CRIMINAL ALIENS

    In addition to the Biden Administration releasing more than 
4.6 million illegal aliens into the United States in just three 
years,\6\ President Biden and DHS Secretary Mayorkas have 
ensured that most of those illegal aliens can remain in the 
country indefinitely--even after they have committed a 
crime.\7\ In fact, instead of detaining criminal aliens and 
ensuring their quick removal from the United States, President 
Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have made it more difficult for 
ICE officers to arrest criminals.\8\
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    \6\See H. Comm. on the Judiciary, Rep. on The Biden Border Crisis: 
How the Biden Admin. Opened the Sw. Border and Abandoned Interior 
Immigr. Enf't at App'x 1 (Oct. 9, 2023) [hereinafter Oct. Interim Staff 
Rep.]; U.S. Customs and Border Prot., Custody and Transfer Statistics 
FY 2023, U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. (last accessed Mar. 22, 2024); 
U.S. Customs and Border Prot., Custody and Transfer Statistics FY 2024, 
U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. (last accessed Mar. 22, 2024); Camilo 
Montoya-Galvez, Biden administration has admitted more than 1 million 
migrants into U.S. under parole policy Congress is considering 
restricting, CBS NEWS (Jan. 22, 2024), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/
immigration-parole-biden-administration-1-million-migrants/ (reporting 
that at least 596,600 aliens have been paroled into the United States 
under illegal categorical parole programs); Latest UC Data, Total 
Monthly Discharges to Individual Sponsors Only, U.S. Dep't of Health 
and Human Servs. (last accessed Mar. 22, 2024); Off. of Refugee 
Resettlement, Unaccompanied Children Released to Sponsors by State, 
U.S. Dep't of Health and Human Servs. (last accessed Mar. 22, 2024); 
U.S. Customs and Border Prot., CBP Releases February 2024 Monthly 
Update, U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. (Mar. 22, 2024).
    \7\See Oct. Interim Staff Rep., supra note 6, at 11-17.
    \8\See id. at 14-16.
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    For three years, the Biden Administration has chosen to 
ignore the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which 
specifies the grounds for which an alien ``shall . . . be 
removed'' from the United States.\9\ Despite that mandate, 
during the first eight months of the Biden Administration, 
then-acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske, Acting ICE Director 
Tae Johnson, and DHS Secretary Mayorkas issued three memoranda 
that articulated different enforcement priorities for the new 
Administration.\10\ In September 2021, Secretary Mayorkas 
issued the third and final memo, entitled ``Guidelines for the 
Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law'' (``Mayorkas Memo''), 
outlining three enforcement priorities: national security, 
public safety, and border security.\11\ As the Committee 
detailed in an October 2023 staff report:
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    \9\8 U.S.C. Sec. 1227(a).
    \10\See Texas v. United States, 40 F.4th 205, 213-214 (5th Cir. 
2022).
    \11\Id.; see Memorandum from Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Sec'y, Dep't of 
Homeland Sec., to Tae Johnson, Acting Dir., U.S. Immigr. and Customs 
Enf't, et al., ``Guidelines for the Enf't of Civil Immigr. Law'' (Sept. 
30, 2021).

          The Mayorkas Memo begins with the assumption that 
        ``undocumented noncitizens'' work hard and contribute 
        to ``our communities'' and that ``bipartisan groups'' 
        have ``tried to pass legislation that would provide a 
        path to citizenship or other lawful status for the 
        approximately 11 million undocumented noncitizens'' in 
        the country.
          From that premise, Secretary Mayorkas articulated a 
        new policy that the mere fact that aliens are removable 
        pursuant to U.S. law ``should not alone be the basis of 
        an enforcement action against them.'' Under the 
        Mayorkas Memo, for instance, ``[b]efore ICE officers 
        [could] arrest and detain aliens as a threat to public 
        safety, they [were] now required to conduct an 
        assessment of the individual and the totality of facts 
        and circumstances, including various aggravating or 
        mitigating factors.'' In this assessment, ICE officers 
        were prohibited from relying solely on the fact of an 
        alien's conviction, regardless of the seriousness of 
        the underlying crime. After listing certain aggravating 
        and mitigating factors, the Mayorkas Memo states that 
        the listed factors were ``not exhaustive'' and that 
        ``the overriding question is whether the noncitizen 
        poses a current threat to public safety.'' The Mayorkas 
        Memo also does not presumptively subject aliens with 
        aggravated felony convictions to enforcement action or 
        detention.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\Oct. Interim Staff Rep., supra note 6, at 14-15.

Consequently, the Mayorkas Memo requires ``a lengthier review 
process before an ICE officer can arrest or remove an illegal 
alien,'' contributes to ``fewer ICE arrests of criminal 
aliens,'' and is responsible for ``lower removal numbers.''\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\Id. at 15.
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    The numbers speak for themselves: well over half a million 
criminal aliens are on ICE's non-detained docket, meaning that 
aliens with criminal convictions or pending criminal charges 
are out on American streets and ``free to reoffend.''\14\ 
Moreover, ``in fiscal year 2023, ICE removed 41 percent fewer 
aliens with criminal convictions and criminal charges than in 
fiscal year 2020--and nearly 60 percent fewer than in fiscal 
year 2019.''\15\ The lack of interior immigration enforcement 
begins with far fewer arrests of criminal aliens. As the 
Committee outlined in a January 2024 staff report:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\See H. Comm. on the Judiciary, Interim Staff Rep., New Data 
Reveal Worsening Magnitude of the Biden Border Crisis and Lack of 
Interior Immigr. Enf't, at 9 (Jan. 18, 2024), https://
judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/
files/evo-media-document/2024-01-18-new-data-reveal-worsening-
magnitude-of-the-biden-border-crisis-and-lack-of-interior-immigration-
enforcement.pdf [hereinafter Jan. Interim Staff Rep.].
    \15\Id.

          A comparison of administrative arrests by criminal 
        charge or conviction category further highlights the 
        differences in immigration enforcement between the 
        Trump and Biden Administrations. In fiscal year 2018, 
        the Trump Administration arrested aliens responsible 
        for 76,585 dangerous drug offenses compared to 40,698 
        under the Biden Administration in fiscal year 2023. For 
        assault offenses, the Trump Administration arrested 
        aliens with 50,753 criminal charges and convictions in 
        fiscal year 2018, with only 33,209 in fiscal year 2023. 
        For sex offenses, the number of was 6,888 in 2018 but 
        5,746 in 2023. Across the board, in categories ranging 
        from murder to kidnapping to weapons offenses, the 
        Trump Administration in 2018 arrested far more criminal 
        aliens than the Biden Administration in 2023.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\Id. at 8-9.

    Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has lodged 
significantly fewer detainers on criminal aliens than the Trump 
Administration. To ensure that criminal aliens are deported, 
ICE issues detainers on aliens who have been arrested ``and who 
ICE has probable cause to believe are removable'' from the 
United States.\17\ Under a detainer, ICE ``asks the other law 
enforcement agency to notify ICE before a removable individual 
is released from custody and to maintain custody of the [alien] 
for a brief period of time'' so ICE can take custody of the 
alien.\18\ Detainers not only preserve law enforcement 
resources but also protect Americans by ensuring that dangerous 
criminal aliens are not released into communities.\19\ In 
fiscal year 2019, for example, ICE issued 165,487 detainers for 
aliens whose criminal histories included 56,000 assaults, 
14,500 sex crimes, 5,000 robberies, 2,500 homicides, and 2,500 
kidnappings.\20\ During the first three fiscal years of the 
Biden Administration, ICE lodged 44 percent fewer detainers 
than during the first three fiscal years of the Trump 
Administration.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \17\U.S. Immigr. and Customs Enf't, Detainers 101 (Sept. 27, 2022), 
https://www.ice.gov/features/detainers.
    \18\Id.
    \19\See U.S. Immigr. and Customs Enf't, Fiscal Year 2019 Enf't and 
Removal Operations Rep., U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. at 16 (2020), 
https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Document/2019/
eroReportFY2019.pdf [hereinafter 2019 ICE Annual Rep.].
    \20\Id.
    \21\In fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 2019, ICE issued 484,990 
detainers (142,356 in 2017, 177,147 in 2018, and 165,487 in 2019) 
compared to 270,127 in fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023 (with just 
65,940 issued in 2021, 78,829 in 2022, and 125,358 in 2023). See 2019 
ICE Annual Report, supra note 19, at 17; U.S. Immigr. and Customs 
Enf't, ICE Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2023, U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. 
at 17 (Dec. 29, 2023), https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/
iceAnnualReportFY2023.pdf [hereinafter 2023 ICE Annual Rep.].
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    Removals have similarly declined under the Biden 
Administration. From fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2019, 
there were 749,462 total removals.\22\ From fiscal year 2021 
through fiscal year 2023, there were 273,768 removals.\23\ The 
significant drop in removals from the first three fiscal years 
of the Trump Administration to the first three fiscal years of 
the Biden Administration is also reflected in the number of 
removals of aliens from the interior of the United States. From 
fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2019, ICE removed 262,921 
aliens from the interior of the U.S.\24\ From fiscal year 2021 
through fiscal year 2023, ICE removed from the U.S. interior 
only 104,016 aliens, a decrease of 60 percent from the first 
three years of the Trump Administration.\25\ This marked 
decrease in removals has occurred despite the fact that illegal 
immigration has skyrocketed from the Trump Administration to 
the Biden Administration, with a 244 percent increase in 
southwest border encounters from fiscal years 2017, 2018, and 
2019 to fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023.\26\
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    \22\See U.S. Immigr. and Customs Enf't, Fiscal Year 2018 ICE Enf't 
and Removal Operations Rep., U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. at 10, https:/
/www.ice.gov/doclib/about/offices/ero/pdf/eroFY2018Report.pdf 
[hereinafter 2018 ICE Annual Rep.]; 2023 ICE Annual Rep., supra note 
21, at 26.
    \23\2023 ICE Annual Rep., supra note 21, at 26.
    \24\2018 ICE Annual Rep., supra note 22, at 7; 2023 ICE Annual 
Rep., supra note 21, at 28.
    \25\2023 ICE Annual Rep., supra note 21, at 28.
    \26\Compare U.S. Customs and Border Prot., Sw. Border Migration FY 
2019, U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/
sw-border-migration/fy-2019 (last accessed Feb. 23, 2024), with U.S. 
Customs and Border Prot., Sw. Land Border Encounters, U.S. Dep't of 
Homeland Sec., https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-
border-encounters (last accessed Feb. 23, 2024).
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          CONSEQUENCES OF OPEN BORDERS AND LIMITED ENFORCEMENT

    The real-life consequences of illegal immigration and a 
lack of interior immigration enforcement are stark. On January 
31, 2016, 21-year-old Sarah Root from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was 
driving home after a day of celebrating her college graduation 
near Omaha, Nebraska.\27\ On her way home, a 19-year-old 
illegal alien who was street racing while drunk slammed into 
Sarah's SUV, snapping Sarah's spine and fracturing her 
skull.\28\ Within hours of Sarah's death on February 4, a judge 
set the illegal alien's bond at $50,000.\29\ The alien, Eswin 
G. Mejia, posted bond and was released the next day.\30\ Mejia 
absconded and his whereabouts remain unknown to this day.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \27\Kathy A. Bolten, Trump uses Iowan's death as reason to 
strengthen immigration laws, Des Moines Register (Apr. 16, 2016, 7:35 
p.m.), https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/
2016/04/16/sarah-root-eswin-mejia/82902280/.
    \28\Id.
    \29\Id.
    \30\Id.
    \31\See Ernst, supra note 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Although Mejia was charged with ``motor vehicular 
homicide,'' the Obama Administration refused to lodge a 
detainer against him.\32\ Despite a request by Omaha police to 
obtain an immigration detainer for Mejia, ``the agency 
declined.''\33\ According to a contemporaneous news report, ICE 
explained that it declined the detainer ``because Mejia had not 
been convicted of a criminal charge'' and ``was not . . . an 
`enforcement priority.'''\34\ At a 2016 hearing before the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, then-ICE Director 
Sarah Saldana further justified the decision not to detain 
Mejia by saying that, ``An individual from ICE looked at the 
specific facts and circumstances related to that matter, had--
the individual had no criminal convictions, previous criminal 
convictions, and made a determination based on his judgment 
that he did not need to be detained.''\35\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \32\Fred Barbash, The story of Sarah Root, who Trump said was 
sacrificed `on the altar of open borders', Wash. Post (July 22, 2016, 
6:44 a.m.), https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/07/
22/the-story-of-sarah-root-who-trump-said-was-sacrificed-on-the-altar-
of-open-borders/.
    \33\Id.
    \34\Id.
    \35\Criminal Aliens Released by the Dep't of Homeland Sec., Hearing 
Before the Comm. on Oversight and Gov't Reform, 114th Cong. (Apr. 28, 
2016) (Testimony of ICE Director Sarah Saldana), available at https://
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg23480/html/CHRG-
114hhrg23480.htm.
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    Eight years after Sarah Root's death, the Biden 
Administration has not learned from the Obama Administration's 
failures. Illegal alien criminals continue to victimize 
American communities. Although not every crime that results in 
death or serious bodily injury involves drunk driving, many do. 
In Missouri in November 2023, for example, an illegal alien 
from Honduras was sentenced to 10 years in prison ``for driving 
drunk at 100 mph'' and killing another driver.\36\ In Colorado 
in December 2023, an illegal alien from El Salvador\37\ 
allegedly drove drunk and killed a 46-year-old woman and her 
16-year-old son when he drove his truck up to 100 mph and ran 
into the victims' vehicle, causing it to crash into a tree.\38\ 
Despite having five previous DUI-related convictions, ``[a] 
Boulder County judge sentenced [the illegal alien] to 
probation, community service[,] and work release'' on December 
8, 2023, in relation to two of those convictions, just four 
days before the crash that killed the mother and son.\39\
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    \36\Steve Pokin, Undocumented driver gets 10 years for being drunk 
and racing down Glenstone at 100 mph, killing a man, Springfield Daily 
Citizen (Nov. 18, 2023), https://sgfcitizen.org/government/crime/
undocumented-driver-gets-10-years-for-being-drunk-and-racing-down-
glenstone-at-100-mph-killing-a-man/.
    \37\Jennie Taer, EXCLUSIVE: Illegal Immigrant Deported Four Times 
Charged With Killing Colorado Mother, Son In DUI Crash, Daily Caller 
(Jan. 8, 2024, 1:42 p.m.), https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/08/illegal-
immigrant-deported-four-times-charged-killing-colorado-mother-son-dui-
crash/.
    \38\Janet Oravetz, Man arrested in crash that killed mom, son had 
multiple prior DUI offenses, 9News (Dec. 21, 2023, 9:44 a.m.), https://
www.9news.com/article/news/crime/man-charged-broomfield-double-fatal-
crash/73-f1f67f6e-18ae-4610-b66d-80183d1d2a56.
    \39\Shaun Boyd, Colorado man charged in DUI crash that killed 
Broomfield mother and son sentenced in 2 other DUI cases 4 days 
earlier, CBS News (Dec. 22, 2023, 7:55 p.m.), https://www.cbsnews.com/
colorado/news/colorado-man-charged-dui-crash-killed-broomfield-mother-
son-sentenced-2-other-dui-cases-4-days-earlier/.
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    The Biden Administration's ``enforcement priorities,'' much 
like the Obama Administration's policies that prevented Sarah 
Root's killer from being detained in ICE custody, have resulted 
in far fewer arrests of drunk drivers and have repeated the 
Obama Administration's mistakes. In FY 2018, ICE arrested 
aliens whose criminal histories included 80,730 DUI-related 
charges and convictions.\40\ In FY 2019, ICE nearly matched 
that number, arresting aliens who accounted for 74,523 DUI 
charges and convictions.\41\ Because of Democrats' lax 
immigration enforcement, in FY 2022, that number plummeted to 
26,238--meaning that more illegal aliens with DUI-related 
charges and convictions are free to reoffend in American 
communities.\42\ In FY 2023, the number of DUI-related ICE 
arrests continued to be lower than during the Trump 
Administration, with ICE arresting aliens whose criminal 
histories accounted for only 43,044 DUI-related charges and 
convictions--barely half the FY 2018 number and more than 
30,000 fewer than in FY 2019.\43\
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    \40\See 2018 ICE Annual Report, supra note 22, at 4.
    \41\2019 ICE Annual Report, supra note 19, at 14.
    \42\U.S. Immigr. and Customs Enf't, ICE Annual Report, Fiscal Year 
2022, U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec. at 8 (Dec. 30, 2022), https://
www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2022.pdf.
    \43\Compare 2023 ICE Annual Report, supra note 21, at 14, with 2018 
ICE Annual Report, supra note 22, at 4, and 2019 ICE Annual Report, 
supra note 19, at 14.
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    Despite these statistics and examples, Democrats have 
downplayed drunk driving by illegal aliens. For instance, at a 
Committee business meeting in September 2021, Democrats voted 
down a series of Republican amendments that would have made 
certain aliens ineligible for lawful permanent residence if 
they had one, two, or even 10 or more DUI convictions.\44\ 
During that markup, Rep. Jerry Nadler, then-chairman of the 
Committee, excused criminal aliens' drunk driving convictions, 
stating, ``[W]hether someone has 2, or 6, or 10, or 20 
convictions of DUI 30 years ago, someone can change.''\45\ He 
added, ``You may have any number of convictions for DUI because 
you are a drunk, because you are an alcoholic, but you also may 
cease to be an alcoholic.''\46\ In January 2020, then-
presidential candidate Joe Biden asserted that ICE should not 
arrest aliens with drunk driving convictions because, ``[y]ou 
only arrest for the purpose of dealing with a felony that's 
committed, and I don't count drunk driving as a felony.''\47\ 
In fact, candidate Biden called for ICE officers to be fired if 
they arrested aliens without felony convictions, which could 
include those with DUIs.\48\ On February 1, 2024, 150 House 
Democrats voted against legislation that would allow for the 
deportation of criminal aliens who commit DUIs.\49\
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    \44\See Amendments #8, #9, and #10 (offered by Rep. Mike Johnson) 
to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to Comm. Print 117-2, 
Markup of Legislative Proposals to Comply with the Reconciliation 
Directive Included in Section 2002 of the Concurrent Resolution on the 
Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 (S. Con. Res. 14), H. Comm. on the 
Judiciary, 117th Cong. (Sept. 13, 2021), available at https://
www.congress.gov/event/117th-congress/house-event/114040.
    \45\Markup of Legislative Proposals to Comply with the 
Reconciliation Directive Included in Section 2002 of the Concurrent 
Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 (S. Con. Res. 14), H. 
Comm. on the Judiciary, 117th Cong. (statement of Rep. Jerrold Nadler).
    \46\Id.
    \47\Tobias Hoonhout, Biden Says Only Felons Should Be Deported And 
He Doesn't `Count Drunk Driving as a Felony', National Review (Jan. 21, 
2020, 12:46 p.m.), https://www.nationalreview.com/news/biden-says-only-
felons-should-be-deported-and-he-doesnt-count-drunk-driving-as-a-
felony/.
    \48\Id.
    \49\See Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act, H.R. 6976, 118th 
Cong. (2024).
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    Sarah's Law, introduced by Rep. Feenstra (R-IA), is another 
step toward taking seriously all illegal alien crimes that 
result in death or serious bodily injury of another person. In 
addition to mandating immigration detention for aliens who 
commit crimes that result in death or serious bodily injury, 
Sarah's Law requires ICE to lodge detainers against those 
aliens to ensure that ICE takes custody of them ``effectively 
and expeditiously'' if the aliens are not otherwise detained by 
state or local authorities. The bill conforms to existing law 
that mandates detention even in certain cases in which an alien 
never has been convicted of a crime. For example, as the 
Supreme Court emphasized in 2019, aliens can be subject to 
mandatory immigration detention if they are ``representatives 
of a terrorist group,'' are aliens ``whom the Government has 
reasonable grounds to believe are likely to engage in terrorist 
activities,'' are certain aliens ``for whom immunity from 
criminal jurisdiction was exercised,'' or are ``the spouse or 
child of an alien who recently engaged in terrorist 
activity.''\50\ By mandating the detention of aliens whose acts 
result in the death or serious bodily injury of another person, 
H.R. 661 creates safer streets for every American and allows 
for such criminal aliens to be more quickly removed from the 
United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \50\Nielsen v. Preap, 139 S. Ct. 954, 970 (2019) (internal 
quotation marks omitted). In a concurrence, Justice Thomas, with whom 
Justice Gorsuch joined, wrote, ``I continue to believe that no court 
has jurisdiction to decide questions concerning the detention of aliens 
before final orders of removal have been entered.'' See id. at 973.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                Hearings

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6)(A) of House rule XIII, 
the following hearing was used to develop H.R. 661: ``The 
Consequences of Criminal Aliens on U.S. Communities,'' a 
hearing held on July 13, 2023, before the Subcommittee on 
Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement of the 
Committee on the Judiciary. The Subcommittee heard testimony 
from the following witnesses:
           Donald Rosenberg, Founder, Advocates for 
        Victims of Illegal Alien Crime;
           Bradley Schoenleben, Senior Deputy District 
        Attorney, Orange County, California, District 
        Attorney's Office;
           John Fabbricatore, Former Field Office 
        Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 
        Enforcement and Removal Operations; and
           Ramon Batista, Police Chief, Santa Monica, 
        California.
    The hearing addressed liberal jurisdictions' harboring of 
criminal aliens and the Biden Administration's lax policies 
that allow criminal aliens to remain in the United States 
indefinitely.

                        Committee Consideration

    On March 21, 2024, the Committee met in open session and 
order the bill, H.R. 661, favorably reported with an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute, by a roll call vote of 14 to 9, 
a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of House rule XIII, the 
following roll call votes occurred during the Committee's 
consideration of H.R. 661:
          1. Vote on Amendment #1 to H.R. 661 ANS offered by 
        Ms. Jayapal--failed 7 ayes to 11 nays.
          2. Vote on favorably reporting H.R. 661, as amended--
        passed 14 ayes to 9 nays.
        
        [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
        
                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of House rule XIII, the 
Committee advises that the findings and recommendations of the 
Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) 
of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are 
incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives does not apply where a cost estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974 has been timely submitted prior to filing of the report 
and is included in the report. Such a cost estimate is included 
in this report.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 661 from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 661 would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
(ICE) to detain any alien (non-U.S. national) who is present in 
the United States without being lawfully admitted and has been 
charged with or convicted of an offense that resulted in the 
death or serious bodily injury of another person.
    CBO estimates that enacting the bill could increase the 
number of aliens in government custody, which would reduce 
their receipt of federal benefits. Any change in that number 
would depend on many factors, including the availability of 
detention space, coordination with state and local governments, 
and decisions made by the executive branch. CBO estimates that 
any resulting decreases in direct spending resulting from a 
reduction in the receipt of federal benefits would be 
insignificant.
    Implementing H.R. 661 may increase the number of aliens in 
ICE detention who have been charged or convicted of causing the 
death or serious bodily injury of another person. However, 
given the current availability of detention space, CBO expects 
that any increase would be largely offset by a reduction in the 
number of other people in government custody. Therefore, CBO 
estimates that H.R. 661 would not significantly change the 
total number of aliens detained by ICE. As a result, CBO 
estimates that the additional administrative and personnel 
costs to modify its operations to comply with the bill's 
requirements would cost ICE less than $500,000 over the 2024-
2029 period. That spending would be subject to the availability 
of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are David Rafferty 
(for immigration) and Jeremy Crimm (for Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement). The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(d)(1) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House rule XIII, no provision 
of H.R. 661 establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
federal government known to be duplicative of another federal 
program.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
House rule XIII, H.R. 661 would mandate immigration detention 
for illegal aliens who are charged with, are arrested for, are 
convicted of, admit having committed, or admit committing acts 
that constitute the essential elements of any offense that 
resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another 
person. H.R. 661 also would mandate that the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) notify the victim or the victim's 
family about the alien's identity, immigration status, criminal 
history, custody status, and any efforts by the United States 
government to remove the alien from the country.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of House rule XXI, H.R. 661 
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax 
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clauses 
9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of House rule XXI.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Pub. L. 104-
1).

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1. Short Title. ``Sarah's Law.''
    Section 2. Mandatory Detention of Certain Aliens Charged 
with a Crime Resulting in Death or Serious Bodily Injury. This 
section mandates ICE immigration detention for certain aliens 
who are charged with, are arrested for, are convicted of, admit 
having committed, or admit committing acts that constitute the 
essential elements of any crime that resulted in the death or 
serious bodily injury of another person. The section also 
requires DHS to issue a detainer for such aliens and take 
custody of them ``effectively and expeditiously,'' and to 
provide certain information about the alien and efforts to 
remove the alien to the victim or victim's family.
    Section 3. Savings Provision. This section clarifies that 
nothing in the bill may be construed to limit victims' rights 
under any other provision of law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                    IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
TITLE II--IMMIGRATION

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



   Chapter 4--Inspection, Apprehension, Examination, Exclusion, and 
Removal

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



                  apprehension and detention of aliens

  Sec. 236. (a) Arrest, Detention, and Release.--On a warrant 
issued by the Attorney General, an alien may be arrested and 
detained pending a decision on whether the alien is to be 
removed from the United States. Except as provided in 
subsection (c) and pending such decision, the Attorney 
General--
          (1) may continue to detain the arrested alien; and
          (2) may release the alien on--
                  (A) bond of at least $1,500 with security 
                approved by, and containing conditions 
                prescribed by, the Attorney General; or
                  (B) conditional parole; but
          (3) may not provide the alien with work authorization 
        (including an ``employment authorized'' endorsement or 
        other appropriate work permit), unless the alien is 
        lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise 
        would (without regard to removal proceedings) be 
        provided such authorization.
  (b) Revocation of Bond or Parole.--The Attorney General at 
any time may revoke a bond or parole authorized under 
subsection (a), rearrest the alien under the original warrant, 
and detain the alien.
  (c) Detention of Criminal Aliens.--
          (1) Custody.--The Attorney General shall take into 
        custody any alien who--
                  (A) is inadmissible by reason of having 
                committed any offense covered in section 
                212(a)(2),
                  (B) is deportable by reason of having 
                committed any offense covered in section 
                237(a)(2)(A)(ii), (A)(iii), (B), (C), or (D),
                  (C) is deportable under section 
                237(a)(2)(A)(i) on the basis of an offense for 
                which the alien has been [sentence] sentenced 
                to a term of imprisonment of at least 1 year, 
                [or]
                  (D) is inadmissible under section 
                212(a)(3)(B) or deportable under section 
                237(a)(4)(B)[,], or
                  (E)(i)(I) is inadmissible under paragraph 
                (6)(A), (6)(C), or (7) of section 212(a),
                  (II) is deportable under section 237(a)(1)(B) 
                as an alien whose nonimmigrant visa (or other 
                documentation authorizing admission into the 
                United States as a nonimmigrant) has been 
                revoked under section 221(i), or
                  (III) is deportable under section 
                237(a)(1)(C)(i), and
                  (ii) is charged with, is arrested for, is 
                convicted of, admits having committed, or 
                admits committing acts which constitute the 
                essential elements of any offense that resulted 
                in the death or serious bodily injury (as 
                defined in section 1365(h)(3) of title 18, 
                United States Code) of another person,
        when the alien is released, without regard to whether 
        the alien is released on parole, supervised release, or 
        probation, and without regard to whether the alien may 
        be arrested or imprisoned again for the same offense.
          (2) Release.--The Attorney General may release an 
        alien described in paragraph (1) only if the Attorney 
        General decides pursuant to section 3521 of title 18, 
        United States Code, that release of the alien from 
        custody is necessary to provide protection to a 
        witness, a potential witness, a person cooperating with 
        an investigation into major criminal activity, or an 
        immediate family member or close associate of a 
        witness, potential witness, or person cooperating with 
        such an investigation, and the alien satisfies the 
        Attorney General that the alien will not pose a danger 
        to the safety of other persons or of property and is 
        likely to appear for any scheduled proceeding. A 
        decision relating to such release shall take place in 
        accordance with a procedure that considers the severity 
        of the offense committed by the alien.
          (3) Notification requirement.--Upon encountering or 
        gaining knowledge of an alien described in paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall--
                  (A) obtain information from law enforcement 
                agencies and from other available sources 
                regarding the identity of any victims of the 
                crimes for which such alien was charged, 
                arrested, or convicted; and
                  (B) provide the victim or, if the victim is 
                deceased, a parent, guardian, spouse, or 
                closest living relative of such victim, with 
                information, on a timely and ongoing basis, 
                including--
                          (i) the alien's full name, aliases, 
                        date of birth, and country of 
                        nationality;
                          (ii) the alien's immigration status 
                        and criminal history;
                          (iii) the alien's custody status and 
                        any changes related to the alien's 
                        custody; and
                          (iv) a description of any efforts by 
                        the United States Government to remove 
                        the alien from the United States.
          (4) Detainer.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
        shall issue a detainer for an alien described in 
        paragraph (1)(E) and, if the alien is not otherwise 
        detained by Federal, State, or local officials, shall 
        effectively and expeditiously take custody of the 
        alien.
  (d) Identification of Criminal Aliens.--(1) The Attorney 
General shall devise and implement a system--
          (A) to make available, daily (on a 24-hour basis), to 
        Federal, State, and local authorities the investigative 
        resources of the Service to determine whether 
        individuals arrested by such authorities for aggravated 
        felonies are aliens;
          (B) to designate and train officers and employees of 
        the Service to serve as a liaison to Federal, State, 
        and local law enforcement and correctional agencies and 
        courts with respect to the arrest, conviction, and 
        release of any alien charged with an aggravated felony; 
        and
          (C) which uses computer resources to maintain a 
        current record of aliens who have been convicted of an 
        aggravated felony, and indicates those who have been 
        removed.
  (2) The record under paragraph (1)(C) shall be made 
available--
          (A) to inspectors at ports of entry and to border 
        patrol agents at sector headquarters for purposes of 
        immediate identification of any alien who was 
        previously ordered removed and is seeking to reenter 
        the United States, and
          (B) to officials of the Department of State for use 
        in its automated visa lookout system.
  (3) Upon the request of the governor or chief executive 
officer of any State, the Service shall provide assistance to 
State courts in the identification of aliens unlawfully present 
in the United States pending criminal prosecution.
  (e) Judicial Review.--The Attorney General's discretionary 
judgment regarding the application of this section shall not be 
subject to review. No court may set aside any action or 
decision by the Attorney General under this section regarding 
the detention or release of any alien or the grant, revocation, 
or denial of bond or parole.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                            Dissenting Views

    H.R. 661 is an overly broad bill that would result in 
extremely harsh and unintended consequences. It does nothing to 
solve any problems with the immigration system and represents 
yet another attempt by the Republican Majority to target and 
scapegoat migrants.
    This bill arises from a tragic case. In 2016, Sarah Root 
was killed by Eswin G. Mejia, a drunk driver, who had been in 
the country unlawfully since 2013. Mr. Mejia was charged with 
motor vehicular homicide and the judge chose to set bail. After 
a relative posted bail, Mr. Mejia was released, but he did not 
show up for his mandatory drug testing and he remains at large 
today. As a result, Ms. Root's alleged killer has not been 
brought to justice.
    Unfortunately, this bill will not solve the problem the 
Majority says it will. If H.R. 661 had been in place at the 
time of Ms. Root's death, ICE would have issued a detainer 
after her alleged killer was charged with a crime, and if 
resources allowed, would have taken custody of him and then 
swiftly removed him from the country due to his previous 
infractions. He would never have been transferred back to local 
custody to face justice the way the Root family desires. State 
and local prosecutors have consistently raised concerns about 
ICE taking individuals into custody before criminal proceedings 
are completed, which frustrates prosecutors, judges, and 
victim's families. This legislation would only exacerbate the 
problem.
    In addition to not actually solving the issue at hand, this 
bill is overly broad and would result in extremely harsh and 
unintended consequences. Under this bill, any immigrant who is 
present in the United States without admission or parole, or 
whose nonimmigrant visa was revoked, would be subject to 
mandatory detention if they were charged or even merely 
arrested for an offense that resulted in the death or serious 
bodily injury of another person. While at first glance, this 
may seem reasonable, there are some very serious flaws with 
this approach.
    First, this bill would result in immigrants--even some 
currently in a lawful status and who have been in the country 
for a long time--being subjected to mandatory detention. There 
are far too many examples of wrongful arrests or charges due to 
mistaken identity or the use of flawed facial recognition 
technology. For example, Scottsdale Arizona recently had to 
settle a lawsuit for $200,000 with a woman who was wrongfully 
arrested for a hit and run. If this woman was a DACA recipient 
or had Temporary Protected Status (TPS), under this bill, she 
would be subject to mandatory detention, even though she is in 
a lawful status and was wrongfully arrested.
    Moreover, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a 
noncitizen who is convicted of, or who admits to committing, a 
Crime Involving Moral Turpitude, or a ``CIMT,'' is already 
subject to mandatory detention. Offenses involving the intent 
to cause or threaten bodily harm and recklessness involving a 
conscious disregard of a known risk of death or bodily injury 
are currently considered CIMTs. As a result, people who are 
convicted of, or who admit committing, an act that results in 
serious injury or death are already subject to mandatory 
detention under our laws. But this bill goes way beyond that 
and mandates detention even for noncitizens who are simply 
charged with or arrested for an offense that resulted in the 
death or serious bodily injury of another person, regardless of 
the actual circumstances at hand.
    Subjecting a wide range of people, including DACA and TPS 
recipients, to mandatory detention is not a sensible policy 
choice and not a good use of our limited enforcement resources. 
Congress has never appropriated, and no administration has ever 
requested, sufficient resources to detain all noncitizens who 
fall under the ``mandatory detention'' categories.
    At markup, Representative Jayapal (D-WA) offered an 
amendment to strike the provision that would subject an 
individual to mandatory detention solely based on an arrest or 
charge. The amendment would have brought the bill more in line 
with current law by requiring that an individual be convicted 
of, or admit to, committing an offense that resulted in the 
death or serious bodily injury of another person to be subject 
to mandatory detention.
    Republicans defeated the amendment on a party line vote. 
The Majority did not provide any substantive arguments in 
response to the amendment, nor did they address the issue of 
wrongful arrest and the harsh unintended consequences that 
could result from such an arrest. The Majority also failed to 
recognize that immigration detention is not supposed to be a 
backstop for the criminal system. Immigration detention is a 
civil, non-punitive function.
    This bill is a broad expansion of current law. It is also 
unnecessary. Noncitizens who admit to, or who are convicted of, 
serious offenses that resulted in the death or serious bodily 
injury of another person are already subject to mandatory 
detention under the Immigration and Nationality Act. People are 
often wrongfully arrested or are arrested and never convicted 
for a crime. Indiscriminately subjecting such people to 
mandatory detention would result in a gross miscarriage of 
justice.
    For all of these reasons, I dissent, and I urge all of my 
colleagues to oppose this legislation.
                                            Jerrold Nadler,
                                                    Ranking Member.

                                  [all]