This bill would change the Federal Tort Claims Act by adding a new paragraph to 28 U.S.C. 2674. It says the United States is liable when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, or someone acting under their direction, while acting under color of law, causes a person in the United States to be deprived of rights guaranteed by the Constitution or federal law. The bill waives sovereign immunity for those claims. It removes the usual FTCA requirement to file an administrative claim first (28 U.S.C. 2675(a) does not apply for these cases). Plaintiffs may seek punitive damages. The bill says monetary damages should come from specific appropriations named in the bill, and if those amounts are depleted, from another statutory appropriation source. The change does not stop other legal or equitable remedies against individual officers or agents.
If a CBP or ICE officer or someone acting under their direction violates your constitutional rights while acting under color of law, this bill would allow you to bring a lawsuit against the United States for damages and other relief. You would not have to use the FTCA administrative-claim process first, and you could seek punitive damages. Existing remedies against individual officers would still be available.
The bill directs that monetary damages be paid from amounts appropriated under Title IX and sections 100051 and 100052 of Public Law 119-21, and if those amounts are depleted, from amounts appropriated under 31 U.S.C. 1304. No publicly available information on total projected costs or budget estimates is included in the bill text.
The bill's findings say CBP and ICE officers have undermined First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment protections. It lists harms cited by sponsors including due process violations, racial profiling, unreasonable searches and seizures, and violations of privacy and free speech. The bill states civil suits provide a remedy when fundamental rights are violated and would create a pathway for accountability and redress.
No publicly available information.