Tough Love Act
H.R. 10415118th Congress

Tough Love Act

Introduced in the HouseRep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19)45 sections · 6 min read
Version: Introduced in House · Dec 16, 2024

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Tough Love Act.

(a) In general

Title I of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(a) In general

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall only authorize any employment authorized endorsement or other appropriate work permit for any alien who—

(1) has been admitted to the United States and has lawful immigration status in the United States;

(2) entered the United States at a port of entry; and

(3) has not been issued an order of removal from an immigration judge or been otherwise ordered removed from the United States by any other Federal official.

(b) No waiver authority

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall not have the authority to waive the limitations established by subsection (a).

(b) Limitation on employment authorization authority

Section 241(a)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows:

(7) In general

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall not authorize any employment authorized endorsement or other appropriate work permit for any alien who—

(A) does not have lawful immigration status in the United States;

(B) has been issued a removal order from an immigration judge or been otherwise ordered removed from the United States by any other Federal official;

(C) has not been granted asylum by an immigration judge; or

(D) has had his or her asylum application denied by an immigration judge.

(7) In general

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall not have the authority to waive the limitations established under this paragraph.

(c) No employment authorization documentation for travel

Regardless of immigration status of an alien, no ‘employment authorized’ endorsement or other appropriate work permit shall be accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration or Transportation Security Administration for the purposes of identification or travel.

(d) Clerical amendment

The table of contents of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by inserting after the item related to section 107 the following:

Section 3. Mandatory detention for aliens ordered removed

Section 241(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking the alien may remain in detention and inserting the alien shall remain in detention; and

(2) by repealing paragraph (3).

(a) In general

Beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, in order to be eligible for Medicare or Medicaid funding, or other health care related Federal funding (or any Federal grant), a State shall—

(1) not provide non-emergency or chronic condition medical treatment to an alien without lawful immigration status in the United States; and

(2) report to Congress, on an annual basis, the cost of providing emergency medical care to aliens without lawful immigration status in that State.

(b) Impact on Federal funding

If a State cannot demonstrate its compliance with subsection (a) before the date that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall instruct all agency heads to, within 30 days of the notification by the President, cease the disbursal of all Federal funding to that State.

(c) Statement regarding medical treatment for aliens not lawfully present

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or discourage any type of medical treatment of any alien who is not lawfully present in the United States, except that such treatment shall be fully funded by the State that provides such treatment, and no Medicare, Medicaid, or other health care related Federal funding, or any Federal grant, may be used for such treatment.

(a) Elementary and secondary education

Beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, in order to be eligible for any Federal grant that provides any funding for elementary or secondary education, a State or local education agency or school district shall be required to demonstrate that it does not offer or provide any educational services to any alien who does not have lawful immigration status in the United States.

(b) State undergraduate and graduate education

Beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, in order to be eligible for any Federal grant that provides any funding for undergraduate or graduate education or Federal loan or scholarship support for attending students, a State college or university shall be required to demonstrate that it does not offer or provide any educational services to any alien who does not have lawful immigration status in the United States.

(c) Private undergraduate and graduate education

Beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, in order to be eligible for any Federal grant that provides any funding for undergraduate or graduate education or Federal loan or scholarship support for attending students, a private college or university shall be required to demonstrate that it does not offer or provide any educational services to any alien who does not have lawful immigration status in the United States.

(d) Regulations

The Secretary of Education, in consultation with other Federal agencies as needed, shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section, except such regulatory authority shall be limited to enhancing and improving the Federal Government’s ability to implement this section, and may not create any limitations on, or waive any of the requirements of, this section.

(e) Repeal of obsolete language

Section 505(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623(a)) is repealed.

(a) In general

If a State issues any type of driver’s license to any alien who does not have lawful immigration status in the United States, the President shall instruct all Federal agency heads to, within 30 days of the notification by the President, cease the disbursal of all Federal transportation funding to that State.

(b) Regulations

The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with other Federal agencies as needed, shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section, except such regulatory authority shall be limited to enhancing and improving the Federal Government’s ability to implement this section, and may not create any limitations on, or waive any of the requirements of, this section.

(c) Effective date

The effective date of this section will be 180 days after the effective date of this Act.

(a) In general

There is authorized to be appropriated $120,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out the E–Verify employment authorization program established under section 403 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a) (E–Verify).

(b) Prerequisite for Federal and State grant funding

No individual or entity shall be eligible for any Federal or State grant funding unless they are both registered for E–Verify and using E–Verify in an effective and non-evasive manner.

(c) Effective date

The effective date of this section will be October 1 of the first fiscal year to commence after the effective date of this Act.

(1) In general

An alien seeking lawful presence in the United States as a nonimmigrant who is not a national of a Visa Waiver Program participant country shall be required to pay a bond or cash payment of no less than $10,000 and no more than $25,000 to ensure the alien complies with the duration of stay authorized by his or her visa.

(2) Automatic and non-appealable forfeiture

The bond or cash payment required by this subsection shall be forfeited without the possibility of appeal or review if the alien fails to leave by the first day after authorized stay by midnight.

(3) Offsetting account

The forfeited bond or cash payment required by this subsection shall be deposited in an offsetting account under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Homeland Security and called the Immigration Detention and Enforcement Account, and the funds deposited in the account shall be used solely for the purposes of funding alien detention facilities and international transportation for aliens being removed from the United States.

(b) Immigration penalty

A nonimmigrant alien who remains in the United States after midnight Eastern time on the first day after the authorized duration of stay permitted by the nonimmigrant alien’s visa and has his or her bond or cash payment forfeited as described in subsection (a) shall, upon such forfeiture, be forthwith removed from the United States, and subsequently ineligible for any lawful immigration status or adjustment of status for 5 years subsequent to his or her failure to comply with the duration of stay authorized by his or her visa.

(1) Secretary of homeland security

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall only be authorized to engage in rulemaking to develop procedures for collection and retention of bonds and cash payments and notification to the Attorney General regarding an alien’s failure to comply with the duration of stay authorized by his or her visa, and shall not be authorized to engage in rulemaking to waive or nullify any of the requirements of this section.

(2) Attorney general

The Attorney General shall only be authorized to engage in rulemaking to develop appropriate procedures for enforcing the civil and criminal penalties against aliens who violate the requirements of this section, and shall not be authorized to engage in rulemaking to waive or nullify any of the requirements of this section.

(d) Effective date

The effective date of this section shall be 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

(a) In general

Each State shall have the discretion to ensure that any Federal funding provided to the State shall be provided only to United States citizens and aliens who are lawfully present in the United States, and shall be withheld from aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States in any manner approved by the State.

(b) Effective date

This section shall take effect immediately upon the enactment of this Act.

Section 10. Clarification

For the purposes of this Act, an alien who has been paroled into the United States pursuant to section 212(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)) is not lawfully present in the United States, and does not have lawful immigration status in the United States.

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