I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4948 To provide for the effective use of immigration detainers to enhance public safety. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 31, 2019 Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. BUDD, and Mr. MEADOWS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for the effective use of immigration detainers to enhance public safety. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Immigration Detainer Enforcement Act of 2019’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Sense of Congress. Sec. 3. Purpose. Sec. 4. Immigration detainer authorities of the Department of Homeland Secu- rity. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4948 IH Sec. 5. Effective coordination with State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies. Sec. 6. Compensating States for detaining criminal aliens. Sec. 7. Priority for distributing Federal funding and property to State and local law enforcement. SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 It is the sense of Congress that— 2 (1) the removal of criminal aliens promotes 3 public safety, national security, border security, and 4 the integrity of the immigration system; 5 (2) detainers have proven to be a useful law en- 6 forcement tool that serve to expedite and improve 7 the efficiency of the removal process by enabling the 8 Department of Homeland Security to assume cus- 9 tody in a timely manner of aliens in the custody of 10 Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforcement agen- 11 cies; and 12 (3) several States and localities have limited 13 their cooperation with immigration detainers issued 14 by the Department of Homeland Security and lim- 15 ited the Department of Homeland Security’s access 16 to information regarding the release of criminal 17 aliens in their custody, which has resulted in the re- 18 lease of dangerous criminal aliens into local commu- 19 nities. 20 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 21 The purposes of this Act are— 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4948 IH (1) to limit recidivist criminal activity through 1 the removal of criminal aliens released from Federal, 2 State, tribal, or local custody; 3 (2) to facilitate cooperation between Federal, 4 State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies 5 with regard to immigration enforcement and infor- 6 mation sharing; and 7 (3) to limit the burden on Federal, State, tribal, 8 and local law enforcement agencies that cooperate 9 with the Department of Homeland Security in its 10 prioritized immigration enforcement. 11 SEC. 4. IMMIGRATION DETAINER AUTHORITIES OF THE DE- 12 PARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 13 Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 14 (8 U.S.C. 1357) is amended— 15 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘and is 16 likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for 17 his arrest’’; and 18 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol- 19 lows: 20 ‘‘(d) DETAINER OF CRIMINAL ALIENS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an individual is arrested 22 by a Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforcement 23 official for a violation of any criminal law, the Sec- 24 retary of Homeland Security (or his or her designee) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4948 IH may issue a detainer to the arresting agency if there 1 is reason to believe the individual is an alien who 2 may be removable from the United States. Notwith- 3 standing any other provision of law, no court shall 4 have jurisdiction to review the discretionary decision 5 or action by the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 6 his or her designee) to issue a detainer under this 7 paragraph. 8 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF CUSTODY.—Upon the 9 issuance of a detainer by the Secretary of Homeland 10 Security (or his or her designee) with respect to an 11 alien described in paragraph (1), the arresting Fed- 12 eral, State, tribal, or local law enforcement agency 13 is authorized to maintain custody of the alien for a 14 period not to exceed 48 hours in order to transfer 15 custody of the alien to the Department of Homeland 16 Security. 17 ‘‘(3) INDEMNIFICATION.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under such regula- 19 tions as the Secretary of Homeland Security 20 shall prescribe, the Secretary (or his or her des- 21 ignee) may enter into agreements with State, 22 tribal, and local law enforcement agencies to in- 23 demnify such agencies against claims (including 24 reasonable expenses of litigation or settlement) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4948 IH by third parties for wrongful detention resulting 1 from detainers issued without reason to believe 2 that the individual is an alien who may be re- 3 movable from the United States. 4 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Indemnification under 5 subparagraph (A) does not extend to claims re- 6 lating to the negligence or willful misconduct of 7 a Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforce- 8 ment agency or the conditions of detention in 9 the facility used by such agency to detain the 10 individual subject to the detainer. 11 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—Each in- 12 demnification agreement entered into pursuant 13 to subparagraph (A) shall— 14 ‘‘(i) require the State, tribal, or local 15 law enforcement agency to notify the 16 United States Government of any suit or 17 claim against such agency for wrongful de- 18 tention; 19 ‘‘(ii) authorize the United States Gov- 20 ernment, at its elections, to control or as- 21 sist in the defense of such suit or claim; 22 and 23 ‘‘(iii) limit the amount of indemnifica- 24 tion to a sum certified by the Secretary (or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4948 IH his or her designee) that is just and rea- 1 sonable.’’. 2 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE COORDINATION WITH STATE, TRIBAL, 3 AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 642 of the Illegal Immi- 5 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 6 (8 U.S.C. 1373) is amended to read as follows: 7 ‘‘SEC. 642. COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION BETWEEN 8 GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND THE DEPART- 9 MENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 11 vision of Federal, State, tribal, or local law, a Federal, 12 State, tribal, or local government entity or official may 13 not prohibit, or restrict in any way, any government entity 14 or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Depart- 15 ment of Homeland Security information regarding the citi- 16 zenship or immigration status (lawful or unlawful) of any 17 individual. 18 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENT EN- 19 TITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, 20 State, tribal, or local law, no person or agency may pro- 21 hibit, or restrict in any way, a Federal, State, tribal, or 22 local government entity from— 23 ‘‘(1) sending information regarding the citizen- 24 ship or immigration status (lawful or unlawful) of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4948 IH any individual to, or requesting or receiving such in- 1 formation from, the Department of Homeland Secu- 2 rity; 3 ‘‘(2) exchanging citizenship or immigration sta- 4 tus information described in paragraph (1) with any 5 other Federal, State, tribal, or local government en- 6 tity; 7 ‘‘(3) providing the Department of Homeland 8 Security with access to information in Federal, 9 State, tribal, or local government databases regard- 10 ing individuals with respect to whom a detainer has 11 been issued, including when such individuals will be 12 released from criminal custody; and 13 ‘‘(4) maintaining custody of an individual pur- 14 suant to section 287(d)(2) of the Immigration and 15 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357(d)(2)). 16 ‘‘(c) OBLIGATION TO RESPOND TO INQUIRIES.—The 17 Secretary of Homeland Security shall respond to an in- 18 quiry by a Federal, State, tribal, or local government 19 agency that seeks to verify or ascertain the citizenship or 20 immigration status of any individual within the jurisdic- 21 tion of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, by 22 providing the requested verification or status informa- 23 tion.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4948 IH (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 1 for the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re- 2 sponsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104– 3 208; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended by amending the 4 item relating to 642 to read as follows: 5 ‘‘Sec. 642. Communication and cooperation between government agencies and the Department of Homeland Security.’’. SEC. 6. COMPENSATING STATES FOR DETAINING CRIMINAL 6 ALIENS. 7 Section 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 8 (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)) is amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘(i) INCARCERATION OR DETENTION.— 10 ‘‘(1) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection, the 11 term ‘undocumented criminal alien’ means an alien 12 who— 13 ‘‘(A) has been convicted of a felony or of 14 2 or more misdemeanors; and 15 ‘‘(B)(i) entered the United States without 16 inspection or at any time or place other than as 17 designated by the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 18 rity; 19 ‘‘(ii) was the subject of exclusion, deporta- 20 tion, or removal proceedings at the time the 21 alien was taken into custody by the State or a 22 political subdivision of the State; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4948 IH ‘‘(iii)(I) was admitted as a nonimmigrant; 1 and 2 ‘‘(II) at the time the alien was taken into 3 custody by the State or a political subdivision 4 of the State— 5 ‘‘(aa) failed to maintain the non- 6 immigrant status in which the alien was 7 admitted or to which it was changed under 8 section 248; or 9 ‘‘(bb) failed to comply with the condi- 10 tions of any such status. 11 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—If the governor of a State 12 (or, if appropriate, the chief executive officer of a 13 political subdivision of the State), exercising author- 14 ity with respect to the incarceration or detention of 15 an undocumented criminal alien, submits a written 16 request to the Attorney General, the Attorney Gen- 17 eral may— 18 ‘‘(A) enter into a contractual arrangement 19 providing for compensation to the State or a 20 political subdivision of the State, as may be ap- 21 propriate, with respect to the incarceration or 22 detention of the undocumented criminal alien; 23 or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4948 IH ‘‘(B) take the undocumented criminal alien 1 into the custody of the Federal Government and 2 incarcerate or detain the alien. 3 ‘‘(3) DETENTION SECURITY.—In carrying out 4 paragraph (2), the Attorney General shall— 5 ‘‘(A) give priority to the Federal incarcer- 6 ation of undocumented criminal aliens who have 7 committed aggravated felonies; and 8 ‘‘(B) ensure that undocumented criminal 9 aliens incarcerated or detained in Federal facili- 10 ties pursuant to this subsection are held in fa- 11 cilities that provide a level of security appro- 12 priate to the crimes for which they were 13 charged or convicted. 14 ‘‘(4) AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Compensation pro- 16 vided for each day an undocumented criminal 17 alien is detained by a State or a political sub- 18 division of a State pursuant to a contract under 19 paragraph (2)(A) shall be equal to the average 20 daily cost of incarceration or detention of a 21 prisoner in the relevant State, as determined by 22 the Attorney General. 23 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4948 IH ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 1 Homeland Security shall— 2 ‘‘(I) promulgate regulations es- 3 tablishing detainer compliance cri- 4 teria; and 5 ‘‘(II) periodically submit a certifi- 6 cation to the Attorney General that 7 identifies which States and political 8 subdivisions of a State have not com- 9 plied with detainer requests received 10 from the Department of Homeland 11 Security. 12 ‘‘(ii) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Funds 13 may only be provided to States and polit- 14 ical subdivisions of States under this sub- 15 section that— 16 ‘‘(I) are not identified in a cer- 17 tification described in clause (i)(II); 18 and 19 ‘‘(II) are cooperating with the 20 Secretary with respect to each de- 21 tainer lodged against an individual in 22 the custody of the State or political 23 subdivision of the State in accordance 24 with section 287(d) and the regula- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4948 IH tions promulgated pursuant to clause 1 (i)(I). 2 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—Any 3 State or political subdivision of a State that 4 fails to substantially comply with detainers 5 issued by the Department of Homeland Secu- 6 rity shall be ineligible for any funding under 7 this subsection during the fiscal year in which 8 such failure occurs. 9 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized 11 to be appropriated to carry out this sub- 12 section— 13 ‘‘(i) $750,000,000 for fiscal year 14 2020; 15 ‘‘(ii) $850,000,000 for fiscal year 16 2021; and 17 ‘‘(iii) $950,000,000 for each of the 18 fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 19 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Amounts appropriated 20 pursuant to subparagraph (A) that are distrib- 21 uted to a State or a political subdivision of a 22 State may only be used for correctional pur- 23 poses.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB [Text truncated for display. 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