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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10274 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10274

To prohibit any limitation on the entry of a Member of Congress to any 
     facility for the detention of aliens, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2024

  Mr. Crow (for himself and Mr. Rutherford) introduced the following 
  bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in 
  addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, 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 prohibit any limitation on the entry of a Member of Congress to any 
     facility for the detention of aliens, 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 ``Public Oversight of Detention 
Centers Act of 2024'' or as the ``POD Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION FACILITIES.

    (a) Prohibition on Limitations on Oversight of Detention 
Facilities.--Chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 244A. PROHIBITION ON LIMITATIONS ON OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION 
              FACILITIES.

    ``(a) In General.--A covered person may not be prevented from 
entering immediately, or, in the case of a person described in 
subsection (c)(2) by not later than 24 hours after making a request to 
do so, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated 
by or for the Department of Homeland Security (including any facility 
operated by a private contractor with the Department) used to detain or 
otherwise house aliens, or nor may any temporary modification be made 
at any such facility that in any way alters what is observed by a 
visiting Member of Congress, compared to what would be observed in the 
absence of such modification.
    ``(b) Facilities Housing Alien Minors.--A covered person may not be 
prevented from entering by not later than two business days after 
making a request to do so, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any 
facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security or the 
Department of Health and Human Services (including any facility 
operated by a private contractor with either Department) used to detain 
or otherwise house alien minors, or to make any temporary modification 
at any such facility that in any way alters what is observed by a 
visiting Member of Congress, compared to what would be observed in the 
absence of such modification.
    ``(c) Covered Person.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`covered person' means the following:
            ``(1) A Member of Congress.
            ``(2) An employee of the House of Representatives or the 
        Senate designated by such a Member for purposes of this 
        section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for such Act is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 244 the 
following:

``244A. Prohibition on limitations on oversight of detention 
                            facilities.''.
                                 <all>
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