H.R. 6397: Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act

HR6397, the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, is a broad attempt to move immigration detention away from punishment-style practices and toward tighter legal protections and public oversight. The Secretary of Homeland Security would have to issue detention standards by regulation within 1 year of enactment, and those standards must at least meet the American Bar Association’s Civil Immigration Detention Standards from August 2012, as modified in August 2014. Those rules would then have to be reviewed and updated at least every 2 years.

The bill also speeds up detention decisions and raises the bar for keeping people locked up. DHS would have to make an initial custody determination in writing within 48 hours of taking someone into custody, and an immigration judge hearing would have to happen within 72 hours of that decision. The default would be release, unless the government can prove with clear and convincing evidence that detention is justified. Vulnerable people and primary caregivers could not be detained unless the government shows it would be unreasonable or not practicable to place them in a community-based supervision program. The bill also flatly prohibits detention of any individual under age 18 in ICE-operated or contracted facilities, creates community-based case management outside ICE control, and bans electronic surveillance like ankle monitors and any participation fees in those programs.

Transparency and enforcement are central to the bill. The DHS Inspector General would have to conduct unannounced, in-person inspections at least annually and publish reports online within 60 days. If a non-DHS-owned facility fails standards once in a 2-year period, it would face a fine of at least 10% of the contract value and a follow-up inspection within 180 days. If it fails 2 or more inspections in a 2-year period, detainees must be transferred within 30 days, the contract must be terminated, and DHS funds could no longer be used for that contract. For DHS-owned facilities, repeated failure would require transfer of detainees within 60 days and suspension of facility use. The bill also forces rapid death-in-custody reporting: Congress must be notified within 24 hours, an investigation with root cause analysis by qualified medical personnel must happen within 30 days, a public report is due within 60 days, and the Inspector General must review the death within 90 days.

The legislation would also sharply limit the detention system’s structure. DHS could not enter any new or extended contracts with for-profit entities for detention or nonresidential monitoring programs, and all existing such contracts would have to end within 3 years of enactment. After that 3-year mark, detention facilities would have to be owned and operated by DHS, while nonresidential programs would have to be run by DHS or a nonprofit. On top of that, the bill guarantees private, confidential access to counsel in person, by phone, or by video; requires access to a nonprofit-run Legal Orientation Program before the first immigration judge hearing; requires DHS to transport detainees to Federal or State court proceedings, including family court; and gives Members of Congress access to any detention facility without prior notice, while barring facilities from making temporary cosmetic changes before an oversight visit.