Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2415 To provide standards for facilities at which aliens in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security are detained, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2019 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself and Mr. SMITH of Washington) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To provide standards for facilities at which aliens in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security are detained, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dignity for Detained 4 Immigrants Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR DHS DETENTION FACILITIES. 6 Not later than one year after the date of the enact- 7 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2415 IH shall, by rulemaking, establish detention standards for 1 each facility at which aliens in the custody of the Depart- 2 ment of Homeland Security are detained. Such standards 3 shall provide, at a minimum, the level of protections for 4 detainees described in the American Bar Association’s 5 Civil Immigration Detention Standards (adopted in Au- 6 gust, 2012, and as amended in August, 2014). On a bien- 7 nial basis, the Secretary shall review and update such 8 standards, as appropriate. 9 SEC. 3. OVERSIGHT AND TRANSPARENCY FOR DHS DETEN- 10 TION FACILITIES. 11 (a) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—On a periodic basis, and not 13 less than annually, the Inspector General of the De- 14 partment of Homeland Security shall conduct an un- 15 announced inspection of each facility at which aliens 16 in the custody of the Department of Homeland Se- 17 curity are detained in order to ensure that each such 18 facility is in compliance with the standards under 19 section 2. Not later than 60 days after conducting 20 an inspection under this subsection, the Inspector 21 General shall make a report of such inspection pub- 22 licly available on the website of the Department of 23 Homeland Security, and submit such report to the 24 Secretary of Homeland Security. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2415 IH (2) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH STANDARDS.— 1 (A) INITIAL FAILURE.—In the case that 2 the Inspector General determines that a facility 3 has failed to comply with the standards under 4 section 2 for the first time during any 2-year 5 period, and that such noncompliance constitutes 6 a deficiency that threatens the health, safety, or 7 the due process rights of detainees, the Inspec- 8 tor General shall notify the Secretary of Home- 9 land Security of such finding, and the Secretary 10 shall— 11 (i) in the case of a facility that is not 12 owned by the Department of Homeland 13 Security, impose a meaningful fine of not 14 less than 10 percent of the value of the 15 contract with the facility; and 16 (ii) in the case of a facility that is 17 owned by the Department of Homeland 18 Security— 19 (I) issue a written warning to the 20 facility not later than 30 days after 21 receiving such notification from the 22 Inspector General, which shall include 23 remedial measures to be carried out 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2415 IH not later than 60 days after the 1 issuance of the warning; and 2 (II) not later than 60 days after 3 the issuance of the warning described 4 in subclause (I), certify to the Inspec- 5 tor General that the remedial meas- 6 ures have been carried out. 7 (B) SUBSEQUENT FAILURES.—In the case 8 that the Inspector General determines that a 9 facility has failed to comply with the standards 10 under section 2 in two investigations under 11 paragraph (1) during any 2-year period, and 12 that such noncompliance constitutes a defi- 13 ciency that threatens the health, safety, or the 14 constitutional rights of detainees, the Inspector 15 General shall notify the Secretary of Homeland 16 Security of such finding, and the Secretary 17 shall— 18 (i) in the case of a facility that is not 19 owned by the Department of Homeland 20 Security, not later than 30 days after re- 21 ceiving such notification, transfer each de- 22 tainee to a facility that does so comply, 23 and terminate the contract with the owner 24 of the facility; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2415 IH (ii) in the case of a facility that is 1 owned by the Department of Homeland 2 Security, not later than 60 days after re- 3 ceiving such notification, transfer each de- 4 tainee to a facility that does so comply, 5 and suspend the use of such facility until 6 such time as the Inspector General cer- 7 tifies to the Secretary that the facility is in 8 compliance with such standards, and 9 makes publicly available on the website of 10 the Department of Homeland Security in- 11 formation relating to the remedial meas- 12 ures taken. 13 (b) NOTIFICATION OF DEATH IN CUSTODY.—Not 14 later than 24 hours after the death of an alien in the cus- 15 tody of the Department of Homeland Security, the Sec- 16 retary of Homeland Security shall notify the Committees 17 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of 18 the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security of the 19 House of Representatives, and the Committee on Home- 20 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate of 21 the death of such alien. 22 (c) INVESTIGATIONS ON DEATH IN CUSTODY.—Not 23 later than 30 days after the death of an alien in the cus- 24 tody of the Department of Homeland Security, the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2415 IH retary of Homeland Security shall conduct an investiga- 1 tion into that death, which shall include a root cause anal- 2 ysis that identifies any changes to policies, practices, 3 training curricula, staffing, or potential system-wide er- 4 rors that could reduce the probability of such an event 5 in the future. Not later than 60 days after such a death, 6 the Secretary shall make a report describing the results 7 of such investigation publicly available on the website of 8 the Department of Homeland Security. The root cause 9 analysis described in the previous sentence must include 10 appropriately qualified personnel, which, at a minimum, 11 will consist of a medical professional qualified in any field 12 germane to the death, and shall be performed in accord- 13 ance with professional medical standards for investigating 14 sentinel events in medical care facilities, including the 15 Sentinel Event Policy promulgated by The Joint Commis- 16 sion. 17 (d) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘death of an alien in the 18 custody of the Department of Homeland Security’’ means 19 any death of an alien occurring while the alien is under 20 the supervision of the Department of Homeland Security, 21 regardless of the location of the death, if the death may 22 have resulted from a health problem, which began, existed 23 during, or was exacerbated during the detention of the 24 alien. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2415 IH (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—On an annual basis, the 1 Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the Com- 2 mittees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 3 and of the Senate a report on the inspections and over- 4 sight of facilities at which aliens in the custody of the De- 5 partment of Homeland Security are detained. Such report 6 shall include information relating to, for the preceding 7 year— 8 (1) each detention facility which the Inspector 9 General found was not in compliance with the stand- 10 ards under section 2 pursuant to an investigation 11 conducted under subsection (a)(1); 12 (2) any remedial actions taken, or that the Sec- 13 retary plans to take, in order to comply with such 14 standards; and 15 (3) whether the remedial actions described in 16 paragraph (2) were successful in bringing the facil- 17 ity into compliance with such standards. 18 (f) CLASSIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS FOR PURPOSES 19 OF FOIA.—The reports under subsections (a) and (b), 20 and any contract between the Department of Homeland 21 Security and a private or public entity which provides for 22 the use of a facility not owned by the Department of 23 Homeland Security to detain aliens in the custody of the 24 Department of Homeland Security are considered records 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2415 IH for purposes of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 1 and do not qualify for the exception under subsection 2 (b)(4) of such section. 3 (g) FACILITIES MATRIX.—On the first day of each 4 month, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure 5 that there is publicly available on the website of the De- 6 partment of Homeland Security, the following information 7 relating to each facility at which aliens in the custody of 8 the Department of Homeland Security may be detained: 9 (1) The name and location of each facility. 10 (2) Whether the facility houses adults, children, 11 or both. 12 (3) As of the first day of the month, the num- 13 ber of beds available in each facility, disaggregated 14 by gender. 15 (4) Whether the facility is used to detain aliens 16 for longer than 72 hours, or for longer than 7 days. 17 (5) The average number of aliens detained in 18 the facility for the current year, and for the pre- 19 ceding month, disaggregated by gender and classi- 20 fication as a child or as an adult. 21 (6) Whether the facility is in compliance with 22 the standards under section 2. 23 (7) In the case of a facility that is not owned 24 by the Department of Homeland Security, the na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2415 IH ture of the contract providing for the detention of 1 aliens at that facility. 2 (8) The average, median, 25th quartile, and 3 50th quartile number of days that an alien has been 4 detained at the facility during the preceding month. 5 (h) ONLINE DETAINEE LOCATOR SYSTEM.—The 6 Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that the on- 7 line detainee locator system maintained by the Depart- 8 ment of Homeland Security, or any successor system, is 9 updated not later than 12 hours after an alien is taken 10 into custody or released from custody by the Department 11 of Homeland Security, transferred to, or detained in, a 12 detention facility, or removed from the United States. 13 (i) INFORMATION COLLECTED AND MAINTAINED FOR 14 ALIENS IN DHS CUSTODY.—The Secretary of Homeland 15 Security shall collect and maintain, for each alien in the 16 custody of the Department of Homeland Security, the fol- 17 lowing information: 18 (1) The gender and age of the alien. 19 (2) The date on which the alien was detained. 20 (3) The country of origin of the alien. 21 (4) Whether the alien is considered a vulnerable 22 person (as such term is defined in section 236(g) of 23 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 24 1226(g)) or a primary caregiver. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2415 IH (5) The provision of law under with the Sec- 1 retary is authorized to detain the alien. 2 (6) The location where the alien is detained. 3 (7) Any transfer of the alien to another deten- 4 tion facility, and the reason for such transfer. 5 (8) The status and basis of any removal pro- 6 ceedings. 7 (9) The initial custody determination made by 8 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and any re- 9 view of that determination. 10 (10) If applicable, the date of the alien’s release 11 or removal, and the reason for such release or re- 12 moval. 13 (11) Whether the alien is subject to a final 14 order of removal. 15 (12) Whether the alien was apprehended as 16 part of a family unit. 17 (13) Whether the alien was separated from a 18 family unit. 19 SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—An individual who is detained in 21 a facility that is required to comply with the standards 22 described in section 2, and who is injured as a result of 23 a violation of such standards, may file a claim in the ap- 24 propriate district court of the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2415.IH H2415 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2415 IH (b) RECOVERY.—In a civil action under this section, 1 the court may order injunctive relief and compensatory 2 damages, and may award the prevailing party reasonable 3 attorney fees, and costs. 4 SEC. 5. DHS DETENTION FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND 5 MAINTENANCE. 6 (a) RESTRICTION ON CONSTRUCTION OF DHS FA- 7 CILITIES.—Not later than 180 days before initiating, or 8 entering into a contract for, the construction of a new fa- 9 cility or to expand an existing facility for the detention 10 of aliens in the custody of the Department of Homeland 11 Security, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit 12 to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Rep- 13 resentatives and of the Senate, the Committee on Home- 14 land Security of the House of Representatives, and the 15 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- 16 fairs of the Senate a notification of the plan to construct 17 or expand such facility, including the location, size, and 18 capacity of such facility, the anticipated timeline and cost 19 of constructing or expanding such facility, and the in- 20 tended population to be detained at such facility, including 21 the gender and ages of such population. The Secretary will 22 make this information publicly available on the website of 23 the Department of Homela [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]