I 

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. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. NORTON, 

Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Ms. 

BUSH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. CORREA, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, 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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘CBP Guidance on Per3 sonal Belongings Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. CBP GUIDANCE FOR HANDLING PERSONAL PROP5 ERTY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner of 

8 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall develop 

9 and disseminate to the appropriate congressional commit10 tees and all CBP personnel who come into contact with 

11 individuals under arrest, restrained, or confined by CBP 

12 guidance for the handling of the personal property of such 

13 individuals. 

14 (b) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—The Commissioner 

15 of CBP shall consult with nongovernmental organizations 

16 and the Immigration Detention Ombudsman of the De17 partment of Homeland Security in the development and 

18 dissemination of the guidance required under subsection 

19 (a). 

20 (c) CONTENTS.—The guidance required under sub21 section (a) shall provide for the following: 

22 (1) Allow individuals to keep as much of their 

23 personal property as CBP’s physical capacity, safety 

24 considerations, transportation limitations, and per25 sonnel availability permit. 


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1 (2) Ensure CBP returns all personal property 

2 that CBP stores on behalf of an individual who is 

3 under arrest, restrained, or confined by CBP di4 rectly to such individual immediately upon the re5 lease of such individual from CBP custody to the 

6 greatest extent operationally feasible. 

7 (3) A description of the types of personal prop8 erty considered essential and that must remain in an 

9 individual’s possession (or be otherwise stored by 

10 CBP under paragraph (4)) to the greatest extent 

11 operationally feasible, including, at a minimum, reli12 gious articles, personal contact information of family 

13 members and loved ones, and essential medical prop14 erty that does not pose a threat or hazard to CBP 

15 personnel, detainees, or other personnel inside a 

16 CBP facility. 

17 (4) A description of the types of personal prop18 erty considered essential and that CBP is required 

19 to store, including, at a minimum, legal and identi20 fication documents that are not determined to be 

21 fraudulent or counterfeit, cell phones and electronic 

22 devices, health-related documents, and currency, if 

23 such property does not pose a threat or hazard to 

24 CBP personnel, detainees, or other personnel inside 

25 a CBP facility, including relating to the reasons and 


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1 circumstances under which the amount of such prop2 erty could be restricted. 

3 (5) Specific procedures for managing essential 

4 personal property described in paragraphs (3) and 

5 (4), ensuring such procedures comply with all CBP 

6 policies and Federal law, and that individuals who 

7 are under arrest, restrained, or confined by CBP are 

8 provided a written receipt of any stored personal 

9 property. 

10 (6) A description of the circumstances which 

11 would necessitate discarding the personal property of 

12 an individual who is under arrest, restrained, or con13 fined by CBP, including the circumstances under 

14 which collecting, transporting or storing such prop15 erty would not be operationally feasible. 

16 (7) A description of the circumstances under 

17 which the personal property of an individual who is 

18 under arrest, restrained, or confined by CBP may be 

19 considered a hazard or threat. 

20 (8) A protocol for how CBP personnel is to 

21 manage the transfer of personal property when an 

22 individual who is under arrest, restrained, or con23 fined by CBP is transferred into the custody of an24 other agency. 


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1 (9) A protocol for providing to each individual 

2 released from CBP custody written instructions ex3 plaining how to retrieve any personal property re4 maining in CBP facilities. 

5 (10) A protocol for handling medical property 

6 that directs CBP personnel to ensure detainees’ 

7 medications remain available to such detainees un8 less a specific safety concern is identified or a non9 United States prescribed medication has been re10 placed with a United States equivalent medication. 

11 (11) A description of the mechanism for moni12 toring the compliance of CBP personnel with such 

13 guidance. 

14 (d) MONITORING.—At the time the guidance required 

15 under subsection (a) is disseminated, the Commissioner 

16 of CBP shall implement the mechanism described in sub17 section (c)(11) to monitor the extent to which CBP per18 sonnel is in compliance with such guidance. 

19 (e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

20 of the dissemination of the guidance required under sub21 section (a) and annually thereafter for five years, the 

22 Commissioner of CBP shall submit to the appropriate con23 gressional committees and the Comptroller General of the 

24 United States a report on the development and implemen25 tation of such guidance. Each such report shall also inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Dec 06, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10237.IH H10237

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1 clude information on the discarded essential personal 

2 property of individuals who are under arrest, restrained, 

3 or confined by CBP, including relating to the following: 

4 (1) The number of times and an identification 

5 of the locations at which CBP officers discarded es6 sential personal property, including such property 

7 disposed of outside of CBP facilities. 

8 (2) The reasons why such property was dis9 carded. 

10 (3) A description of CBP’s efforts to reduce 

11 such instances, as applicable. 

12 (f) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.—Not later 

13 than one year after receipt of the report required under 

14 subsection (e), the Comptroller General of the United 

15 States shall submit to the appropriate congressional com16 mittees a review of the guidance required by subsection 

17 (a), including the following: 

18 (1) The implementation of such guidance. 

19 (2) The effects of such guidance on CBP oper20 ations. 

21 (3) The compliance of CBP personnel with such 

22 guidance. 

23 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT25 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional comVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Dec 06, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10237.IH H10237

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1 mittees’’ means the Committee on Homeland Secu2 rity of the House of Representatives and the Com3 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af4 fairs of the Senate. 

5 (2) ESSENTIAL MEDICAL PROPERTY.—The term 

6 ‘‘essential medical property’’ means medical items 

7 validated by a qualified medical professional as in 

8 working order, medically necessary, and falling 

9 under any of the following categories: 

10 (A) Prescription eyewear, including glasses 

11 or contacts. 

12 (B) Prosthetic devices and durable medical 

13 equipment. 

14 (C) Dentures (whether full or partial) and 

15 orthodontic devices. 

16 (3) PERSONAL PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘per17 sonal property’’ means the belongings, not including 

18 contraband, found on or carried by an individual 

19 who is under arrest, restrained, or confined by U.S. 

20 Customs and Border Protection. 

Æ 


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