This bill would set national standards for every facility where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detains noncitizens. It directs the DHS Secretary to write rules based on the American Bar Association’s Civil Immigration Detention Standards and to update them at least every two years. The Inspector General must do unannounced, in-person inspections at least once a year and publish reports. If a facility fails standards, the bill requires fines, warnings, transfers of detainees, contract termination for private facilities, or suspension of use for Department-owned sites. The bill requires quick notice and investigations for any death in custody and public reports about those investigations.
The bill requires DHS to publish a monthly facilities matrix and to keep its detainee locator system updated within 12 hours of key events. DHS must collect specific data on each person in custody. It creates a private right of action so a detained person injured by violations of the standards may sue for relief and damages. The bill bans solitary confinement for people in DHS custody (except during sleeping time) and bars ICE from detaining anyone under age 18. It requires legal orientation programs at all detention facilities and private, confidential access to counsel.
The bill phases out contracts with for-profit detention operators and related for-profit alternatives-to-detention within 3 years, requires DHS ownership or nonprofit operation of facilities or programs after that time, and asks DHS to publish a plan to implement that change. It also requires climate-controlled visitor waiting areas, transportation of detained people to state or federal court appearances by DHS officers, notice to Congress of facility construction or expansion, and expanded custody and probable-cause hearing rules in the Immigration and Nationality Act, including timely custody determinations, a presumption of release, limits on mandatory detention, regular custody reviews, and creation of a community-based case management program that excludes ankle monitors.
No publicly available information.
The bill states that detention, even for a short time, "inflicts severe, irreparable harm on children and should be avoided." It frames the measures in the bill—national standards, inspections, public reporting, limits on private detention, bans on child detention by ICE, alternatives to detention, and limits on solitary confinement—as steps to protect detainee safety, due process, and transparency.
No publicly available information.