Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025

The bill would require the SBA Administrator to publicly identify any SBA regional, district, or local office located in a sanctuary jurisdiction, then relocate that office within 120 days to a location that is not a sanctuary jurisdiction. A sanctuary jurisdiction is defined as a political subdivision of a state — a city, county, or similar locality — that has a law, ordinance, policy, or practice restricting the sharing of immigration status information with other government entities or blocking compliance with DHS detainer requests under Sections 236 or 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

If an office is not relocated within the 120-day window, it would cease operations and its employees would be reassigned to other SBA offices that are not in sanctuary jurisdictions. The office head would be required to submit a written explanation; the Administrator would be mandated to remove that official if the explanation is not provided or is deemed insufficient. The bill would also prohibit the SBA from establishing any new covered offices in a sanctuary jurisdiction. It would not apply to SBA headquarters, and the definition of sanctuary jurisdiction covers only political subdivisions — not states themselves.

SBA employees working in regional, district, or local offices situated in cities or counties with sanctuary policies; small business owners, loan applicants, and entrepreneurs in those localities who rely on in-person SBA services; local governments whose immigration policies would trigger a relocation determination; and SBA office heads who face mandatory removal for failing to meet the 120-day deadline.

SBA field offices provide direct access to small business loans, counseling, and federal contracting assistance. Businesses in major cities with sanctuary policies could lose nearby SBA office access if relocation or closure is triggered. Office-level officials face an unusually severe personal consequence — mandatory removal — for missing a tight administrative deadline, setting a new precedent for enforcing immigration-related compliance within a domestic economic agency.

The SBA Administrator would first make and publicly post a determination that a specific covered office is in a sanctuary jurisdiction. The 120-day relocation clock then begins. If the deadline is missed, the office must immediately cease operations and employees must be reassigned; the office head has 5 days to submit a written explanation, and the Administrator must remove the head if the explanation is absent or insufficient. The bill provides no rulemaking requirement or specific process for how the Administrator identifies sanctuary jurisdictions; that determination appears to rest with the Administrator's discretion. The prohibition on new office openings is self-executing upon enactment.