---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO CREATE THE DEFENSE AGAINST CRIMINAL ILLEGALS ACT; AND TO ESTABLISH ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO COMMIT SERIOUS FELONIES INVOLVING VIOLENCE."
description: "TO CREATE THE DEFENSE AGAINST CRIMINAL ILLEGALS ACT; AND TO ESTABLISH ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO COMMIT SERIOUS FELONIES INVOLVING VIOLENCE."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2025"
identifier: "SB 426"
citation: "Arkansas SB 426 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Cavenaugh", "Hester"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 28
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2025-03-11T20:13:04+00:00"
last_action: "2025-04-18T20:49:15+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fda58652-1228-42cc-a740-a9a3e64ce882"
source_url: "https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument/?path=%2fSessionInformation%2LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "6fbc43b26b8ff1d284280b0599b0a6095a96b74a5b3e1f00fa3ef48042717b44"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ar"]
---

# Arkansas SB 426 (2025) — TO CREATE THE DEFENSE AGAINST CRIMINAL ILLEGALS ACT; AND TO ESTABLISH ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO COMMIT SERIOUS FELONIES INVOLVING VIOLENCE.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Act 654** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2025R%2FPublic%2F&file=654.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R)
2. **Amendment S1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FSB426-S1.pdf)
3. **Amendment S2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FSB426-S2.pdf)
4. **Amendment S3** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2025R%2FPublic%2FSB426-S3.pdf)
5. **SB 426** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2025/2025R/Bills/SB426.pdf)

## Sponsors

- Cavenaugh — primary (person)
- Hester — primary (person)
- A. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- B. Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- Barker — cosponsor (person)
- Beck — cosponsor (person)
- Bentley — cosponsor (person)
- Breaux — cosponsor (person)
- C. Cooper — cosponsor (person)
- Childress — cosponsor (person)
- Cozart — cosponsor (person)
- Crawford — cosponsor (person)
- D. Sullivan — cosponsor (person)
- Flippo — cosponsor (person)
- Furman — cosponsor (person)
- G. Stubblefield — cosponsor (person)
- Gazaway — cosponsor (person)
- Gonzales — cosponsor (person)
- Holcomb — cosponsor (person)
- J. Boyd — cosponsor (person)
- J. Dismang — cosponsor (person)
- J. Moore — cosponsor (person)
- Jean — cosponsor (person)
- Joey Carr — cosponsor (person)
- K. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- M. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- M. Shepherd — cosponsor (person)
- McNair — cosponsor (person)
- Milligan — cosponsor (person)
- Nazarenko — cosponsor (person)
- Painter — cosponsor (person)
- Puryear — cosponsor (person)
- R. Burkes — cosponsor (person)
- Richmond — cosponsor (person)
- S. Berry — cosponsor (person)
- Stone — cosponsor (person)
- Torres — cosponsor (person)
- Tosh — cosponsor (person)
- Underwood — cosponsor (person)
- Unger — cosponsor (person)
- Walker — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-03-11T20:13:04+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2025-03-11T21:15:17+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-03-20T19:05:33+00:00** Rules suspended.
- **2025-03-20T19:05:39+00:00** Withdrawn from Committee and placed on 2nd reading for purpose of amendment # 1
- **2025-03-20T19:05:46+00:00** Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2025-03-20T20:40:37+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2025-03-20T22:13:23+00:00** Re-referred to JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-31T22:32:44+00:00** Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it Do Pass as amended, Amendment # 2 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-01T14:05:50+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2025-04-01T14:06:00+00:00** Amendment # 2 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2025-04-01T18:57:33+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2025-04-02T18:18:01+00:00** Rules suspended.
- **2025-04-02T18:18:05+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2025-04-02T18:18:13+00:00** Amendment # 3 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2025-04-02T19:11:30+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2025-04-02T19:11:55+00:00** Rules suspended.
- **2025-04-02T19:19:38+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-02T19:20:22+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2025-04-02T21:58:31+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2025-04-03T00:42:50+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE `reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2025-04-09T01:08:09+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2025-04-10T01:25:24+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-04-10T01:25:28+00:00** Returned to the Senate as passed.
- **2025-04-10T04:09:17+00:00** Returned from the House as passed.
- **2025-04-10T04:09:22+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2025-04-10T13:12:30+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2025-04-10T13:12:33+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2025-04-18T20:49:15+00:00** Notification that SB426 is now Act 654 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fda58652-1228-42cc-a740-a9a3e64ce882`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).