II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 845 

To protect sensitive community locations from harmful immigration 

enforcement action, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 5 (legislative day, APRIL 4), 2017 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, 

Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect sensitive community locations from harmful 

immigration enforcement action, and for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Sensitive 

5 Locations Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. POWERS OF IMMIGRATION OFFICERS AND EMPLOY2 EES AT SENSITIVE LOCATIONS. 

3 Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

4 (8 U.S.C. 1357) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(i)(1) In this subsection: 

7 ‘‘(A) The term ‘appropriate committees of Con8 gress’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Homeland Security 

10 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

12 Senate; 

13 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Homeland Security 

14 of the House of Representatives; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on the Judiciary of 

16 the House of Representatives. 

17 ‘‘(B) The term ‘enforcement action’— 

18 ‘‘(i) means an apprehension, arrest, inter19 view, request for identification, search, or sur20 veillance for the purposes of immigration en21 forcement; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) includes an enforcement action at, or 

23 focused on, a sensitive location that is part of 

24 a joint case led by another law enforcement 

25 agency. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The term ‘exigent circumstances’ means a 

2 situation involving— 

3 ‘‘(i) the imminent risk of death, violence, 

4 or physical harm to any person or property, in5 cluding a situation implicating terrorism or the 

6 national security of the United States; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the immediate arrest or pursuit of a 

8 dangerous felon, terrorist suspect, or other indi9 vidual presenting an imminent danger; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) the imminent risk of destruction of 

11 evidence that is material to an ongoing criminal 

12 case. 

13 ‘‘(D) The term ‘prior approval’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) in the case of officers and agents of 

15 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

16 prior written approval to carry out an enforce17 ment action involving a specific individual or in18 dividuals authorized by— 

19 ‘‘(I) the Assistant Director of Oper20 ations, Homeland Security Investigations; 

21 ‘‘(II) the Executive Associate Director 

22 of Homeland Security Investigations; 

23 ‘‘(III) the Assistant Director for Field 

24 Operations, Enforcement and Removal Op25 erations; or 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the Executive Associate Direc2 tor for Field Operations, Enforcement and 

3 Removal Operations; 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of officers and agents of 

5 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, prior 

6 written approval to carry out an enforcement 

7 action involving a specific individual or individ8 uals authorized by— 

9 ‘‘(I) a Chief Patrol Agent; 

10 ‘‘(II) the Director of Field Operations; 

11 ‘‘(III) the Director of Air and Marine 

12 Operations; or 

13 ‘‘(IV) the Internal Affairs Special 

14 Agent in Charge; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) in the case of other Federal, State, 

16 or local law enforcement officers, to carry out 

17 an enforcement action involving a specific indi18 vidual or individuals authorized by— 

19 ‘‘(I) the head of the Federal agency 

20 carrying out the enforcement action; or 

21 ‘‘(II) the head of the State or local 

22 law enforcement agency carrying out the 

23 enforcement action. 

24 ‘‘(E) The term ‘sensitive location’ includes all of 

25 the physical space located within 1,000 feet of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) any medical treatment or health care 

2 facility, including any hospital, doctor’s office, 

3 accredited health clinic, alcohol or drug treat4 ment center, or emergent or urgent care facil5 ity; 

6 ‘‘(ii) any public or private school, including 

7 any known and licensed day care facility, pre8 school, other early learning program facility, 

9 primary school, secondary school, postsecondary 

10 school (including colleges and universities), or 

11 other institution of learning (including voca12 tional or trade schools); 

13 ‘‘(iii) any scholastic or education-related 

14 activity or event, including field trips and inter15 scholastic events; 

16 ‘‘(iv) any school bus or school bus stop 

17 during periods when school children are present 

18 on the bus or at the stop; 

19 ‘‘(v) any organization that— 

20 ‘‘(I) assists children, pregnant women, 

21 victims of crime or abuse, or individuals 

22 with significant mental or physical disabil23 ities; or 

24 ‘‘(II) provides disaster or emergency 

25 social services and assistance; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) any church, synagogue, mosque, or 

2 other place of worship, including buildings 

3 rented for the purpose of religious services, re4 treats, counseling, workshops, instruction, and 

5 education; 

6 ‘‘(vii) any Federal, State, or local court7 house, including the office of an individual’s 

8 legal counsel or representative, and a probation, 

9 parole, or supervised release office; 

10 ‘‘(viii) the site of a funeral, wedding, or 

11 other religious ceremony or observance; 

12 ‘‘(ix) any public demonstration, such as a 

13 march, rally, or parade; 

14 ‘‘(x) any domestic violence shelter, rape 

15 crisis center, supervised visitation center, family 

16 justice center, or victim services provider; or 

17 ‘‘(xi) any other location specified by the 

18 Secretary of Homeland Security for purposes of 

19 this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(2)(A) An enforcement action may not take place 

21 at, or be focused on, a sensitive location unless— 

22 ‘‘(i) the action involves exigent circumstances; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) prior approval for the enforcement action 

25 was obtained from the appropriate official. 


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1 ‘‘(B) If an enforcement action is initiated pursuant 

2 to subparagraph (A) and the exigent circumstances per3 mitting the enforcement action cease, the enforcement ac4 tion shall be discontinued until such exigent circumstances 

5 reemerge. 

6 ‘‘(C) If an enforcement action is carried out in viola7 tion of this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(i) no information resulting from the enforce9 ment action may be entered into the record or re10 ceived into evidence in a removal proceeding result11 ing from the enforcement action; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the alien who is the subject of such re13 moval proceeding may file a motion for the imme14 diate termination of the removal proceeding. 

15 ‘‘(3)(A) This subsection shall apply to any enforce16 ment action by officers or agents of the Department of 

17 Homeland Security, including— 

18 ‘‘(i) officers or agents of U.S. Immigration and 

19 Customs Enforcement; 

20 ‘‘(ii) officers or agents of U.S. Customs and 

21 Border Protection; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) any individual designated to perform im23 migration enforcement functions pursuant to sub24 section (g). 


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1 ‘‘(B) While carrying out an enforcement action at a 

2 sensitive location, officers and agents referred to in sub3 paragraph (A) shall make every effort— 

4 ‘‘(i) to limit the time spent at the sensitive loca5 tion; 

6 ‘‘(ii) to limit the enforcement action at the sen7 sitive location to the person or persons for whom 

8 prior approval was obtained; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) to conduct themselves discreetly. 

10 ‘‘(C) If, while carrying out an enforcement action 

11 that is not initiated at or focused on a sensitive location, 

12 officers or agents are led to a sensitive location, and no 

13 exigent circumstance and prior approval with respect to 

14 the sensitive location exists, such officers or agents shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) cease before taking any further enforce16 ment action; 

17 ‘‘(ii) conduct themselves in a discreet manner; 

18 ‘‘(iii) maintain surveillance; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) immediately consult their supervisor in 

20 order to determine whether such enforcement action 

21 should be discontinued. 

22 ‘‘(D) The limitations under this paragraph shall not 

23 apply to the transportation of an individual apprehended 

24 at or near a land or sea border to a hospital or health 


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1 care provider for the purpose of providing medical care 

2 to such individual. 

3 ‘‘(4)(A) Each official specified in subparagraph (B) 

4 shall ensure that the employees under his or her super5 vision receive annual training on compliance with— 

6 ‘‘(i) the requirements under this subsection in 

7 enforcement actions at or focused on sensitive loca8 tions and enforcement actions that lead officers or 

9 agents to a sensitive location; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the requirements under section 239 of this 

11 Act and section 384 of the Illegal Immigration Re12 form and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 

13 U.S.C. 1367). 

14 ‘‘(B) The officials specified in this subparagraph 

15 are— 

16 ‘‘(i) the Chief Counsel of U.S. Immigration and 

17 Customs Enforcement; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Field Office Directors of U.S. Immi19 gration and Customs Enforcement; 

20 ‘‘(iii) each Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Im21 migration and Customs Enforcement; 

22 ‘‘(iv) each Chief Patrol Agent of U.S. Customs 

23 and Border Protection; 

24 ‘‘(v) the Director of Field Operations of U.S. 

25 Customs and Border Protection; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the Director of Air and Marine Operations 

2 of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 

3 ‘‘(vii) the Internal Affairs Special Agent in 

4 Charge of U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and 

5 ‘‘(viii) the chief law enforcement officer of each 

6 State or local law enforcement agency that enters 

7 into a written agreement with the Department of 

8 Homeland Security pursuant to subsection (g). 

9 ‘‘(5) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall mod10 ify the Notice to Appear form (I–862)— 

11 ‘‘(A) to provide the subjects of an enforcement 

12 action with information, written in plain language, 

13 summarizing the restrictions against enforcement 

14 actions at sensitive locations set forth in this sub15 section and the remedies available to the alien if 

16 such action violates such restrictions; 

17 ‘‘(B) so that the information described in sub18 paragraph (A) is accessible to individuals with lim19 ited English proficiency; and 

20 ‘‘(C) so that subjects of an enforcement action 

21 are not permitted to verify that the officers or 

22 agents that carried out such action complied with 

23 the restrictions set forth in this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(6)(A) The Director of U.S. Immigration and Cus25 toms Enforcement and the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 


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1 and Border Protection shall each submit an annual report 

2 to the appropriate committees of Congress that includes 

3 the information set forth in subparagraph (B) with respect 

4 to the respective agency. 

5 ‘‘(B) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) 

6 shall include, with respect to the submitting agency during 

7 the reporting period— 

8 ‘‘(i) the number of enforcement actions that 

9 were carried out at, or focused on, a sensitive loca10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the number of enforcement actions in 

12 which officers or agents were subsequently led to a 

13 sensitive location; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) for each enforcement action described in 

15 clause (i) or (ii)— 

16 ‘‘(I) the date on which it occurred; 

17 ‘‘(II) the specific site, city, county, and 

18 State in which it occurred; 

19 ‘‘(III) the components of the agency in20 volved in the enforcement action; 

21 ‘‘(IV) a description of the enforcement ac22 tion, including the nature of the criminal activ23 ity of its intended target; 

24 ‘‘(V) the number of individuals, if any, ar25 rested or taken into custody; 


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1 ‘‘(VI) the number of collateral arrests, if 

2 any, and the reasons for each such arrest; 

3 ‘‘(VII) a certification whether the location 

4 administrator was contacted before, during, or 

5 after the enforcement action; and 

6 ‘‘(VIII) the percentage of all of the staff 

7 members and supervisors reporting to the offi8 cials listed in paragraph (4)(B) who completed 

9 the training required under paragraph (4)(A). 

10 ‘‘(7) Nothing in the subsection may be construed— 

11 ‘‘(A) to affect the authority of Federal, State, 

12 or local law enforcement agencies— 

13 ‘‘(i) to enforce generally applicable Federal 

14 or State criminal laws unrelated to immigra15 tion; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) to protect residents from imminent 

17 threats to public safety; or 

18 ‘‘(B) to limit or override the protections pro19 vided in— 

20 ‘‘(i) section 239; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) section 384 of the Illegal Immigration 

22 Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 

23 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1367).’’. 

Æ 


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