The bill would create a new Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Commission with 30 members and northern and southern subcommittees. The Commission must review border enforcement policies, agent and officer safety, training, and make public reports.
The bill would establish an Ombudsman for Border and Immigration-Related Concerns inside the Department. The Ombudsman would receive and investigate complaints, inspect facilities (including contractor-run facilities), help complainants get redress, create a standardized multilingual complaint process and database, run a detainee locator system, and set up Border Community Liaison Offices in each Border Patrol sector.
The bill would require new training standards and continuing education for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff. It sets minimum initial training weeks (19 weeks for Office of Field Operations staff and 23 weeks for Border Patrol), annual continuing education hours, supervisor training, and FLETC coordination. The Comptroller General must assess training within 6 years.
The bill would require DHS to assess and update how ports of entry are managed, including staffing, delays, infrastructure, and care for vulnerable populations. It would require detailed data collection on stops, searches, and checkpoints by law enforcement, annual public reports (with limited privacy exceptions), and multiple audits and studies by the Government Accountability Office on migrant deaths, use of force, body-worn cameras, CBP activities, and the feasibility of an immigration court system outside the executive branch.
The bill would limit separating children from their parents: agents may not remove a child solely to deter migration or promote compliance with immigration laws. It defines narrow exceptions, requires independent child-welfare review when removal occurs, requires documentation, allows a parent to sue for injunctive relief, and sets fines for unlawful removals.
If enacted, the bill would create new oversight bodies, a public complaint system, and local liaison offices. It would require more training for border agents and more public reporting about stops, checkpoints, ports of entry, and uses of force. People who interact with border officers would have a formal ombudsman complaints process and access to more public data. The bill would also restrict family separations for certain purposes and require documentation when a child is removed.
No publicly available information.
The bill's stated purpose is to increase transparency, accountability, and community engagement, provide independent oversight of border security activities, and improve training for agents and officers.
No publicly available information.