Federal crime bill
Weaponized legislation
Under the guise of “crime prevention,” Congress is trying to pass laws to boost DHS’s surveillance powers and punish cities that believe wealth shouldn’t be a condition of freedom.
Power is the point. Safety is the smokescreen.
These bills are about control, not crime
01
Building a list of targets
H.R. 5625 would require annual reporting on states and cities that have chosen pretrial freedom over bail bondsmen’s donations—creating a list of places to target for defunding.
02
Punishing the opposition
H.R. 5213 would give the federal government the power to punish progressive cities and states by using a jurisdiction’s bail policies as a smokescreen for withholding critical federal funds (a tactic Trump has repeatedly tried to use).
03
Supercharging DHS
H.R. 2853 isn’t about retail theft—it is actually about giving the Department of Homeland Security a massive weapon to track Americans. No oversight and no rules—it’s a blank surveillance check for DHS and ICE.
Get informed
Learn more about the congressional overreach
Download our one-page explainer that details what the administration is doing, its impact, and the ways to get involved.
What we know
These bills aren’t for you
Nothing in these bills will make people safer or improve their lives. They masquerade as crime prevention to consolidate even more power in the federal government. That power will be used against cities and people that oppose the policies of this administration.
Join the coalition
// More power grabs
Encroachment into local matters
Decisions about county and city court cases have always been made by local officials—the people who communities elect. Interference in these cases takes away this power, replacing local control with federal mandates.
// Opposition targeted
Identifies opponents for future harm
The H.R. 5625list isn’t just a list. It is a warning to any city or state that doesn’t fall in line. Every jurisdiction placed on the DOJ list would have a target on its back, and the federal government has already promised punishment.
// Safety undermined
Strips away public safety funding
If H.R. 5213 passes, jurisdictions will lose money that communities rely on for public safety. That means police departments, prosecutor offices, and victims services will all be forced to cut staff and resources in response.
// Privacy eroded
Expands DHS and ICE surveillance powers
H.R. 2853 would centralize surveillance powers in DHS and shift local crime-fighting to the federal government. There is no meaningful oversight to protect the data that ICE’s intelligence hub collects.
// Corporations win
Gives big-box retailers what they want
Corporations have spent years fearmongering about “smash and grabs,” blaming them for problems more likely caused by “poor inventory management and staffing.” H.R. 2853 is a purported answer to a problem that doesn’t exist, with the enormous side effect of boosting DHS surveillance powers.
Latest news & resources
Congressional efforts to expand federal power
Congress is using crime to create new means of federal control over people and their data
Join us
Sign up for updates
Sign up to get updates on the funding cuts, calls to action, petitions to sign, and news about our progress. Because real safety takes all of us.