No Congressional Funds for Sanctuary Cities Act
The No Congressional Funds for Sanctuary Cities Act would block federal money from being used for congressional earmarks that are targeted to sanctuary jurisdictions. A sanctuary jurisdiction is defined as a state or local government that has a law, policy, or practice prohibiting or restricting certain information sharing about a person’s citizenship or immigration status, or restricting compliance with certain U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS) detainer requests. An exception clarifies that simply having a policy not to share information or not to comply with a detainer for a crime victim or witness does not alone make a jurisdiction a sanctuary jurisdiction. The prohibition applies to fiscal year 2026 and all following years. The bill uses the House’s standard definition of “congressional earmark” (as defined in Rule XXI, clause 9(e)) and would apply to earmarks targeted to sanctuary jurisdictions. The bill was introduced in January 2025 and referred to the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition on federal funds for congressional earmarks targeted to sanctuary jurisdictions.
- 2Definition of sanctuary jurisdiction: a state or subdivision with a law, policy, or practice that blocks or restricts sharing citizenship/immigration status information or cooperating with DHS detainer requests under INA sections 236 or 287.
- 3Exception: policies that prohibit sharing information or honoring detainers solely in the context of victims or witnesses to crimes do not automatically render a jurisdiction a sanctuary jurisdiction.
- 4Effective date: applies beginning in fiscal year 2026 and for subsequent fiscal years.
- 5Earmark definition: uses the House Rules (clause 9(e) of Rule XXI) to define what constitutes a congressional earmark.