Stop Illegal Entry Act of 2025

Enumerated powers · raises concerns · severity: critical

The federal government has authority over naturalization and immigration under Article I, Section 8, Clause 4, but this bill goes beyond regulating entry and removal by imposing criminal penalties that are punitive rather than regulatory. The power to define and punish felonies is not an enumerated federal power; it is reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment. The bill's mandatory life sentences for immigration-related conduct exceed any reasonable interpretation of federal immigration power.

Bill of Rights · raises concerns · severity: critical

The bill violates the Eighth Amendment by mandating life imprisonment for nonviolent immigration offenses, which is grossly disproportionate to the offense. The Supreme Court has held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits extreme sentences that are disproportionate to the crime (Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277 (1983)). Additionally, the bill's mandatory minimum sentences for reentry after a prior felony conviction may violate the Ex Post Facto Clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 3) if applied retroactively, and the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause is implicated by the lack of proportionality review.

Individual liberty · raises concerns · severity: critical

The bill severely restricts individual liberty by imposing life sentences for entering the country without authorization, even when no violent crime is committed. This infringes on the fundamental right to freedom from excessive government punishment. The government has not provided a compelling justification for such extreme penalties, as immigration violations are not inherently violent or threatening to public safety. The burden on the government to justify such restrictions is not met.

Decentralization · raises concerns · severity: critical

The bill fails all four decentralization questions. (1) Individuals cannot handle federal immigration enforcement on their own. (2) Local communities cannot handle federal immigration law. (3) States have traditionally handled criminal law, including felony definitions and sentencing, but this bill federalizes those areas. (4) The bill consolidates decision-making at the federal level by imposing uniform mandatory minimums and life sentences, overriding state discretion in criminal justice. This directly violates the Tenth Amendment by commandeering state resources and preempting state criminal law.

Due process and takings · raises concerns · severity: critical

The bill violates procedural due process under the Fifth Amendment by imposing mandatory minimum sentences without individualized consideration of the circumstances of the offense or the offender. The Supreme Court has held that mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles violate the Eighth Amendment (Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012)), and similar reasoning applies to nonviolent adult offenders. The bill also fails to provide fair notice of the severity of punishment, as it retroactively increases penalties for prior conduct. No property is taken, but the deprivation of liberty without meaningful judicial discretion violates due process.