I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4948 

To provide for the effective use of immigration detainers to enhance public 

safety. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 31, 2019 

Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. BUDD, and Mr. MEADOWS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the effective use of immigration detainers 

to enhance public safety. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Immigration Detainer Enforcement Act of 2019’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. Purpose. 

Sec. 4. Immigration detainer authorities of the Department of Homeland Security. 


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Sec. 5. Effective coordination with State, tribal, and local law enforcement 

agencies. 

Sec. 6. Compensating States for detaining criminal aliens. 

Sec. 7. Priority for distributing Federal funding and property to State and local 

law enforcement. 

1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) the removal of criminal aliens promotes 

4 public safety, national security, border security, and 

5 the integrity of the immigration system; 

6 (2) detainers have proven to be a useful law en7 forcement tool that serve to expedite and improve 

8 the efficiency of the removal process by enabling the 

9 Department of Homeland Security to assume cus10 tody in a timely manner of aliens in the custody of 

11 Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforcement agen12 cies; and 

13 (3) several States and localities have limited 

14 their cooperation with immigration detainers issued 

15 by the Department of Homeland Security and lim16 ited the Department of Homeland Security’s access 

17 to information regarding the release of criminal 

18 aliens in their custody, which has resulted in the re19 lease of dangerous criminal aliens into local commu20 nities. 

21 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

22 The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to limit recidivist criminal activity through 

2 the removal of criminal aliens released from Federal, 

3 State, tribal, or local custody; 

4 (2) to facilitate cooperation between Federal, 

5 State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies 

6 with regard to immigration enforcement and infor7 mation sharing; and 

8 (3) to limit the burden on Federal, State, tribal, 

9 and local law enforcement agencies that cooperate 

10 with the Department of Homeland Security in its 

11 prioritized immigration enforcement. 

12 SEC. 4. IMMIGRATION DETAINER AUTHORITIES OF THE DE13 PARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

14 Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

15 (8 U.S.C. 1357) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘and is 

17 likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for 

18 his arrest’’; and 

19 (2) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(d) DETAINER OF CRIMINAL ALIENS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an individual is arrested 

23 by a Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforcement 

24 official for a violation of any criminal law, the Sec25 retary of Homeland Security (or his or her designee) 


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1 may issue a detainer to the arresting agency if there 

2 is reason to believe the individual is an alien who 

3 may be removable from the United States. Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, no court shall 

5 have jurisdiction to review the discretionary decision 

6 or action by the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 

7 his or her designee) to issue a detainer under this 

8 paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF CUSTODY.—Upon the 

10 issuance of a detainer by the Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security (or his or her designee) with respect to an 

12 alien described in paragraph (1), the arresting Fed13 eral, State, tribal, or local law enforcement agency 

14 is authorized to maintain custody of the alien for a 

15 period not to exceed 48 hours in order to transfer 

16 custody of the alien to the Department of Homeland 

17 Security. 

18 ‘‘(3) INDEMNIFICATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under such regula20 tions as the Secretary of Homeland Security 

21 shall prescribe, the Secretary (or his or her des22 ignee) may enter into agreements with State, 

23 tribal, and local law enforcement agencies to in24 demnify such agencies against claims (including 

25 reasonable expenses of litigation or settlement) 


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1 by third parties for wrongful detention resulting 

2 from detainers issued without reason to believe 

3 that the individual is an alien who may be re4 movable from the United States. 

5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Indemnification under 

6 subparagraph (A) does not extend to claims re7 lating to the negligence or willful misconduct of 

8 a Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforce9 ment agency or the conditions of detention in 

10 the facility used by such agency to detain the 

11 individual subject to the detainer. 

12 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—Each in13 demnification agreement entered into pursuant 

14 to subparagraph (A) shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) require the State, tribal, or local 

16 law enforcement agency to notify the 

17 United States Government of any suit or 

18 claim against such agency for wrongful de19 tention; 

20 ‘‘(ii) authorize the United States Gov21 ernment, at its elections, to control or as22 sist in the defense of such suit or claim; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(iii) limit the amount of indemnifica25 tion to a sum certified by the Secretary (or 


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1 his or her designee) that is just and rea2 sonable.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE COORDINATION WITH STATE, TRIBAL, 

4 AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 642 of the Illegal Immi6 gration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1373) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 642. COMMUNICATION AND COOPERATION BETWEEN 

9 GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND THE DEPART10 MENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro12 vision of Federal, State, tribal, or local law, a Federal, 

13 State, tribal, or local government entity or official may 

14 not prohibit, or restrict in any way, any government entity 

15 or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Depart16 ment of Homeland Security information regarding the citi17 zenship or immigration status (lawful or unlawful) of any 

18 individual. 

19 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY OF GOVERNMENT EN20 TITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, 

21 State, tribal, or local law, no person or agency may pro22 hibit, or restrict in any way, a Federal, State, tribal, or 

23 local government entity from— 

24 ‘‘(1) sending information regarding the citizen25 ship or immigration status (lawful or unlawful) of 


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1 any individual to, or requesting or receiving such in2 formation from, the Department of Homeland Secu3 rity; 

4 ‘‘(2) exchanging citizenship or immigration sta5 tus information described in paragraph (1) with any 

6 other Federal, State, tribal, or local government en7 tity; 

8 ‘‘(3) providing the Department of Homeland 

9 Security with access to information in Federal, 

10 State, tribal, or local government databases regard11 ing individuals with respect to whom a detainer has 

12 been issued, including when such individuals will be 

13 released from criminal custody; and 

14 ‘‘(4) maintaining custody of an individual pur15 suant to section 287(d)(2) of the Immigration and 

16 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357(d)(2)). 

17 ‘‘(c) OBLIGATION TO RESPOND TO INQUIRIES.—The 

18 Secretary of Homeland Security shall respond to an in19 quiry by a Federal, State, tribal, or local government 

20 agency that seeks to verify or ascertain the citizenship or 

21 immigration status of any individual within the jurisdic22 tion of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, by 

23 providing the requested verification or status informa24 tion.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 for the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re3 sponsibility Act of 1996 (division C of Public Law 104– 

4 208; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended by amending the 

5 item relating to 642 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 642. Communication and cooperation between government agencies and 

the Department of Homeland Security.’’. 

6 SEC. 6. COMPENSATING STATES FOR DETAINING CRIMINAL 

7 ALIENS. 

8 Section 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1231(i)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(i) INCARCERATION OR DETENTION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection, the 

12 term ‘undocumented criminal alien’ means an alien 

13 who— 

14 ‘‘(A) has been convicted of a felony or of 

15 2 or more misdemeanors; and 

16 ‘‘(B)(i) entered the United States without 

17 inspection or at any time or place other than as 

18 designated by the Secretary of Homeland Secu19 rity; 

20 ‘‘(ii) was the subject of exclusion, deporta21 tion, or removal proceedings at the time the 

22 alien was taken into custody by the State or a 

23 political subdivision of the State; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii)(I) was admitted as a nonimmigrant; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) at the time the alien was taken into 

4 custody by the State or a political subdivision 

5 of the State— 

6 ‘‘(aa) failed to maintain the non7 immigrant status in which the alien was 

8 admitted or to which it was changed under 

9 section 248; or 

10 ‘‘(bb) failed to comply with the condi11 tions of any such status. 

12 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—If the governor of a State 

13 (or, if appropriate, the chief executive officer of a 

14 political subdivision of the State), exercising author15 ity with respect to the incarceration or detention of 

16 an undocumented criminal alien, submits a written 

17 request to the Attorney General, the Attorney Gen18 eral may— 

19 ‘‘(A) enter into a contractual arrangement 

20 providing for compensation to the State or a 

21 political subdivision of the State, as may be ap22 propriate, with respect to the incarceration or 

23 detention of the undocumented criminal alien; 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(B) take the undocumented criminal alien 

2 into the custody of the Federal Government and 

3 incarcerate or detain the alien. 

4 ‘‘(3) DETENTION SECURITY.—In carrying out 

5 paragraph (2), the Attorney General shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) give priority to the Federal incarcer7 ation of undocumented criminal aliens who have 

8 committed aggravated felonies; and 

9 ‘‘(B) ensure that undocumented criminal 

10 aliens incarcerated or detained in Federal facili11 ties pursuant to this subsection are held in fa12 cilities that provide a level of security appro13 priate to the crimes for which they were 

14 charged or convicted. 

15 ‘‘(4) AMOUNT OF COMPENSATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Compensation pro17 vided for each day an undocumented criminal 

18 alien is detained by a State or a political sub19 division of a State pursuant to a contract under 

20 paragraph (2)(A) shall be equal to the average 

21 daily cost of incarceration or detention of a 

22 prisoner in the relevant State, as determined by 

23 the Attorney General. 

24 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security shall— 

3 ‘‘(I) promulgate regulations es4 tablishing detainer compliance cri5 teria; and 

6 ‘‘(II) periodically submit a certifi7 cation to the Attorney General that 

8 identifies which States and political 

9 subdivisions of a State have not com10 plied with detainer requests received 

11 from the Department of Homeland 

12 Security. 

13 ‘‘(ii) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Funds 

14 may only be provided to States and polit15 ical subdivisions of States under this sub16 section that— 

17 ‘‘(I) are not identified in a cer18 tification described in clause (i)(II); 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(II) are cooperating with the 

21 Secretary with respect to each de22 tainer lodged against an individual in 

23 the custody of the State or political 

24 subdivision of the State in accordance 

25 with section 287(d) and the regulaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Nov 09, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948

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1 tions promulgated pursuant to clause 

2 (i)(I). 

3 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—Any 

4 State or political subdivision of a State that 

5 fails to substantially comply with detainers 

6 issued by the Department of Homeland Secu7 rity shall be ineligible for any funding under 

8 this subsection during the fiscal year in which 

9 such failure occurs. 

10 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized 

12 to be appropriated to carry out this sub13 section— 

14 ‘‘(i) $750,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2020; 

16 ‘‘(ii) $850,000,000 for fiscal year 

17 2021; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) $950,000,000 for each of the 

19 fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

20 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Amounts appropriated 

21 pursuant to subparagraph (A) that are distrib22 uted to a State or a political subdivision of a 

23 State may only be used for correctional pur24 poses.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. PRIORITY FOR DISTRIBUTING FEDERAL FUNDING 

2 AND PROPERTY TO STATE AND LOCAL LAW 

3 ENFORCEMENT. 

4 (a) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security shall annually submit a written certifi6 cation to the Attorney General that identifies the States 

7 and units of local government that are not complying with 

8 detainers issued pursuant to section 287(d) of the Immi9 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357(d)). 

10 (b) PRIORITY FOR COMPLIANT JURISDICTIONS.—The 

11 Attorney General shall give priority to the jurisdictions 

12 that are not listed in the certification described in sub13 section (a) when selecting recipients of— 

14 (1) funding from the Edward Byrne Memorial 

15 Justice Assistance Grant Program authorized under 

16 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

17 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.); 

18 (2) excess Federal equipment purchased pursu19 ant to section 281 of title 10, United States Code 

20 (commonly referred to as the 1122 Program); and 

21 (3) excess Federal property transferred pursu22 ant to section 2576a of title 10, United States Code 

23 (commonly referred to as the 1033 Program). 

Æ 


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