Texas congresswoman files bills to financially penalize sanctuary cities, rioters

A north Texas congresswoman has filed bills to financially penalize sanctuary cities and rioters targeting law enforcement.

U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, a Republican and former mayor of Irving, filed the Recouping Funds from Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025, to financially penalize city governments that actively work against federal immigration enforcement.

The bill applies to political subdivisions of a state that implement statutes, ordinances, policies or practices that prohibit or restrict government officials from cooperating with federal immigration officials. It addresses sanctuary policies that prohibit government officials from sharing information about illegal foreign nationals with federal authorities and refuse to honor detainer requests made with their jails. Local governments that violate the law will be compelled to return unobligated federal funds they received while they obstructed federal immigration enforcement. The time period for recouping funds is retroactive five years from the date the law is enacted.

“By actively harboring and protecting criminal illegal aliens, sanctuary cities create unnecessarily dangerous circumstances for both law enforcement and law-abiding citizens all across our country,” Van Duyne said. As the former mayor of Irving, she said she knows “first hand … how easy it is to coordinate local law enforcement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations to apprehend and deport criminal aliens.”

While mayor and working with ICE, law enforcement “removed thousands of criminal aliens” in Irving. Under her tenure, Irving became the fifth safest city in America, “not only for American citizens but also for immigrant populations who are the most likely to be preyed upon by violent alien criminals,” she said.

The law also includes a grace period allowing for jurisdictions to notify the attorney general that they corrected their policies and are cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.

Van Duyne says the bill is “a commonsense reform” that has become necessary because of increased attacks against federal agents. In the past few months, attacks against ICE officers have increased by 500%, with federal prosecutors and law enforcement officers being attacked, The Center Square reported.

In the 118th Congress, Van Duyne introduced the No Congressional Funds for Sanctuary Cities Act, which would prohibit the use of federal funds for congressional earmarks targeting state or local governments that identify as sanctuary jurisdictions.

She also introduced the Stop Funding Rioters Act in response to the violent riots in Los Angeles targeting federal immigration officers. The bill would make those convicted of misdemeanor or felony assault of a law enforcement officer, or of a felony related to a riot that destroyed a small business, ineligible to receive aid or participate in Small Business Administration programs.

“Taxpayer dollars should never be used to support individuals who violently attack law enforcement or destroy the livelihoods of hard-working Americans,” she said. “I am committed to protecting law enforcement, supporting small businesses, and ensuring that federal programs serve those who contribute to, rather than destroy, our communities.”