This bill mandates the relocation of nonessential federal administrative offices out of designated "sanctuary jurisdictions" within 90 days and prohibits future federal occupancy in those areas.
Barry Moore
Representative
AL-1
This bill, the TIMEOUT Act, mandates that most federal agencies must relocate their nonessential administrative offices out of designated "sanctuary jurisdictions" within 90 days of enactment. It also prohibits these agencies from establishing or renewing leases in such jurisdictions in the future. The legislation requires federal agencies to identify and move covered office space located in jurisdictions that restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
TIMEOUT Act Mandates Federal Office Relocation from Sanctuary Cities Within 90 Days
The federal government is looking to pack its bags and move out of cities that don’t play ball with immigration enforcement. Under the newly proposed “TIMEOUT Act,” almost every federal executive agency—from the Social Security Administration to the Department of Labor—would be forced to move their nonessential administrative offices out of any “sanctuary jurisdiction” within a tight 90-day window. The bill defines these jurisdictions as any state or local government that restricts sharing immigration status info with the feds or refuses to honor DHS detainer requests. While the Department of Homeland Security gets to stay put, everyone else has to find new real estate outside these zones, and they are permanently barred from signing new leases there in the future.
The Great Federal Exit
This isn't just a suggestion; it’s a logistical sprint. Within 30 days of this bill becoming law, the General Services Administration (GSA) has to identify every single “covered office space” sitting in a sanctuary city. Once an agency gets the tap on the shoulder, they have just 60 days to submit a moving plan and must be fully vacated by day 90 (Section 2). For a regular person, moving a three-bedroom house in three months is stressful. For a federal agency with hundreds of employees, secure servers, and mountains of paperwork, this is a massive undertaking. If you’re a federal employee working in a city like Chicago, New York, or Seattle, your office could effectively be uprooted by next quarter, potentially forcing you into a much longer commute or a total relocation to keep your job.
Local Impacts and the Bottom Line
The ripple effects will likely hit local economies and the people who rely on these offices. When a federal agency leaves town, it takes with it hundreds of workers who buy lunch at local delis, shop at nearby stores, and pay for parking. For a small business owner operating near a federal building in a designated sanctuary area, this could mean a significant drop in daily foot traffic. Furthermore, the bill requires the GSA to report back to Congress after a year on the total costs or savings (Section 2). While moving to a smaller town might save on rent in the long run, the immediate cost of breaking existing leases and the high price of emergency relocation could create a significant short-term burden on the federal budget.
Defining the ‘Sanctuary’ Label
A major point of uncertainty lies in how broadly the term “sanctuary jurisdiction” is applied. The bill targets any place that “prohibits or restricts” the exchange of citizenship information or refuses to notify DHS about an individual’s release (Section 2). Because this definition is somewhat broad, a city might find itself on the “no-go” list even if they only have minor policy differences with federal immigration authorities. This could lead to a confusing map of where federal services—like a regional Small Business Administration office or a Department of Education hub—are actually allowed to operate. If you’re a contractor or a citizen who needs to visit these offices in person, you might soon find your nearest service center has moved several towns over, all because of a policy dispute between your local city council and the federal government.