SAFE Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 509.
Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act or the SAFE Act - Title I: Immigration Law Enforcement by States and Localities - (Sec. 102) Authorizes: (1) states or their political subdivisions to enact and enforce immigration criminal penalties as long as they do not exceed relevant federal criminal penalties; and (2) state or local law enforcement personnel to investigate, apprehend, arrest, or transfer to federal custody aliens for immigration enforcement purposes to the same extent as federal law enforcement personnel.
(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) to provide the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) with all information that the Secretary has regarding any alien:
against whom a final order of removal has been issued,
who has entered into a voluntary departure agreement,
who has overstayed his or her authorized period of stay, or
whose visa has been revoked.
Requires NCIC to enter such information into its Immigration Violators File.
(Sec. 104) Requires states to have access to federal programs or technology directed at identifying inadmissible or deportable aliens.
(Sec. 105) Requires states and their political subdivisions to provide DHS with specified identifying information about each apprehended alien who is believed to be inadmissible or deportable.
(Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible states and their political subdivisions for procurement of equipment, technology, and facilities related to investigating, apprehending, arresting, or transporting inadmissible or deportable aliens.
Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary to construct or acquire additional domestic detention facilities for aliens detained pending removal.
Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 108) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) regarding illegal aliens apprehended by state or local authorities to provide for:
federal custody upon state or local request,
state or local compensation for related incarceration and transportation costs, and
prompt transfer of apprehended aliens from state and local custody to federal custody.
Directs the Attorney General or the Secretary to ensure that an alien subject to removal is detained in an adequate state or local prison, detention center, or other comparable facility.
The summary continues for 153 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House amended, Part I" stage on December 16, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 16, 2014: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 509.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Trey Gowdy (R-SC) introduced it on June 6, 2013, and 39 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 39 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 6, 2013, 4891 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4333 days ago, on December 16, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers