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25LSO-0387
2025
STATE OF WYOMING
25LSO-0387
Numbered
2.0
SENATE FILE NO. SF0124
Illegal immigration-identify, report, detain and deport.
Sponsored by: Senator(s) Steinmetz, Hutchings, Kolb and Pearson and Representative(s) Banks, Bear, Brown, G, Kelly, Knapp, Locke, McCann, Styvar and Tarver
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to immigration; establishing offenses related to the transportation, concealment or hiring of illegal or unauthorized aliens; providing penalties; requiring the verification of citizenship status for public benefits as specified; requiring the attorney general and each county sheriff to negotiate with federal agencies concerning immigration as specified; specifying requirements for communicating information related to immigration status; specifying requirements for the determination of immigration status for inmates; requiring documentation concerning citizenship for the issuance of driver's licenses and identification cards; providing and amending definitions; requiring reports; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
.
W.S. 6
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5
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215, 7
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2
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109 and 9
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25
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101 through 9
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25
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105 are created to read:
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5
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215.
Transportation or concealment of illegal aliens.
(a)
No person shall transport, move or attempt to transport or move in the state of Wyoming any alien knowing that the alien has come to, entered or remained in the United States in violation of law, in furtherance of the illegal presence of the alien in the United States.
(b)
No person shall conceal, harbor or shelter from detection any alien in any place within the state of Wyoming, including any building or means of transportation, knowing that the alien has come to, entered or remained in the United States in violation of law.
(c)
Any person violating subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment of not more than five (5) years, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.
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2
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109.
Peace officers; citizenship status; cooperation.
(a)
Each peace officer detaining a person for the issuance of a citation or the arrest of a person shall ask the person regarding the person's immigration status or lawful presence in the United States.
(b)
No law enforcement agency in the state shall adopt a policy, rule or procedure that prohibits peace officers from asking about a person's immigration status.
(c)
Upon determining that a person is an unauthorized alien as defined by W.S. 9
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25
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101(a)(iv) or if the lawful immigration or citizenship status of a person cannot be verified after detaining or arresting the person, the peace officer or the law enforcement agency shall notify the United States department of homeland security or the United States immigration and customs enforcement. Upon providing notice under this subsection, the detaining law enforcement agency shall continue to detain the person in accordance with law until the United States department of homeland security or the United States immigration and customs enforcement assumes custody of the person or proof of the person's lawful status in the country is provided.
CHAPTER 25
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
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25
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101.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this chapter:
(i)
"Federal public benefit" means as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1611(c);
(ii)
"Local government" means cities, towns, counties, school districts, joint powers boards, airport boards, public corporations, entities formed by a county memorial hospital, special hospital district, rural health care district or senior health care district that are wholly owned by one (1) or more governmental entities, community college districts, special districts and their governing bodies, all political subdivisions of the state, and their agencies, instrumentalities and institutions;
(iii)
"State or local public benefit" means as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1621(c);
(iv)
"Unauthorized alien" means as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1324a(h)(3).
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25
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102.
Employer verification of employees; reporting.
(a)
Each employer in the state shall inquire as to a potential employee's or contractor's immigration status before commencing the person's employment or entering into a contract with the person for the provision of services.
(b)
Each employer that discovers or learns that a person employed or contracted by the employer is an unauthorized alien shall report the unauthorized alien's status to state or local law enforcement, federal law enforcement or the United States immigration and customs enforcement.
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25
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103.
Violations; penalties.
(a)
Any person who knowingly hires, contracts with, recruits or refers for a fee an unauthorized alien shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than:
(i)
Three hundred seventy
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five dollars ($375.00) and not more than three thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200.00) for the first offense;
(ii)
Three thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200.00) and not more than six thousand five hundred dollars ($6,500.00) for the second offense;
(iii)
Four thousand three hundred dollars ($4,300.00) and not more than sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000.00) for the third or subsequent offense.
(b)
For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, the hiring, contracting with, recruiting or referring of each unauthorized alien shall be deemed a separate offense.
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25
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104.
Public benefits.
(a)
Except as provided by subsection (c) of this section or federal law, each agency or local government of this state shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of any person age fourteen (14) or older who has applied for a state or local public benefit or a federal public benefit from a state agency or local government.
(b)
This section shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity or national origin.
(c)
Verification of lawful presence under this section shall not be required for:
(i)
Any purpose if lawful presence in the United States is not restricted by law, ordinance or regulation;
(ii)
Assistance for health care items and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 1396b(v)(3), if the items or services are not related to an organ transplant procedure;
(iii)
Short
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term, noncash, in
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kind emergency disaster relief;
(iv)
Public health assistance for immunizations with respect to diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases, whether or not the symptoms are caused by a communicable disease; or
(v)
Programs, services or assistance that:
(A)
Deliver in
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kind services at the community level, including public or private nonprofit agencies;
(B)
Do not condition the provision of assistance, amount of assistance or cost of assistance on the income or resources of the recipient;
(C)
Are necessary for the protection of life or safety.
(d)
For verification of the lawful presence of an applicant in the United States, the agency or local government required to make the verification shall provide notary public services at no cost to the applicant and require that the applicant execute an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the applicant is a:
(i)
United States citizen; or
(ii)
Qualified alien under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act and is lawfully present in the United States.
(e)
For any applicant who has executed an affidavit under paragraph (d)(ii) of this section, eligibility for benefits shall be determined through the systematic alien verification of entitlement program operated by the United States department of homeland security or a successor program. Until eligibility is verified, an affidavit executed under subsection (d) of this section may be presumed to be proof of lawful presence in the United States for purposes of this section.
(f)
Any person who knowingly makes a false or fraudulent statement or representation in an affidavit executed under subsection (d) of this section shall be subject to criminal penalties under W.S. 6
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5
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303(a). If the affidavit constitutes a false claim of United States citizenship under 18 U.S.C. § 911, a complaint shall be filed with the appropriate United States attorney by the agency or local government that required the affidavit.
(g)
An agency or local government may adopt variations to the requirements of this section if the agency or local government can demonstrate that the variation improves the efficiency of or reduces any delay in the verification process or to provide for the adjudication of unique individual circumstances where the verification procedures would impose undue hardship on a legal resident of this state.
(h)
No agency or local government shall provide any state or local public benefit or a federal public benefit without first complying with the requirements of this section.
(j)
Not later than October 1 of each year, the attorney general, the department of health, the department of workforce services, the department of family services and the department of administration and information shall provide an annual report to the governor, the speaker of the house, the president of the senate and management council with respect to efforts for compliance with this section. Each agency or local government subject to this section shall monitor the systematic alien verification of entitlement program for errors and significant delays. As part of the report required under this subsection, each agency specified in this subsection shall report any recommendations that would help ensure that the systematic alien verification of entitlement program is not erroneously denying benefits to legal residents of Wyoming or erroneously providing benefits to unauthorized aliens. Any error discovered shall also be reported to the United States department of homeland security.
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105.
Memoranda of understanding; communication of immigration status.
(a)
The attorney general, with the approval of the governor, is authorized and directed to negotiate the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the state of Wyoming and the United States department of justice or the United States department of homeland security, as provided by 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g), for the enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws, detentions, removals and investigations in Wyoming.
(b)
The memorandum of understanding negotiated under subsection (a) of this section shall be signed on behalf of the state by the governor and the attorney general or as otherwise required by the appropriate federal agency.
(c)
Each county sheriff, in consultation with the board of county commissioners, shall negotiate the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the county and the United States department of justice or the United States department of homeland security, as provided by 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g), for the enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws, detentions, removals and investigations in Wyoming. The memorandum of understanding negotiated under this subsection shall be signed by the board of county commissioners and the sheriff or as otherwise required by the appropriate federal agency.
(d)
No local government, whether acting through its governing body or by an initiative, referendum or any other process, shall enact any ordinance or policy that limits or prohibits a peace officer, local official or local government employee from communicating or cooperating with federal officials with regard to the immigration status of any person within this state.
(e)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no government entity, agency or official or local government shall prohibit or in any way restrict any employee or official of the government entity, agency or local government from sending to, or receiving from, the United States department of homeland security or the United States department of justice information regarding the citizenship status, work authorization status or immigration status of any person.
(f)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall prohibit or in any way restrict a public employee from doing any of the following with respect to information regarding the citizenship, work authorization or immigration status of any person:
(i)
Sending information related to immigration status, work authorization status or citizenship status to, or requesting or receiving status information from, the United States department of homeland security;
(ii)
Maintaining information related to citizenship, work authorization and immigration status;
(iii)
Exchanging status information with any other federal, state or local government entity.
(g)
Any person lawfully residing and domiciled in this state shall have a private right of action to file for a writ of mandamus to compel any noncooperating state agency or local government to comply with this chapter.
Section 2.
W.S. 7
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13
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104, 31
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7
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111 by creating new subsections (h) through (m) and 31
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8
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101(b) are amended to read:
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13
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104.
Record of prisoners; citizenship status.
(a)
The department of corrections shall keep a complete record of the background and current status of all prisoners sentenced and confined in any state penal institution. The administrator of the institution where a prisoner is incarcerated, the division of criminal investigation, and the clerk of court and sheriff of the county from which the prisoner is committed shall, at the request of the department or the board of parole, furnish any information in their possession relating to the prisoner or the offense committed.
(b)
When a person charged with a felony or with driving or having control of a vehicle while under the influence under W.S. 31
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5
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233 is confined for any period in a county jail or state penal institution, the department of corrections or county sheriff, as applicable, shall make a reasonable effort to determine the citizenship status of the person. If verification of lawful status cannot be made from documents in the person's possession, verification shall be completed not later than forty
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eight (48) hours of the commencement of the person's confinement by making an inquiry to the law enforcement support center of the United States department of homeland security or other designated federal agency. If the lawful immigration or citizenship status of a person cannot be verified under this subsection, the county sheriff or the department of corrections shall notify the United States department of homeland security.
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111.
Application for license or permit generally.
(h)
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (j) of this section, no person shall be issued an instruction permit, driver's license, commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit unless the person is a United States citizen or a legal permanent resident alien.
(j)
Subsection (h) of this section shall not apply if an applicant presents, in person, valid documentary evidence of at least one (1) of the following:
(i)
An unexpired immigrant or nonimmigrant visa status for admission into the United States;
(ii)
A pending or approved application for asylum in the United States;
(iii)
Admission into the United States under refugee status;
(iv)
A pending or approved application for temporary protected status in the United States;
(v)
Approved deferred action status;
(vi)
A pending application for adjustment of status to legal permanent resident status or conditional resident status.
(k)
If an applicant provides valid evidence under subsection (j) of this section and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a license or permit issued shall be valid only during the time of the authorized stay of the applicant in the United States or, if there is no definite end to the period of authorized stay, a period of one (1) year. A license or permit issued under this subsection:
(i)
Shall clearly notate on the license or permit that the license or permit is temporary, and the date on which the license or permit will expire;
(ii)
May be renewed only upon presentation of valid documentary evidence that the status by which the applicant qualified for the license or permit is still in effect or has been extended by the appropriate federal agency.
(m)
Any renewal or replacement of an instruction permit, driver's license, commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit shall be in accordance with subsections (h) through (k) of this section.
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101.
Issuance to residents by department; restrictions; limited to one state
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issued credential; digital identification card; definitions; rulemaking.
(b)
The department shall not issue an identification card until
valid
documentary evidence of the applicant's age and identity has been verified using documents as provided by W.S. 31
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111
and the applicant's citizenship or immigration status has been verified under W.S. 31
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7
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111(h) through (m)
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Section 3.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to alter, amend or impair any contract or agreement entered into before July 1, 2025.
Section 4.
The attorney general, the department of transportation, the department of administration and information, the department of health, the department of corrections, the department of workforce services and the department of family services shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.
Section 5
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(a) Except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2025
.
(b) Sections 4 and 5 of this act are effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.
(END)
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SF0124