Sanctuary Cities Legislation

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is introducing the Protect America Act, a wide‑ranging immigration bill aimed at punishing sanctuary cities, tightening criminal penalties for illegal entry and reentry, and expanding legal protections for federal immigration agents amid anti‑ICE protests nationwide. The package would condition all federal funding for so‑called sanctuary jurisdictions on their cooperation with ICE and other federal law‑enforcement agencies, require jails to share immigration and release data with ICE, and create civil liability for cities that knowingly release 'removable' non‑citizens who then commit serious crimes. It also proposes making illegal entry a felony, mandating detention instead of catch‑and‑release, and increasing penalties for illegal reentry to include fines and up to two years in prison, reflecting a significant escalation over current law. To deter activist 'cop‑watching,' the bill would criminalize using whistles or other tools to interfere with officers’ communications, impose up to five‑year prison terms for obstructing federal agents, and expressly treat assaults on ICE and other federal immigration officers as federal crimes, while stating it does not bar lawful expressive conduct under the First Amendment. Finally, Schmitt’s measure would seek to 'defang' NGOs by revoking the tax‑exempt status of nonprofits he deems complicit in 'shielding or supporting' illegal activity and would halt new foreign‑student visas to non‑compliant jurisdictions, signaling a frontal legislative attack on both sanctuary policies and civil‑society actors that have supported migrants.