Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2760 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 20, 2023 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. BALINT, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. CASAR, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCOR- MICK, Ms. CHU, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. CROW, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. IVEY, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LIEU, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO- CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PIN- GREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. SA- LINAS, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SOTO, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. TRONE, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. DEGETTE) introduced the following 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 concerned VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2760 IH A BILL To provide standards for facilities at which aliens in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security are detained, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dignity for Detained 4 Immigrants Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that detention, even for 7 a short period of time, inflicts severe, irreparable harm 8 on children and should be avoided. 9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this Act: 11 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 12 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 13 gress’’ means— 14 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 15 Senate; 16 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 17 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 18 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 19 House of Representatives; and 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2760 IH (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 1 of the House of Representatives. 2 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 3 means the Department of Homeland Security. 4 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 5 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 6 SEC. 4. STANDARDS FOR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SE- 7 CURITY DETENTION FACILITIES. 8 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, by 10 regulation, establish detention standards for each facility 11 at which aliens in the custody of the Department are de- 12 tained. 13 (b) MINIMUM PROTECTION.—The standards estab- 14 lished under subsection (a) shall provide, at a minimum, 15 the level of protections for detainees described in the 16 American Bar Association’s Civil Immigration Detention 17 Standards (adopted in August 2012, and as modified in 18 August 2014). 19 (c) BIENNIAL UPDATES.—Not less frequently than 20 biennially, the Secretary shall review and update such 21 standards, as appropriate. 22 SEC. 5. OVERSIGHT AND TRANSPARENCY. 23 (a) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2760 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—On a periodic basis, not less 1 frequently than annually, the Inspector General of 2 the Department (referred to in this section as the 3 ‘‘Inspector General’’) shall conduct an unannounced, 4 in-person inspection of each facility at which aliens 5 in the custody of the Department are detained to en- 6 sure that each such facility is in compliance with the 7 standards established under section 4. 8 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 9 conducting an inspection under paragraph (1), the 10 Inspector General shall— 11 (A) submit a report to the Secretary con- 12 taining the results of such inspection; and 13 (B) make the report available to the public 14 on the internet website of the Department. 15 (3) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH STANDARDS.— 16 (A) INITIAL FAILURE.— 17 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Inspector 18 General determines that a facility has 19 failed to comply with the standards estab- 20 lished under section 4 for the first time 21 during any 2-year period, and such non- 22 compliance constitutes a deficiency that 23 threatens the health, safety, or the due 24 process rights of detainees— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2760 IH (I) the Inspector General shall 1 notify the Secretary of such deter- 2 mination; and 3 (II) the Secretary shall— 4 (aa) in the case of a facility 5 not owned by the Department, 6 impose a meaningful fine of not 7 less than 10 percent of the value 8 of the contract with the facility; 9 and 10 (bb) in the case of a facility 11 owned by the Department— 12 (AA) issue a written 13 warning to the facility not 14 later than 30 days after re- 15 ceiving such notification 16 from the Inspector General, 17 which shall include remedial 18 measures to be carried out 19 not later than 60 days after 20 the issuance of the warning; 21 and 22 (BB) not later than 60 23 days after the issuance of a 24 warning under subitem 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2760 IH (AA), certify to the Inspec- 1 tor General that the reme- 2 dial measures have been car- 3 ried out. 4 (ii) FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION.—Not 5 later than 180 days after the date on 6 which the Inspector General makes a noti- 7 fication under clause (i)(I), the Inspector 8 General shall conduct an in-person inspec- 9 tion of the facility to determine whether 10 the facility has achieved compliance with 11 the standards established under section 4. 12 (B) SUBSEQUENT FAILURES.—If the In- 13 spector General determines that a facility has 14 failed to comply with the standards established 15 under section 4 in 2 or more inspections under 16 paragraph (1) during any 2-year period, and 17 such noncompliance constitutes a deficiency 18 that threatens the health, safety, or the rights 19 of detainees— 20 (i) the Inspector General shall notify 21 the Secretary of such determination; and 22 (ii) the Secretary shall— 23 (I) in the case of a facility not 24 owned by the Department— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2760 IH (aa) not later than 30 days 1 after receiving such notification, 2 transfer each detainee to a facil- 3 ity that does so comply; and 4 (bb) terminate the contract 5 with the owner or operator of the 6 facility; and 7 (II) in the case of a facility 8 owned by the Department— 9 (aa) not later than 60 days 10 after receiving such notification, 11 transfer each detainee to a facil- 12 ity that does so comply; and 13 (bb) suspend the use of such 14 facility until such time as the In- 15 spector General— 16 (AA) certifies to the 17 Secretary that the facility is 18 in compliance with such 19 standards; and 20 (BB) makes available 21 to the public on the internet 22 website of the Department 23 information relating to the 24 remedial measures taken. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2760 IH (b) DEATHS IN CUSTODY.— 1 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 24 hours 2 after the death of an alien in the custody of the De- 3 partment, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate 4 committees of Congress of such death. 5 (2) INVESTIGATIONS.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 7 after the death of an alien in the custody of the 8 Department, the Secretary shall conduct an in- 9 vestigation into such death, which shall include 10 a root cause analysis that identifies any 11 changes to policies, practices, training curricula, 12 staffing, or potential system-wide errors that 13 may reduce the probability of such an event in 14 the future. 15 (B) ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS.—Each root 16 cause analysis required by subparagraph (A) 17 shall be carried out— 18 (i) by appropriately qualified per- 19 sonnel, including 1 or more medical profes- 20 sionals qualified in a field relevant to the 21 death; and 22 (ii) in accordance with professional 23 medical standards for investigating sentinel 24 events in medical care facilities, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2760 IH the Sentinel Event Policy promulgated by 1 The Joint Commission. 2 (C) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than 60 3 days after such a death, the Secretary shall— 4 (i) issue a full report describing the 5 results of the investigation required by 6 subparagraph (A); and 7 (ii) make the report available to the 8 public on the internet website of the De- 9 partment. 10 (D) REVIEW BY INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 11 Not later than 90 days after the death of an 12 alien in the custody of the Department, the In- 13 spector General shall conduct a review of the 14 report issued under subparagraph (C) with re- 15 spect to such death. 16 (3) DEFINITION OF DEATH OF AN ALIEN IN 17 THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT.—The term 18 ‘‘death of an alien in the custody of the Depart- 19 ment’’ means the death of an alien occurring while 20 the alien is under the supervision of the Depart- 21 ment, regardless of— 22 (A) the location of the death; or 23 (B) whether the death may have resulted 24 from a health problem that existed before or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2760 IH during, or was exacerbated by, the detention of 1 the alien. 2 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than an- 4 nually, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 5 committees of Congress a report on the inspections 6 and oversight of facilities at which aliens in the cus- 7 tody of the Department are detained. 8 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by para- 9 graph (1) shall include, for the preceding year— 10 (A) a list of each detention facility found 11 by the Inspector General to be in noncompli- 12 ance with the standards established under sec- 13 tion 4; 14 (B) for each such facility, a description of 15 the remedial actions taken, or planned to be 16 taken, by the Secretary so as to achieve compli- 17 ance with such standards; and 18 (C) a determination as to whether such re- 19 medial actions have succeeded in bringing the 20 facility into compliance with such standards. 21 (d) CLASSIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS FOR PURPOSES 22 OF FOIA.—The reports required by subsections (a)(2) 23 and (b)(2)(C), and any contract between the Department 24 and a private or public entity that provides for the use 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 2760 IH of a facility not owned by the Department to detain aliens 1 in the custody of the Department, are considered records 2 for purposes of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 3 and do not qualify for the exception under subsection 4 (b)(4) of such section. 5 (e) FACILITIES MATRIX.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the first day of each 7 month, the Secretary shall ensure that a publicly ac- 8 cessible internet website of the Department contains 9 the information described in paragraph (2) for each 10 facility at which aliens in the custody of the Depart- 11 ment are detained. 12 (2) ELEMENTS.—The information referred to in 13 paragraph (1) is, for each such facility, the fol- 14 lowing: 15 (A) The name and location of the facility. 16 (B) Whether the facility houses adults, 17 children, or both. 18 (C) The number of beds available in the 19 facility on the last day of the preceding month, 20 disaggregated by gender. 21 (D) The total number of aliens detained in 22 the facility on the last day of the preceding 23 month, disaggregated by gender and classifica- 24 tion as a child or as an adult. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Jun 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2760.IH H2760 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 2760 IH (E) Whether the facility is used to detain 1 aliens for longer than 72 hours. 2 (F) Whether the facility is used to detain 3 aliens for longer than 7 days. 4 (G) The average number of aliens detained 5 in the facility during the current year and dur- 6 ing the preceding month, disaggregated by gen- 7 der and classification as a child or as an adult. 8 (H) Whether the facility is in compliance 9 with the standards established under section 4. 10 (I) In the case of a facility not owned by 11 the Department, a description of the nature of 12 the contract providing for the detention of 13 aliens at the facility. 14 (J) The average, median, 25th quartile, 15 and 50th quartile number of days that an alien 16 has been detained at the facility during the pre- 17 ceding month. 18 (f) ONLINE DETAINEE LOCATOR SYSTEM.—The Se [Text truncated for display. 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