Polling Access Safety Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4718 To restrict the enforcement of the immigration laws at polling places, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 17, 2019 Ms. GARCIA of Texas (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. VELA, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. EVANS, and Ms. BARRAGA´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To restrict the enforcement of the immigration laws at polling places, 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 ‘‘Polling Access Safety 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. RESTRICTION OF ENFORCEMENT OF THE IMMIGRA- 6 TION LAWS AT POLLING PLACES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4718.IH H4718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 4718 IH (1) RESTRICTION ON ENFORCEMENT AC- 1 TIONS.—An enforcement action may not take place 2 within one mile of a polling place on a voting day 3 except under exigent circumstances. 4 (2) APPLICATION.—This subsection shall apply 5 to any enforcement action by a covered officer or 6 employee of the Department of Homeland Security. 7 (b) ID CHECKS PROHIBITED.—No officer or em- 8 ployee of the Federal Government may request any form 9 of identification from an individual at a polling place on 10 a voting day, except in exigent circumstances. 11 (c) NOTICE.—The chief election administrator of 12 each State shall ensure that a notice of the prohibition 13 under subsection (a) is posted in a prominent location at 14 each polling place on a voting day. Such notice shall be 15 in English, Spanish, and any other language that is preva- 16 lent in the community of the polling place. 17 SEC. 3. RESTRICTION ON ENFORCEMENT OF THE IMMIGRA- 18 TION LAWS ON VOTING DAYS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—No officer or employee of the De- 20 partment of Homeland Security may engage in any of the 21 following activities on a voting day, except in exigent cir- 22 cumstances: 23 (1) Temporary vehicle checkpoints. 24 (2) Searches of public transportation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4718.IH H4718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 4718 IH (3) Public training exercises. 1 (b) DESCRIPTION OF EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES.— 2 Not later than 30 days after any enforcement action is 3 taken by an officer or employee of the Department of 4 Homeland Security on a voting day as a result of exigent 5 circumstances, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 6 provide to each of the following a report containing a de- 7 scription of the circumstances requiring immediate en- 8 forcement action on a voting day: 9 (1) The Office of Inspector General of the De- 10 partment of Homeland Security. 11 (2) The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Lib- 12 erties of the Department of Homeland Security. 13 (3) The Committee on Homeland Security of 14 the House of Representatives. 15 (4) The Committee on Homeland Security and 16 Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 17 (5) The Committees on the Judiciary of the 18 House of Representatives and the Senate. 19 (6) The Office of the Special Counsel. 20 SEC. 4. RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF IMMIGRATION IN- 21 FORMATION OBTAINED ON VOTING DAYS. 22 No information obtained in violation of section 2 or 23 3 may be used to initiate deportation proceedings. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4718.IH H4718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 4718 IH SEC. 5. PENALTIES. 1 An officer or employee of the Federal Government 2 who knowingly violates section 2 or 3 shall be subject to 3 a civil money penalty of not less than $5,000 and not more 4 than $10,000. 5 SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are established 3 positions 7 within the competitive service in the Office of Inspector 8 General of the Department of Homeland Security, the Of- 9 fice for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department 10 of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Special Coun- 11 sel (established under section 1211 of title 5, United 12 States Code). The duties of such positions shall consist 13 of monitoring and ensuring compliance with the require- 14 ments of this Act. 15 (b) HATCH ACT TRAINING.—The Secretary of Home- 16 land Security shall establish a training program for cov- 17 ered officers and employees of the Department of Home- 18 land Security on compliance with the requirements of sub- 19 chapter III of chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code 20 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Hatch Act’’). Training 21 under such program shall be required to be completed an- 22 nually for each such employee. 23 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 24 In this Act: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4718.IH H4718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 4718 IH (1) The term ‘‘covered officer or employee of 1 the Department of Homeland Security’’ means— 2 (A) an officer or agent of the Department 3 of Homeland Security, including an officer or 4 agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs En- 5 forcement and U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 6 tection; and 7 (B) any individual designated to perform 8 immigration enforcement functions pursuant to 9 section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nation- 10 ality Act. 11 (2) The term ‘‘election’’ has the meaning given 12 the term in section 301(1)(A) of the Federal Elec- 13 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 14 30101(1)(A)). 15 (3) The term ‘‘immigration laws’’ has the 16 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Immi- 17 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 18 (4) The term ‘‘voting day’’ means any day on 19 which a polling place is open for voting in a Federal 20 election, including early voting. 21 (5) The term ‘‘exigent circumstances’’ means a 22 situation involving— 23 (A) the imminent risk of death, violence, or 24 physical harm to any person, including a situa- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4718.IH H4718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 4718 IH tion implicating terrorism or the national secu- 1 rity of the United States in some other manner; 2 (B) the immediate arrest or pursuit of a 3 dangerous felon, terrorist suspect, or other indi- 4 vidual presenting an imminent danger or public 5 safety risk; or 6 (C) the imminent risk of destruction of evi- 7 dence that is material to an ongoing criminal 8 case. 9 (6) The term ‘‘enforcement action’’ means an 10 arrest, interview, search, or surveillance for the pur- 11 poses of immigration enforcement, and includes an 12 enforcement action at, or focused on, a sensitive lo- 13 cation that is part of a joint case led by another law 14 enforcement agency. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:41 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4718.IH H4718 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS