# H.R. 3486 (119th): Stop Illegal Reentry Act

Stop Illegal Reentry Act This bill establishes or increases criminal penalties for certain non-U.S. nationals ( aliens under federal law) who illegally enter the United States and then commit a felony or illegally reenter the United States. The bill establishes a mandatory minimum prison term of 5 years and allows a life sentence for an individual who (1) improperly enters, or attempts to improperly enter, the United States; and (2) is subsequently convicted of a felony. The bill increases the maximum term of imprisonment from 2 years to 5 years for repeated improper entry. The bill also increases from 2 years to 10 years the maximum term of imprisonment for an individual who had been denied entry into or removed from the United States and who later enters or attempts to enter without prior approval. The bill increases the maximum term of imprisonment from 10 to 15 years if such an individual was convicted of three or more specified types of misdemeanors before removal. An individual who had been denied entry or removed three or more times and who later enters or attempts to enter the United States shall be fined, imprisoned for up to 10 years, or both. The bill establishes a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and allows a life sentence for an individual who was convicted of a felony before removal, or convicted of illegal reentry at least two times before removal, and who subsequently enters or tries to enter the United States.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: criminal_penalties. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: immigration. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: law_enforcement. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: mandatory_minimums. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: mixed. Only tags the rules mark scoreable on a mixed bill are scored. A yea can draw a penalty or a credit according to the tag. A nay on a tag scored as good can draw a penalty.
Roll 264: On Passage. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The bill pursues a legitimate civil good by restraining repeated unlawful entry and reentry after removal, which falls within the proper work of government. Its mandatory minimums and possible life sentences for immigration offenses raise real proportionality concerns under general equity, so the measure combines an ordinary public-order good with serious sentencing concerns rather than a direct moral evil or a plainly unclear case.
Theological note: Scripture affirms that civil government bears the sword to restrain lawlessness and defend the public order (Romans 13:1-4), and that nations may order their borders with justice (Acts 17:26). Scripture also requires that the stranger not be oppressed and that justice be even-handed (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 10:18-19). The issue is therefore one of general equity: whether the penalties are proportionate to the offense and whether mandatory minimums and life sentences for immigration-related conduct fit the gravity of the wrong.

## Recorded votes

Roll 264: On Passage. Yea 226 · Nay 197 · Other 9.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-3486-119/