H.R. 7335: Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in ICE and CBP Custody Act

H.R. 7335 would require ICE and CBP to give every detainee an in-person medical screening by a licensed medical professional within 12 hours of arrival. If you self-identify a serious medical need, or you're pregnant, a child, elderly, or showing acute illness, that deadline drops to 6 hours.

The screening is detailed. The bill requires checks of pulse, temperature, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and breathing, plus blood glucose for known or suspected diabetics, weight checks for children under 12, a physical exam, and a care plan when needed. It also says people in custody cannot be denied necessary medication.

Daily conditions get hard minimums too: at least 1 gallon of drinking water per person per day, 3 meals a day, and at least 2,000 calories for anyone 12 or older. Facilities would also have to provide showers, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, adult diapers, and menstrual products, along with minimum toilet access.

On housing, the bill would require temperatures between 68 and 74 degrees, sleep conditions from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and at least 1 hour of outdoor access every 24 hours for anyone held longer than 48 hours. Children arriving with relatives or guardians generally stay with them, while unaccompanied minors must be housed separately from adults in age-appropriate settings.

The bill also adds oversight. DHS would have 60 days to send Congress an implementation plan and 6 months to comply fully. The DHS inspector general would conduct unannounced inspections, Members of Congress could not be blocked from entering facilities, and ICE and CBP would have to publish quarterly aggregate data on sexual abuse complaints.

One important limit: the bill says nothing in it authorizes detention beyond 72 hours. It sets minimum conditions for custody, but it does not create a new power to hold people longer.