# Summary of S. 5138 — Fairness for Immigrant Families Act of 2026
This bill makes several significant changes to U.S. immigration law designed to protect immigrant families, combat fraud in immigration services, and build community trust. The legislation eliminates the three-year and ten-year bars that currently prevent people who have been removed from the country from returning, while creating exceptions for minors, asylum applicants, trafficking victims, and children who entered before age sixteen. It expands eligibility for cancellation of removal (a form of relief that allows certain undocumented immigrants to stay) by lowering the required continuous residence from ten years to seven years and broadening the definition of "extreme hardship" that qualifies someone for relief.
The bill creates several protections for vulnerable populations, including prohibiting the removal of DACA recipients, people with pending visa petitions, trafficking victims, crime victims and witnesses, and the parents of U.S. citizen children (though ICE must review and approve such removals). It requires quarterly congressional reports on enforcement actions against certain immigrants and immediate reports if U.S. citizens are detained or deported.
To combat immigration fraud, the bill creates new criminal penalties for schemes providing fraudulent immigration services and requires immigration consultants to clearly disclose they are not attorneys and cannot provide legal advice. It authorizes $35 million in grants over multiple years to states and localities for fraud prevention hotlines, consumer education, and enforcement efforts. The bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security to report annually to Congress on immigration service fees, processing times, and application backlogs, and prevents fee increases without a detailed cost analysis submitted to Congress at least sixty days in advance.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.