Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025

What is this bill?

• HR 3486, sponsored by Stephanie Bice (R-OK-5)

This 8-page bill sets out to amend sections 275 & 276 of the Immigration & Nationality Act of 1952.

The amendments to Section 275 would:

• increase the federal maximum sentence from 2 years to 5 years for entering the country illegally

  • Edit (9/6/15): should note that there are two sections of this part of the original act that talk about entering the country illegally. 8 USC 1325(a) is what this edit refers to. 8 USC 1325(b) only assigns a fine for illegal entry, but seems very likely to only be for the rare occasion that a hiker accidentally crosses the border.

• create a federal mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years if a person illegally entered the country and was convicted of a crime that resulted in a sentencing of at least 1 year in prison

The amendments to Section 276 would:

• grant the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, with the power to decide if previously deported people can re-enter (currently this power belongs to the US Attorney General, Marco Rubio)

• increase the federal maximum for illegal re-entry from 2 years to 10 years

• increase the federal maximum for deported people that were convicted of 3 misdemeanors OR 1 felony who illegally re-enter from 10 years to 15 years

• create a new federal maximum of 10 years for illegal entry for people who have been deported 3 previous times

  • this new rule is tweaked for people who were:

    • previously convicted of aggravated felony, regular felony, or any crime punishable by 19 years or more

    • AND had been deported 2 previous times

  • These people would receive a sentence between 10 years to life in prison for illegal re-entry.

• non-violent offenders deported before the end of their sentence would have to serve the remainder of their sentence if convicted of illegal re-entry

Why is it fascist?

First and foremost, at a time when concentration camps for immigrants are fully operational with plans to build even more, any legislation that arbitrarily increases punishments for undocumented immigrants is a giant fascist red flag.

Secondly, it has been known for at least 25 years that increasing punishment for undocumented immigration does not affect the rate of migrants. One of the best summaries of this comes from the International Detention Coalition’s 2015 paper Does Detention Deter? It’s a quick and thoroughly cited essay, but the general summary is no, it doesn’t. They note that many migrants don’t have a choice of where they are going due to paying people smugglers who decide on the ultimate destination. As for the people who do get to pick, they are often more interested in reuniting with family, arriving in an area surrounded by people who speak their language, and/or ensuring they can secure steady work. Compared to the dangers of remaining where they are, if they can find a safer place to live, then the risks are worth it.

Thirdly, the IDC notes in their paper that the only tactic that works to truly reduce migration is improving the quality of life in countries of origin. So, you know, the sort of work that USAID used to do. So, what purpose does a law like this actually serve other than to heighten state violence against immigrants?

Which Dems voted for it?

There are 5 to 15 Democratic members of Congress who are incredibly reliable when it comes to anti-immigrant legislation. Marie Glusenkamp Perez, Jared Golden, Henry Cuellar, Laura Gillen, and Don Davis are definite yea votes. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see far more Dem support for this bill due to having the excuse that it’s “just to stop people breaking the law.” The vote for this may come on Thursday, but due to GOP fears that the Democrats might propose amendments to release the Epstein files, there’s a chance this bill might be postponed to next week.