Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act of 2026

If enacted, this bill would compel all state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, effectively eliminating sanctuary city policies nationwide through federal funding penalties. Jurisdictions currently protecting undocumented immigrants from federal enforcement would lose major grant programs (Cops on the Beat, Byrne Grants, ICE detention transfer funds), forcing compliance or budget cuts. Undocumented immigrants in sanctuary jurisdictions would lose protection and face elevated deportation risk during routine police encounters. The private right of action would expose sanctuary jurisdictions to civil lawsuits by crime victims, creating financial liability exposure. Historical analog: when Arizona passed SB 1070 (2010), a similar state-level immigration enforcement mandate, federal courts blocked much of it as preempted by federal law, though the law remained partially enforceable; it did result in decreased crime reporting from Latino communities and increased policing stops. Another analog: the Trump administration's sanctuary city funding cutoffs (2017–2021) were challenged in courts and largely enjoined as violating spending clause limits, suggesting federal courts may scrutinize the funding penalties here. The bill's broad immunity and federal substitution provisions will likely face constitutional due process and takings clause challenges in federal court.