Congress·In Committee·H.R. 7046

Qualified Immunity Abolition Act of 2026

Rep. Pressley's Bill to End Qualified Immunity for Law Enforcement Under House Review

3 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Part of: Rep. Pressley Leads Legislative Push to End Qualified Immunity

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill, introduced by Representative Pressley, would stop law enforcement officers from using a legal defense called "qualified immunity." This change would make it much easier for citizens to sue officers in civil court for violating their constitutional rights.
Currently, it is very difficult to sue officers personally unless a court has already ruled that their exact actions were illegal in a nearly identical past case. This bill removes that requirement, allowing lawsuits to move forward even if there isn't a specific past case to point to.
The new rules would apply to all levels of law enforcement, including local police, state troopers, and federal agents. It would also cover cases that are already waiting in court and any new cases filed after the bill passes.
Officers would no longer be allowed to defend themselves by saying they acted in "good faith" or that they didn't realize their actions were against the law. If a person's rights were violated, the officer could be held responsible regardless of what they believed at the time.
This policy aims to increase police accountability and provide a way for victims of misconduct to seek justice. However, it may lead to more lawsuits against individual officers and government agencies.

Civil RightsCriminal Justice

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Negative Impacts(1)

Federal Employee

Hurts

Federal law enforcement officers — including FBI agents, DEA agents, Border Patrol agents, and others — would lose qualified immunity protections. This means they could be personally sued for actions taken on the job, even if they believed their conduct was legal at the time. The bill specifically extends Section 1983 liability to federal officers acting under federal authority, which is a significant expansion beyond existing law.

Mixed Impacts(1)

Military Veteran

Neutral

Veterans who are also law enforcement officers could face new personal liability in civil rights lawsuits. On the other hand, veterans who experience civil rights violations by police would have a much easier path to holding those officers accountable in court.

Positive Impacts(3)

Immigrant

Helps

Immigrants who have their constitutional rights violated by federal, state, or local law enforcement would have a much stronger ability to sue those officers in civil court. The removal of qualified immunity means officers could no longer escape accountability by arguing the law wasn't clearly established or that they acted in good faith.

Undocumented

Helps

Undocumented individuals who experience excessive force or other civil rights violations by law enforcement — including federal immigration officers — would gain stronger legal recourse. Since the bill covers federal law enforcement acting under federal authority, this directly applies to encounters with agencies like ICE and Border Patrol.

Criminal Record

Helps

People with criminal records often have frequent interactions with law enforcement and are disproportionately affected by police misconduct. Removing qualified immunity would give them a more realistic path to holding officers accountable when their constitutional rights are violated during arrests, searches, or other encounters.

Milestones

2 milestones3 actions

Jan 13, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Jan 12, 2026

Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H649)

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

Related News

1 article

Sentinel Colorado·3 months ago

Aurora legislator's bill aims to hold ICE agents accountable for protest injuries

Colorado lawmakers are citing the federal Qualified Immunity Abolition Act of 2026 as inspiration for state-level legislation that would allow citizens to sue federal agents for injuries sustained during immigration enforcement or legal protests.

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