Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025

Key Points

• This bill allows victims of serious crimes, such as murder or rape, to sue local governments if the crime was committed by a non-citizen who was released because of a 'sanctuary' policy. To win a lawsuit, the victim or their family must show that the harm would not have happened if the city had followed federal requests to keep the person in custody.
• Local governments that accept federal grants for public works, economic development, or community projects would automatically lose their legal immunity against these lawsuits. This means cities might have to choose between keeping their sanctuary policies and receiving certain types of federal funding.
• The bill provides legal protection for local police officers who choose to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. If an officer follows a federal request to hold a person, they are treated as a federal employee, and the U.S. government would take over their legal defense if they are sued for that action.
• Victims or their families have up to 10 years to file a lawsuit after a crime occurs or after a death resulting from a crime. If the victim wins the case, the local government is required to pay for the victim's damages as well as their lawyer fees and other legal costs.