I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8008 

To prohibit the use of for-profit facilities and detention centers, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 11, 2020 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SERRANO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. MENG, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. WELCH, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, and Mr. VARGAS) 

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

Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, 

Financial Services, and 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 the use of for-profit facilities and detention 

centers, 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 ‘‘Justice is Not For 

5 Sale Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘core correctional services’’ means 

4 the housing, transporting, safeguarding, protecting, 

5 and disciplining of individuals— 

6 (A) charged with or convicted of an of7 fense; or 

8 (B) who are in custody for purposes of en9 forcing the immigration laws, as defined in sec10 tion 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)); 

12 (2) the term ‘‘local government’’ means a city, 

13 county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or 

14 other general purpose political subdivision of a 

15 State; 

16 (3) the term ‘‘State’’ means a State of the 

17 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com18 monwealth of Puerto Rico, or another common19 wealth, territory, or possession of the United States; 

20 and 

21 (4) the term ‘‘facility housing adult prisoners or 

22 detainees in the custody of a State or local govern23 ment’’ includes for-profit civil commitment centers, 

24 return to custody units, community corrections and 

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1 tional centers, mental health facilities, or other fa2 cilities or programs that are under contract with a 

3 government entity to provide custody, control, super4 vision, treatment, and rehabilitation of prisoners or 

5 detainees. 

6 SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF FEDERAL CONTRACTS FOR PRI7 VATELY RUN PRISONS WITHIN 2 YEARS. 

8 (a) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—Except as provided in 

9 subsection (b), not later than 2 years after the date of 

10 enactment of this Act— 

11 (1) each facility housing adult prisoners or de12 tainees in the custody of the Federal Government 

13 shall be under the direct, operational control of the 

14 Federal Government; and 

15 (2) core correctional services at each such facil16 ity shall be performed by employees of the Federal 

17 Government. 

18 (b) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—If the Attorney General 

19 determines that the Federal Government is unable to com20 ply with subsection (a) by the date that is 2 years after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 

22 may waive the application of subsection (a) for not more 

23 than 1 year. 

24 (c) ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RELEASED PER25 SONS.—Electronic monitoring of the location of a person 


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1 released from the custody of the Federal Government may 

2 be conducted only by a public entity under the supervision 

3 and control of the Federal Government or a non-profit en4 tity that has a contract with the Federal Government to 

5 perform such monitoring. 

6 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES 

7 RUNNING STATE AND LOCAL PRISONS OR DE8 TENTION ALTERNATIVES AFTER 2 YEARS. 

9 (a) OPERATIONAL CONTROL.—Except as provided in 

10 subsection (b), on and after the date that is 2 years after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act— 

12 (1) no private for-profit entity engaged in or af13 fecting interstate commerce shall own or have direct, 

14 operational control over a facility housing adult pris15 oners or detainees in the custody of the State or 

16 local government; and 

17 (2) no private for-profit entity engaged in or af18 fecting interstate commerce shall perform core cor19 rectional services at such a facility. 

20 (b) WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—If the Attorney General 

21 determines that a State or local government requires serv22 ices from a private for-profit entity that are described in 

23 subsection (a) after the date that is 2 years after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General may waive 


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1 the application of subsection (a) as to that private for2 profit entity for not more than 1 year. 

3 (c) ELECTRONIC MONITORING OF RELEASED PER4 SONS.—No private for-profit entity engaged in or affecting 

5 interstate commerce may operate electronic monitoring of 

6 the location of a person released from the custody of a 

7 State or local government. 

8 (d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Attorney General may 

9 bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the 

10 United States for such declaratory or injunctive relief as 

11 is necessary to carry out this section. 

12 SEC. 5. CFPB OVERSIGHT OF PROVIDERS OF MONEY 

13 TRANSFER SERVICES FOR CORRECTIONAL 

14 AND IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES. 

15 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

16 (1) the term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the Bureau of 

17 Consumer Financial Protection; 

18 (2) the term ‘‘correctional facility’’ means a jail, 

19 prison, or other detention facility used to house peo20 ple who have been arrested, detained, held, or con21 victed by a criminal justice agency or a court; 

22 (3) the term ‘‘covered inmate’’ means— 

23 (A) an individual who is being held, de24 tained, or incarcerated in a correctional facility; 

25 and 


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1 (B) an individual who is being held in an 

2 immigration detention facility; 

3 (4) the term ‘‘covered provider’’ means a pro4 vider of a service, including a money transfer serv5 ice, that— 

6 (A) facilitates the electronic transfer of 

7 funds from an individual who is not a covered 

8 inmate to a covered inmate; 

9 (B) provides a payment to a covered in10 mate who is being released from a correctional 

11 facility or an immigration detention facility; or 

12 (C) provides a payment on behalf of a cov13 ered inmate; and 

14 (5) the term ‘‘immigration detention facility’’ 

15 means a Federal, State, or local government facility, 

16 or a privately owned and operated facility, that is 

17 used, in whole or in part, to hold individuals under 

18 the authority of the Director of U.S. Immigration 

19 and Customs Enforcement, including facilities that 

20 hold such individuals under a contract or agreement 

21 with the Department of Homeland Security. 

22 (b) REASONABLE AND PROPORTIONAL FEE OR

23 CHARGE.—The amount of any fee or charge that a cov24 ered provider may impose with respect to a service de25 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection 


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1 (a)(4) shall be reasonable and proportional to the relative 

2 cost or value of the service. 

3 (c) REQUIREMENT TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Bureau shall 

6 issue final rules to establish standards for assessing 

7 whether the amount of any fee or charge described 

8 in subsection (b) is reasonable and proportional to 

9 the relative cost or value of the service provided by 

10 a covered provider. 

11 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing the final 

12 rules under paragraph (1), the Bureau shall con13 sider— 

14 (A) whether there are alternative means 

15 for transferring funds into correctional facilities 

16 and immigration detention facilities; 

17 (B) whether those alternatives can reason18 ably be considered comparable; 

19 (C) differing cost structures for transfer20 ring funds into correctional facilities and immi21 gration detention facilities; and 

22 (D) such other factors as the Bureau may 

23 determine necessary or appropriate. 

24 (3) DIFFERENTIATION PERMITTED.—In issuing 

25 the final rules under paragraph (1), the Bureau may 


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1 establish different standards for different types of 

2 fees and charges, as appropriate. 

3 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINEMENT FACILITY 

4 COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 276 of the Communica6 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 276) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINE9 MENT FACILITY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All charges, practices, 

12 classifications, and regulations for and in con13 nection with confinement facility communica14 tions services shall be just and reasonable, and 

15 any such charge, practice, classification, or reg16 ulation that is unjust or unreasonable is de17 clared to be unlawful. 

18 ‘‘(B) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Not later 

19 than 18 months after the date of the enactment 

20 of this subsection, the Commission shall issue 

21 rules to adopt, for the provision of confinement 

22 facility communications services, rates and an23 cillary service charges that are just and reason24 able, which shall be the maximum such rates 

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1 cility communications services may charge for 

2 such services. In determining rates and charges 

3 that are just and reasonable, the Commission 

4 shall adopt such rates and charges based on the 

5 average industry costs of providing such serv6 ices using data collected from providers of con7 finement facility communications services. 

8 ‘‘(C) BIENNIAL REVIEW.—Not less fre9 quently than every 2 years following the 

10 issuance of rules under subparagraph (B), the 

11 Commission shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) determine whether the rates and 

13 ancillary service charges authorized by the 

14 rules issued under such subparagraph re15 main just and reasonable; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) if the Commission determines 

17 under clause (i) that any such rate or 

18 charge does not remain just and reason19 able, revise such rules so that such rate or 

20 charge is just and reasonable. 

21 ‘‘(2) INTERIM RATE CAPS.—Until the Commis22 sion issues the rules required by paragraph (1)(B), 

23 a provider of confinement facility communications 

24 services may not charge a rate for any voice service 


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1 communication using confinement facility commu2 nications services that exceeds the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) For debit calling or prepaid calling, 

4 $0.04 per minute. 

5 ‘‘(B) For collect calling, $0.05 per minute. 

6 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENT ON PER-MINUTE BASIS.—Ex7 cept as provided in paragraph (4), a provider of con8 finement facility communications services— 

9 ‘‘(A) shall assess all charges for a commu10 nication using such services on a per-minute 

11 basis for the actual duration of the communica12 tion, measured from communication acceptance 

13 to termination, rounded up to the next full 

14 minute, except in the case of charges for serv15 ices that the confinement facility offers free of 

16 charge or for amounts below the amounts per17 mitted under this subsection; and 

18 ‘‘(B) may not charge a per-communication 

19 or per-connection charge for a communication 

20 using such services. 

21 ‘‘(4) ANCILLARY SERVICE CHARGES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) GENERAL PROHIBITION.—A provider 

23 of confinement facility communications services 

24 may not charge an ancillary service charge 

25 other than— 


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1 ‘‘(i) if the Commission has not yet 

2 issued the rules required by paragraph 

3 (1)(B), a charge listed in subparagraph 

4 (B) of this paragraph; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) a charge authorized by the rules 

6 adopted by the Commission under para7 graph (1). 

8 ‘‘(B) PERMITTED CHARGES AND RATES.— 

9 If the Commission has not yet issued the rules 

10 required by paragraph (1)(B), a provider of 

11 confinement facility communications services 

12 may not charge a rate for an ancillary service 

13 charge in excess of the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) In the case of an automated pay15 ment fee, 2.9 percent of the total charge 

16 on which the fee is assessed. 

17 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a fee for single-call 

18 and related services, the exact transaction 

19 fee charged by the third-party provider, 

20 with no markup. 

21 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a live agent fee, 

22 $5.95 per use. 

23 ‘‘(iv) In the case of a paper bill or 

24 statement fee, $2 per use. 


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1 ‘‘(v) In the case of a third-party fi2 nancial transaction fee, the exact fee, with 

3 no markup, charged by the third party for 

4 the transaction. 

5 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON SITE COMMISSIONS.—A 

6 provider of confinement facility communications 

7 services may not assess a site commission. 

8 ‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW.—A State 

9 or political subdivision of a State may not enforce 

10 any law, rule, regulation, standard, or other provi11 sion having the force or effect of law relating to con12 finement facility communications services that allows 

13 for higher rates or other charges to be assessed for 

14 such services than is permitted under any Federal 

15 law or regulation relating to confinement facility 

16 communications services. 

17 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 ‘‘(A) ANCILLARY SERVICE CHARGE.—The 

19 term ‘ancillary service charge’ means any 

20 charge a consumer may be assessed for the set21 ting up or use of a confinement facility commu22 nications service that is not included in the per23 minute charges assessed for individual commu24 nications. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AUTOMATED PAYMENT FEE.—The 

2 term ‘automated payment fee’ means a credit 

3 card payment, debit card payment, or bill proc4 essing fee, including a fee for a payment made 

5 by means of interactive voice response, the 

6 internet, or a kiosk. 

7 ‘‘(C) COLLECT CALLING.—The term ‘col8 lect calling’ means an arrangement whereby a 

9 credit-qualified party agrees to pay for charges 

10 associated with a communication made to such 

11 party using confinement facility communica12 tions services and originating from within a 

13 confinement facility. 

14 ‘‘(D) CONFINEMENT FACILITY.—The term 

15 ‘confinement facility’— 

16 ‘‘(i) means a jail or a prison; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) includes any juvenile, detention, 

18 work release, or mental health facility that 

19 is used primarily to hold individuals who 

20 are— 

21 ‘‘(I) awaiting adjudication of 

22 criminal charges or an immigration 

23 matter; or 

24 ‘‘(II) serving a sentence for a 

25 criminal conviction. 


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1 ‘‘(E) CONFINEMENT FACILITY COMMU2 NICATIONS SERVICE.—The term ‘confinement 

3 facility communications service’ means a service 

4 that allows incarcerated persons to make elec5 tronic communications (whether intrastate, 

6 interstate, or international and whether made 

7 using video, audio, or any other communicative 

8 method, including advanced communications 

9 services) to individuals outside the confinement 

10 facility, or to individuals inside the confinement 

11 facility, where the incarcerated person is being 

12 held, regardless of the technology used to de13 liver the service. 

14 ‘‘(F) CONSUMER.—The term ‘consumer’ 

15 means the party paying a provider of confine16 ment facility communications services. 

17 ‘‘(G) DEBIT CALLING.—The term ‘debit 

18 calling’ means a presubscription or comparable 

19 service which allows an incarcerated person, or 

20 someone acting on an incarcerated person’s be21 half, to fund an account set up through a pro22 vider that can be used to pay for confinement 

23 facility communications services originated by 

24 the incarcerated person. 


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1 ‘‘(H) FEE FOR SINGLE-CALL AND RE2 LATED SERVICES.—The term ‘fee for single-call 

3 and related services’ means a billing arrange4 ment whereby communications made by an in5 carcerated person using collect calling are billed 

6 through a third party on a per-communication 

7 basis, where the recipient does not have an ac8 count with the provider of confinement facility 

9 communications services. 

10 ‘‘(I) INCARCERATED PERSON.—The term 

11 ‘incarcerated person’ means a person detained 

12 at a confinement facility, regardless of the du13 ration of the detention. 

14 ‘‘(J) JAIL.—The term ‘jail’— 

15 ‘‘(i) means a facility of a law enforce16 ment agency of the Federal Government or 

17 of a State or political subdivision of a 

18 State that is used primarily to hold indi19 viduals who are— 

20 ‘‘(I) awaiting adjudication of 

21 criminal charges; 

22 ‘‘(II) post-conviction and com23 mitted to confinement for sentences of 

24 one year or less; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) post-conviction and await2 ing transfer to another facility; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) includes— 

4 ‘‘(I) city, county, or regional fa5 cilities that have contracted with a 

6 private company to manage day-to7 day operations; 

8 ‘‘(II) privately-owned and oper9 ated facilities primarily engaged in 

10 housing city, county, or regional in11 carcerated persons; and 

12 ‘‘(III) facilities used to detain in13 dividuals pursuant to a contract with 

14 U.S. Immigration and Customs En15 forcement. 

16 ‘‘(K) LIVE AGENT FEE.—The term ‘live 

17 agent fee’ means a fee associated with the op18 tional use of a live operator to complete a con19 finement facility communications service trans20 action. 

21 ‘‘(L) PAPER BILL OR STATEMENT FEE.— 

22 The term ‘paper bill or statement fee’ means a 

23 fee associated with providing a consumer an op24 tional paper billing statement. 


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1 ‘‘(M) PER-COMMUNICATION OR PER-CON2 NECTION CHARGE.—The term ‘per-communica3 tion or per-connection charge’ means a one-time 

4 fee charged to a consumer at the initiation of 

5 a communication. 

6 ‘‘(N) PREPAID CALLING.—The term ‘pre7 paid calling’ means a calling arrangement that 

8 allows a consumer to pay in advance for a spec9 ified amount of confinement facility commu10 nications services. 

11 ‘‘(O) PRISON.—The term ‘prison’— 

12 ‘‘(i) means a facility operated by a 

13 State or Federal agency that is used pri14 marily to confine individuals convicted of 

15 felonies and sentenced to terms in excess 

16 of one year; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) includes— 

18 ‘‘(I) public and private facilities 

19 that provide outsource housing to 

20 State or Federal agencies such as 

21 State Departments of Correction and 

22 the Federal Bureau of Prisons; and 

23 ‘‘(II) facilities that would other24 wise be jails but in which the majority 

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1 viction or are committed to confine2 ment for sentences of longer than one 

3 year. 

4 ‘‘(P) PROVIDER OF CONFINEMENT FACIL5 ITY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.—The term 

6 ‘provider of confinement facility communica7 tions services’ means any communications serv8 ice provider that provides confinement facility 

9 communications services, regardless of the tech10 nology used. 

11 ‘‘(Q) SITE COMMISSION.—The term ‘site 

12 commission’ means any monetary payment, in13 kind payment, gift, exchange of services or 

14 goods, fee, technology allowance, or product 

15 that a provider of confinement facility commu16 nications services or an affiliate of a provider of 

17 confinement facility communications services 

18 may pay, give, donate, or otherwise provide 

19 to— 

20 ‘‘(i) an entity that operates a confine21 ment facility; 

22 ‘‘(ii) an entity with which the provider 

23 of confinement facility communications 

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1 vide confinement facility communications 

2 services; 

3 ‘‘(iii) a governmental agency that 

4 oversees a confinement facility; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the State or political subdivision 

6 of a State where a confinement facility is 

7 located; or 

8 ‘‘(v) an agent or other representative 

9 of an entity described in any of clauses (i) 

10 through (iv). 

11 ‘‘(R) THIRD-PARTY FINANCIAL TRANS12 ACTION FEE.—The term ‘third-party financial 

13 transaction fee’ means the exact fee, with no 

14 markup, that a provider of confinement facility 

15 communications services is charged by a third 

16 party to transfer money or process a financial 

17 transaction to facilitate the ability of a con18 sumer to make an account payment via a third 

19 party. 

20 ‘‘(S) VOICE SERVICE.—The term ‘voice 

21 service’— 

22 ‘‘(i) means any service that is inter23 connected with the public switched tele24 phone network and that furnishes voice 

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1 sources from the North American Num2 bering Plan or any successor to the North 

3 American Numbering Plan adopted by the 

4 Commission under section 251(e)(1); and 

5 ‘‘(ii) includes— 

6 ‘‘(I) transmissions from a tele7 phone facsimile machine, computer, or 

8 other device to a telephone facsimile 

9 machine; and 

10 ‘‘(II) without limitation, any 

11 service that enables real-time, two-way 

12 voice communications, including any 

13 service that requires internet protocol14 compatible customer premises equip15 ment (commonly known as ‘CPE’) 

16 and permits out-bound calling, wheth17 er or not the service is one-way or 

18 two-way voice over internet protocol.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 276(d) of 

20 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 276(d)) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘inmate telephone service in correc22 tional institutions’’ and inserting ‘‘confinement facility 

23 communications services (as defined in subsection 

24 (e)(7))’’. 

25 (c) EXISTING CONTRACTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a contract 

2 that was entered into and under which a provider of 

3 confinement facility communications services was 

4 providing such services at a confinement facility on 

5 or before the date of the enactment of this Act— 

6 (A) paragraphs (1) through (5) of sub7 section (e) of section 276 of the Communica8 tions Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a) 

9 of this section, shall apply to the provision of 

10 confinement facility communications services by 

11 such provider at such facility beginning on the 

12 earlier of— 

13 (i) the date that is 60 days after such 

14 date of enactment; or 

15 (ii) the date of the termination of the 

16 contract; and 

17 (B) the terms of such contract may not be 

18 extended after such date of enactment, whether 

19 by exercise of an option or otherwise. 

20 (2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

21 terms ‘‘confinement facility’’, ‘‘confinement facility 

22 communications service’’, and ‘‘provider of confine23 ment facility communications services’’ have the 

24 meanings given such terms in paragraph (7) of sub25 section (e) of section 276 of the Communications 


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1 Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a) of this sec2 tion. 

3 (d) AUTHORITY.—Section 2(b) of the Communica4 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 152(b)) is amended by in5 serting ‘‘section 276,’’ after ‘‘227, inclusive,’’. 

6 SEC. 7. OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION FACILITIES. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) APPLICABLE STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘ap9 plicable standards’’ means the most recent version of 

10 detention standards and detention-related policies 

11 issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security or the 

12 Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce13 ment. 

14 (2) DETENTION FACILITY.—The term ‘‘deten15 tion facility’’ means a Federal, State, or local gov16 ernment facility, or a privately owned and operated 

17 facility, that is used, in whole or in part, to hold in18 dividuals under the authority of the Director of U.S. 

19 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including 

20 facilities that hold such individuals under a contract 

21 or agreement with the Department of Homeland Se22 curity. 

23 (b) DETENTION REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of 

24 Homeland Security shall ensure that all persons detained 

25 pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 


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1 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) are treated humanely and benefit 

2 from the protections set forth in this section. 

3 (c) OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) ANNUAL INSPECTION.—All detention facili5 ties housing noncitizens in the custody of the De6 partment of Homeland Security shall be inspected, 

7 for compliance with applicable detention standards 

8 issued by the Secretary and other applicable regula9 tions, by— 

10 (A) the Immigration Detention Ombuds11 man at least biannually; and 

12 (B) an independent, third-party auditor at 

13 least biannually. 

14 (2) ROUTINE OVERSIGHT.—In addition to the 

15 inspections required under paragraph (1), the Sec16 retary shall conduct routine oversight of the deten17 tion facilities described in paragraph (1), including 

18 unannounced inspections. 

19 (3) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—All detention 

20 facility contracts, memoranda of agreement, audits, 

21 inspections, evaluations and reviews, include those 

22 conducted by the Office for Civil Rights and Civil 

23 Liberties and the Office of Inspector General of the 

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1 ered records for purposes of section 552(f)(2) of title 

2 5, United States Code. 

3 (4) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall seek 

4 input from nongovernmental organizations regarding 

5 their independent opinion of specific facilities. 

6 (5) REPORT OF IMMIGRATION DETENTION OM7 BUDSMAN.—The Immigration Detention Ombuds8 man shall submit a report to Congress on a bi-an9 nual basis on its activities, findings, and rec10 ommendations, based on the inspections conducted 

11 under paragraph (1), including a copy of any com12 plaint form or mechanism created, the number and 

13 types of complaints received, the number of com14 plaints investigated, and the number of inspections 

15 under paragraph (1) that the Ombudsman con16 ducted during the previous 6-month period, includ17 ing any unannounced inspections. 

18 (d) COMPLIANCE MECHANISMS.— 

19 (1) AGREEMENTS.— 

20 (A) NEW AGREEMENTS.—Compliance with 

21 applicable standards of the Secretary of Home22 land Security and all applicable regulations, and 

23 meaningful financial penalties for failure to 

24 comply, shall be a material term in any new 

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1 negotiation, modification, or renewal of an ex2 isting contract or agreement, including fee ne3 gotiations, executed with detention facilities. 

4 (B) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—Not later 

5 than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act, the Secretary shall secure a modi7 fication incorporating these terms for any exist8 ing contracts or agreements that will not be re9 negotiated, renewed, or otherwise modified. 

10 (C) CANCELLATION OF AGREEMENTS.— 

11 Unless the Secretary provides a reasonable ex12 tension to a specific detention facility that is 

13 negotiating in good faith, contracts or agree14 ments with detention facilities that are not 

15 modified within 1 year of the date of the enact16 ment of this Act will be cancelled. 

17 (D) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—In 

18 making modifications under this paragraph, the 

19 Secretary shall require that detention facilities 

20 provide to the Secretary all contracts, memo21 randa of agreement, evaluations, and reviews 

22 regarding the facility on a regular basis. The 

23 Secretary shall make these materials publicly 

24 available on a timely and regular basis. 

25 (2) FINANCIAL PENALTIES.— 


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1 (A) REQUIREMENT TO IMPOSE.—Subject 

2 to subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall impose 

3 meaningful financial penalties upon facilities 

4 that fail to comply with applicable detention 

5 standards issued by the Secretary and other ap6 plicable regulations. 

7 (B) TIMING OF IMPOSITION.—Financial 

8 penalties imposed under subparagraph (A) shall 

9 be imposed immediately after a facility fails to 

10 achieve an adequate or the equivalent median 

11 score in any performance evaluation. 

12 (C) WAIVER.—The requirements of sub13 paragraph (A) may be waived if the facility cor14 rects the noted deficiencies and receives an ade15 quate score in not more than 90 days. 

16 (D) MULTIPLE OFFENDERS.—If the Sec17 retary determines that a facility has been per18 sistently and substantially violating the deten19 tion standards issued by the Secretary, includ20 ing by scoring less than adequate or the equiva21 lent median score in 2 consecutive inspections— 

22 (i) the Secretary shall terminate con23 tracts or agreements with such facilities 

24 within 60 days; or 


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1 (ii) in the case of facilities operated by 

2 the Secretary, the Secretary shall close 

3 such facilities within 90 days. 

4 (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 (1) OBJECTIVES.—Not later than June 30 of 

6 each year, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

7 submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary 

8 of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 

9 of the House of Representatives that describes the 

10 inspection and oversight activities at detention facili11 ties. 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

13 paragraph (1) shall include— 

14 (A) a description of each detention facility 

15 found to be in noncompliance with applicable 

16 detention standards issued by the Department 

17 of Homeland Security and other applicable reg18 ulations; 

19 (B) a description of the actions taken by 

20 the Department to remedy any findings of non21 compliance or other identified problems, includ22 ing financial penalties, contract or agreement 

23 termination, or facility closure; and 

24 (C) information regarding whether the ac25 tions described in subparagraph (B) resulted in 


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1 compliance with applicable detention standards 

2 and regulations. 

3 SEC. 8. REPLACEMENT OF FAMILY DETENTION WITH AL4 TERNATIVES. 

5 Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

6 (8 U.S.C. 1226) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON DETENTION OF FAMILIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Se11 curity is prohibited from— 

12 ‘‘(A) detaining a family unit under the au13 thority of this section; or 

14 ‘‘(B) separating a family unit whose mem15 bers were apprehended together in order to de16 tain a family member under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

19 Homeland Security shall establish community20 based and community-supported case manage21 ment programs operated by nonprofit organiza22 tions for family units who are prohibited from 

23 being detained pursuant to paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN ALTER25 NATIVES.—The Secretary may not use an 


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1 ankle-worn or other GPS tracking device as an 

2 alternative to detention under this paragraph.’’. 

3 SEC. 9. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—A person aggrieved of any viola5 tion of this Act or an amendment made by this Act may 

6 bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the 

7 United States. 

8 (b) RELIEF.—For a prevailing plaintiff in a civil ac9 tion brought under subsection (a), the court— 

10 (1) shall award damages in the amount equal to 

11 the greater of— 

12 (A) the actual damages of the plaintiff; or 

13 (B) $1,000 for each violation of this Act or 

14 an amendment made by this Act; 

15 (2) may order injunctive relief; and 

16 (3) shall award reasonable attorney fees. 

Æ 


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