Only the right has signed this so far (Bill Ranking)
S. 497 · 119th Congress (2025-2026)
1 member · Left 0 · Center 0 · Right 1 (Bill Ranking)
| Sponsor | Sen. Hagerty, Bill (R-TN) (Introduced 02/10/2025) |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Voting Record | Right · DW-NOMINATE +0.67 · measured from every roll-call vote this member has cast (voteview.com) (Sponsor Ranking) |
| Support |
LLLCLRR support across the spectrum: 1 member signed on (Bill Ranking) this bill: sponsor + current cosponsors, each once |
| Committees | Senate - Finance Committee |
| Latest Action | 02/10/2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. |
| Roll Call Votes | There have been no roll call votes |
| Source | view on congress.gov → |
Introduced in Senate (02/10/2025)
Fixing Exemptions for Networks Choosing to Enable Illegal Migration Act or the FENCE Act
This bill denies federal tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(3) to an organization that engages in a pattern or practice of providing financial assistance, benefits, services, or other material support to individuals that such organization knows or reasonably should know are unlawfully present in the United States. However, the bill does not require an organization to verify an individual’s citizenship or immigration status, or act in violation of religious beliefs.
As background, an organization may be exempt from federal income tax under IRC Section 501(c)(3) if it is organized and operated exclusively (1) for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes; (2) for testing for public safety; (3) for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals; or (4) to foster national or international amateur sports competition (subject to limitations). However, under current law, a tax-exempt organization may not be organized for an illegal purpose or engage in substantial illegal activity.
119 S497 IS: Fixing Exemptions for Networks Choosing to Enable Illegal Migration Act U.S. Senate 2025-02-10 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II119th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 497IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESFebruary 10, 2025Mr. Hagerty introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on FinanceA BILLTo amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify eligibility for 501(c)(3) status.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Fixing Exemptions for Networks Choosing to Enable Illegal Migration Act or the FENCE Act.2.Organizations harboring aliens unlawfully present in the United States(a)In generalParagraph (3) of section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—(1)by striking animals, no part and inserting “animals—(A)no part,(2)by striking individual, no substantial part and inserting “individual,(B)no substantial part,(3)by striking subsection (h)), and which and inserting “subsection (h)),(C)which,(4)by striking the period at the end and inserting , and, and(5)by adding at the end the following:(D)which does not engage in a pattern or practice of providing financial assistance, benefits, services, or other material support to individuals which such corporation, community chest, fund, or foundation knows or reasonably should know to be unlawfully present in the United States.Subparagraph (D) shall not be construed to require proof of citizenship or verification of an individual’s immigration status to be presented, or to require a religious organization to act in violation of its religious beliefs..(b)Effective dateThe amendments made by this section shall take effect upon the date of the enactment of this Act.
The bill's own words, from our database (synced from the GPO BILLS XML); paragraph breaks added at the bill's section boundaries, nothing else changed.
| Date | Chamber | All Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 02/10/2025 | Library of Congress | Introduced in Senate |
| 02/10/2025 | Senate | Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. |
| Title Type | Title |
|---|---|
| Display Title | FENCE Act |
| Short Title(s) as Introduced | FENCE Act |
| Short Title(s) as Introduced | Fixing Exemptions for Networks Choosing to Enable Illegal Migration Act |
| Official Title as Introduced | A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify eligibility for 501(c)(3) status. |
There are no amendments to this bill.
There are no cosponsors of this bill.
| Committee | Activity |
|---|---|
| Senate - Finance Committee | 02/10/2025 Referred To |
No related bill information was received for S. 497.
Policy Area: Taxation
No legislative subjects have been assigned yet.
All data on this page comes from our own database (legislation.congress_* tables), synced daily from the GPO govinfo BILLSTATUS and BILLS collections. Formatted after congress.gov; nothing is generated. Member placement is their DW-NOMINATE score (voteview.com, Lewis et al.) - a measurement of roll-call voting behavior, not our judgement. Buckets: Left below −0.50 · Lean Left to −0.25 · Center to +0.25 · Lean Right to +0.50 · Right above +0.50. The bill's Support meter aggregates the people who signed the bill - sponsor and current cosponsors, each counted once - nothing else.