Apr. 02, 2025
HARRISBURG – Rep. Craig Williams (R-Delaware/Chester) has announced legislation to establish a private cause of action against government officials who willfully disregard federal immigration laws, including lawful detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This proposed law would create a statutory exception to sovereign and governmental immunity, allowing individuals to seek damages for harm caused by the knowing release of illegal immigrants or knowing failure to notify ICE or honor ICE detainers.
In recent years, various public officials within the Commonwealth have adopted policies directing law enforcement agencies and correctional institutions to ignore lawful immigration detainers or prohibit reporting the custody of illegal immigrants. These localized policies have led to the release of offenders into communities, and the harm which may come to the community is entirely foreseeable. This legislation will establish a causal link between such releases and the resulting harm as a matter of law.
“The public deserves to know their government is prioritizing their safety. When officials refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities – or worse – intentionally thwart the efforts of federal authorities to remove violent criminals from our country, they create avoidable dangers in our communities,” said Williams. “This legislation removes the statutory protections of governmental and sovereign immunity for any official who knowingly flouts the laws of our country.”
One example of the need for this legislation is Laken Riley who was a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered while jogging on the University of Georgia campus on February 22, 2024. Her killer, José Antonio Ibarra, was a Venezuelan national associated with the Tren de Aragua gang who had entered the U.S. illegally and was released after being detained by federal authorities. Prior to the murder, Ibarra had multiple arrests in New York and Georgia but was repeatedly released. Had Ibarra been held Laken would be alive today.
On January 29, 2025, President Trump signed into law the Laken Riley Act. According to the Department of Homeland Security, this law “mandates the federal detention of illegal immigrants who are accused of theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer, and any crime that causes death or serious bodily injury.”
The Laken Riley Act relates only to federal action. The Williams bill relates to state action and will require notification and cooperation with federal authorities relating to any detained illegal immigrant or suffer the pecuniary consequences of harm caused by a released illegal immigrant.
This legislation allows suits against both the authors of sanctuary policies (and those who vote to implement such policies) as a legal proximate cause of any harm coming from the release of illegal immigrants.
“We should not be in the business of providing legal sanctuary by way of immunity to officials who put the public in harm’s way – intentionally,” said Williams.
Representative Craig Williams
160th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Will Patterson
267-688-2590
wpatterson@pahousegop.com
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