Congress mandates longer prison terms for immigrant felons, stacking sentences.

What it does

This bill increases criminal penalties for immigrants who are unlawfully present in the U.S. and commit crimes. It raises the maximum prison sentence for improper entry from 2 to 5 years, and adds a mandatory minimum 5-year sentence on top of any other crime conviction for those who entered improperly. For immigrants previously removed and who re-enter, it raises penalties from 2 to 10 years for simple re-entry, and from 10 to 15 years for re-entry after certain felonies, expanding the definition of crimes triggering the harsher penalty to include any felony (not just aggravated felonies) and any crime punishable by more than one year in prison.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is to increase mandatory minimum sentences for immigration-related crimes and crimes committed by unlawfully present aliens. It is a straightforward sentencing-enhancement bill, not a rider or hidden provision.

What the text implies

• Mandatory minimums reduce judicial discretion to account for individual circumstances, potentially leading to disproportionate sentences for minor offenses or first-time offenders.
• Stacked sentences (mandatory minimum on top of underlying crime sentence) may result in sentences far exceeding those for citizens convicted of identical crimes, raising equal-protection and proportionality questions.
• Increased incarceration will raise federal and state detention costs, potentially straining prison budgets and resources for other public services.
• The bill expands the definition of triggering crimes to include any felony or any crime punishable by more than one year, capturing a broader population than current law and potentially including non-violent offenses.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill increases criminal penalties for a specific population, which may deter some crime and satisfy public-safety concerns, but it does so by mandating longer sentences with reduced judicial discretion, raising incarceration costs borne by taxpayers and potentially affecting due process and proportionality in sentencing. The bill does not address underlying crime prevention, rehabilitation, or root causes.

Who stands to gain

• private prison operators
• detention facility contractors
• federal and state corrections systems (budget allocation)

Named in the bill

Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 275, 8 U.S.C. § 276, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Prisons, State corrections systems

Where it stands

34 cosponsors: 34 Republicans.

• May 7, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 7, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.