No Illegal Captivity and Extensions Act of 2026
- Bill Number
- H.R. 8727
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Immigration
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-05-11: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Last Updated
- 2026-05-19T22:30:59Z
AI-Generated Summary
Summary of H.R. 8727: No Illegal Captivity and Extensions Act of 2026 (NICE Act)
Purpose
The bill aims to eliminate immigration detainers, which are formal requests from federal immigration authorities (like ICE) to local or state law enforcement agencies to temporarily hold individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally after their arrest or release, allowing time for federal pickup.
Key Provisions
- Strikes specific laws: Removes paragraph (3) from Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (related to apprehension and detention of non-citizens) and subsection (d) from Section 287 (detainers for violations of controlled substances laws).
- Limits agreements: Amends Section 103(a)(11)(B) to bar the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from requiring state or local agencies to honor immigration detainers as a condition of any cooperative agreements.
- Broad prohibition: Bans the DHS Secretary from issuing or enforcing any immigration detainer or hold, regardless of the method (e.g., formal agreements, informal understandings with federal, state, or local agencies).
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Ends DHS's authority to request that local jails or prisons hold non-citizens beyond their scheduled release for immigration purposes.
- Prohibits tying federal funding or cooperation agreements to compliance with detainers, overriding current practices where local agencies often comply voluntarily.
Potential Impacts
- Government agencies: DHS and ICE lose a key enforcement tool, potentially reducing deportations and increasing reliance on other methods like direct arrests.
- Citizens and communities: Local law enforcement may release individuals sooner, which could affect public safety if those released have criminal records; reduces administrative burden on jails.
- Immigrants: Non-citizens in local custody would no longer be held extra time for ICE, speeding up their release but possibly limiting federal removal proceedings.
- International relations: Minimal direct effect, though it could influence perceptions of U.S. immigration enforcement.
Main Stakeholders
- Federal agencies: DHS and ICE (lose detainer powers).
- State and local law enforcement: No longer required or pressured to hold individuals for immigration reasons.
- Non-citizens: Particularly undocumented immigrants or those with immigration violations.
- Communities and taxpayers: Affected by changes in detention practices and potential shifts in crime rates or jail costs.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Challenges existing inter-agency cooperation under immigration law; may face court tests on whether it limits federal enforcement powers.
- Constitutional: Touches on federalism (balance between federal immigration authority and state/local autonomy under the 10th Amendment); aligns with "sanctuary" policies by formalizing non-cooperation.
- Political: Likely to spark debate on immigration enforcement, with supporters viewing it as ending "unlawful prolonged detention" and opponents seeing it as weakening border security.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (3)
Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42], Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3], Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1]
Recent Actions
- 2026-05-11: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- 2026-05-11: Introduced in House
- 2026-05-11: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- No Illegal Captivity and Extensions Act of 2026 — issued 2026-05-11 — PDF (2 pages)