[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3773 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3773

  To amend title 23, United States Code, to condition Federal highway 
   funding on State compliance with Federal immigration enforcement 
policies related to driver's licensing and information sharing, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 4, 2026

  Mr. Cotton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 23, United States Code, to condition Federal highway 
   funding on State compliance with Federal immigration enforcement 
policies related to driver's licensing and information sharing, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Enforce Immigration or Lose 
Transportation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) Federal transportation funding supports the safety and 
        efficiency of the highways, bridges, and public transit systems 
        of the United States;
            (2) compliance with Federal immigration laws, including 
        verification of lawful presence for driver's license issuance 
        and cooperation with Federal immigration enforcement, directly 
        impacts road safety by ensuring that licensed drivers are 
        properly vetted and reducing risks associated with unverified 
        operators;
            (3) States that issue driver's licenses without requiring 
        proof of lawful presence or that restrict information sharing 
        with Federal immigration authorities undermine national 
        security and transportation safety objectives; and
            (4) conditioning a portion of Federal highway funding on 
        compliance described in paragraph (2) is a reasonable exercise 
        of the authority of Congress under the Spending Clause of 
        section 8 of article I of the Constitution to promote the 
        general welfare.

SEC. 3. IMMIGRATION COMPLIANCE FOR TRANSPORTATION FUNDING.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 154 the following:
``Sec. 155. Immigration compliance for transportation funding
    ``(a) Definition of Driver's License.--In this section, the term 
`driver's license' has the meaning given the term in section 201 of the 
REAL ID Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301 note; Public Law 109-13).
    ``(b) Withholding of Funds for Noncompliance.--
            ``(1) In general.--On October 1, 2026, and each October 1 
        thereafter, the Secretary shall withhold from a State the 
        applicable percentage described in paragraph (2) of the amounts 
        required to be apportioned to the State under paragraphs (1) 
        and (2) of section 104(b) if the Secretary determines that the 
        State is not in compliance, as described in subsection (c).
            ``(2) Applicable percentage.--
                    ``(A) First year.--For the first fiscal year in 
                which a State is determined to be not in compliance, 
                the percentage shall be 5 percent.
                    ``(B) Subsequent years.--For each subsequent fiscal 
                year in which a State is determined to be not in 
                compliance, the percentage shall be 10 percent.
            ``(3) Duration.--If, before the last day of the fiscal year 
        for which funds are withheld under this section, the Secretary 
        determines that the State is in compliance under this section, 
        the Secretary shall, on the first day on which the Secretary 
        makes that determination, apportion to the State the funds 
        withheld from that State for that fiscal year under this 
        section.
            ``(4) Effect of withholding.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (3), no funds withheld under this section from 
        apportionment to a State shall be available to that State.
    ``(c) Compliance Requirements.--A State is not in compliance under 
this section if the State--
            ``(1) has in effect a statute, regulation, policy, or 
        practice that prohibits or restricts State or local officials 
        from sending to, or receiving from, the Department of Homeland 
        Security information regarding the citizenship or immigration 
        status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual, in violation of 
        section 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
        Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1373);
            ``(2) issues driver's licenses or identification cards to 
        individuals without requiring evidence of lawful status as 
        described in section 202(c)(2)(B) of the REAL ID Act of 2005 
        (49 U.S.C. 30301 note; Public Law 109-13); or
            ``(3) fails to cooperate with detainers issued by U.S. 
        Immigration and Customs Enforcement under section 287(d) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357(d)), including 
        by refusing to honor such detainers for individuals in State 
        custody.
    ``(d) Certification.--Each State shall annually certify to the 
Secretary the compliance of the State with subsection (c), including 
submission of relevant statutes, policies, and data on driver's license 
issuance practices.
    ``(e) Enforcement and Audits.--The Secretary may--
            ``(1) conduct audits of State certifications and practices 
        to verify compliance with subsection (c);
            ``(2) issue regulations to implement this section, 
        including procedures for appeals of noncompliance 
        determinations; and
            ``(3) provide technical assistance to States to achieve 
        compliance.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 154 the following:

``155. Immigration compliance for transportation funding.''.
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