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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10237 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10237

 To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to 
develop and disseminate guidance for the handling of personal property 
 of individuals who are under arrest, restrained, or confined by U.S. 
         Customs and Border Protection, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 21, 2024

Mrs. Ramirez (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
Clarke of New York, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Goldman of New York, Ms. Bush, Mr. 
    McGovern, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Correa, Mr. Menendez, Ms. 
  Barragan, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Omar, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Mr. 
  Thanedar, Mr. Soto, Mr. Espaillat, and Ms. Escobar) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
  Security, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To require the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to 
develop and disseminate guidance for the handling of personal property 
 of individuals who are under arrest, restrained, or confined by U.S. 
         Customs and Border Protection, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``CBP Guidance on Personal Belongings 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CBP GUIDANCE FOR HANDLING PERSONAL PROPERTY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) shall develop and disseminate to the appropriate 
congressional committees and all CBP personnel who come into contact 
with individuals under arrest, restrained, or confined by CBP guidance 
for the handling of the personal property of such individuals.
    (b) Consultation Required.--The Commissioner of CBP shall consult 
with nongovernmental organizations and the Immigration Detention 
Ombudsman of the Department of Homeland Security in the development and 
dissemination of the guidance required under subsection (a).
    (c) Contents.--The guidance required under subsection (a) shall 
provide for the following:
            (1) Allow individuals to keep as much of their personal 
        property as CBP's physical capacity, safety considerations, 
        transportation limitations, and personnel availability permit.
            (2) Ensure CBP returns all personal property that CBP 
        stores on behalf of an individual who is under arrest, 
        restrained, or confined by CBP directly to such individual 
        immediately upon the release of such individual from CBP 
        custody to the greatest extent operationally feasible.
            (3) A description of the types of personal property 
        considered essential and that must remain in an individual's 
        possession (or be otherwise stored by CBP under paragraph (4)) 
        to the greatest extent operationally feasible, including, at a 
        minimum, religious articles, personal contact information of 
        family members and loved ones, and essential medical property 
        that does not pose a threat or hazard to CBP personnel, 
        detainees, or other personnel inside a CBP facility.
            (4) A description of the types of personal property 
        considered essential and that CBP is required to store, 
        including, at a minimum, legal and identification documents 
        that are not determined to be fraudulent or counterfeit, cell 
        phones and electronic devices, health-related documents, and 
        currency, if such property does not pose a threat or hazard to 
        CBP personnel, detainees, or other personnel inside a CBP 
        facility, including relating to the reasons and circumstances 
        under which the amount of such property could be restricted.
            (5) Specific procedures for managing essential personal 
        property described in paragraphs (3) and (4), ensuring such 
        procedures comply with all CBP policies and Federal law, and 
        that individuals who are under arrest, restrained, or confined 
        by CBP are provided a written receipt of any stored personal 
        property.
            (6) A description of the circumstances which would 
        necessitate discarding the personal property of an individual 
        who is under arrest, restrained, or confined by CBP, including 
        the circumstances under which collecting, transporting or 
        storing such property would not be operationally feasible.
            (7) A description of the circumstances under which the 
        personal property of an individual who is under arrest, 
        restrained, or confined by CBP may be considered a hazard or 
        threat.
            (8) A protocol for how CBP personnel is to manage the 
        transfer of personal property when an individual who is under 
        arrest, restrained, or confined by CBP is transferred into the 
        custody of another agency.
            (9) A protocol for providing to each individual released 
        from CBP custody written instructions explaining how to 
        retrieve any personal property remaining in CBP facilities.
            (10) A protocol for handling medical property that directs 
        CBP personnel to ensure detainees' medications remain available 
        to such detainees unless a specific safety concern is 
        identified or a non-United States prescribed medication has 
        been replaced with a United States equivalent medication.
            (11) A description of the mechanism for monitoring the 
        compliance of CBP personnel with such guidance.
    (d) Monitoring.--At the time the guidance required under subsection 
(a) is disseminated, the Commissioner of CBP shall implement the 
mechanism described in subsection (c)(11) to monitor the extent to 
which CBP personnel is in compliance with such guidance.
    (e) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
dissemination of the guidance required under subsection (a) and 
annually thereafter for five years, the Commissioner of CBP shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees and the Comptroller 
General of the United States a report on the development and 
implementation of such guidance. Each such report shall also include 
information on the discarded essential personal property of individuals 
who are under arrest, restrained, or confined by CBP, including 
relating to the following:
            (1) The number of times and an identification of the 
        locations at which CBP officers discarded essential personal 
        property, including such property disposed of outside of CBP 
        facilities.
            (2) The reasons why such property was discarded.
            (3) A description of CBP's efforts to reduce such 
        instances, as applicable.
    (f) Comptroller General Review.--Not later than one year after 
receipt of the report required under subsection (e), the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a review of the guidance required by 
subsection (a), including the following:
            (1) The implementation of such guidance.
            (2) The effects of such guidance on CBP operations.
            (3) The compliance of CBP personnel with such guidance.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
        Senate.
            (2) Essential medical property.--The term ``essential 
        medical property'' means medical items validated by a qualified 
        medical professional as in working order, medically necessary, 
        and falling under any of the following categories:
                    (A) Prescription eyewear, including glasses or 
                contacts.
                    (B) Prosthetic devices and durable medical 
                equipment.
                    (C) Dentures (whether full or partial) and 
                orthodontic devices.
            (3) Personal property.--The term ``personal property'' 
        means the belongings, not including contraband, found on or 
        carried by an individual who is under arrest, restrained, or 
        confined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
                                 <all>
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