II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1208 

To provide standards for facilities at which aliens in the custody of the 

Department of Homeland Security are detained, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2023 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mr. WELCH, and Ms. DUCKWORTH) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide standards for facilities at which aliens in the 

custody of the Department of Homeland Security are 

detained, 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 ‘‘Dignity for Detained 

5 Immigrants Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that detention, even for 

8 a short period of time, inflicts severe, irreparable harm 

9 on children and should be avoided. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON4 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con5 gress’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

7 Senate; 

8 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

9 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

10 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

11 House of Representatives; and 

12 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 of the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

15 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

16 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

18 SEC. 4. STANDARDS FOR DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SE19 CURITY DETENTION FACILITIES. 

20 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, by 

22 regulation, establish detention standards for each facility 

23 at which aliens in the custody of the Department are de24 tained. 

25 (b) MINIMUM PROTECTION.—The standards estab26 lished under subsection (a) shall provide, at a minimum, 


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1 the level of protection for detainees described in the Amer2 ican Bar Association’s Civil Immigration Detention Stand3 ards (adopted in August 2012, and as modified in August 

4 2014). 

5 (c) BIENNIAL UPDATES.—Not less frequently than 

6 biennially, the Secretary shall review and update such 

7 standards, as appropriate. 

8 SEC. 5. OVERSIGHT AND TRANSPARENCY. 

9 (a) PERIODIC INSPECTIONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—On a periodic basis, not less 

11 frequently than annually, the Inspector General of 

12 the Department (referred to in this section as the 

13 ‘‘Inspector General’’) shall conduct an unannounced, 

14 in-person inspection of each facility at which aliens 

15 in the custody of the Department are detained to en16 sure that each such facility is in compliance with the 

17 standards established under section 4. 

18 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 

19 conducting an inspection under paragraph (1), the 

20 Inspector General shall— 

21 (A) submit a report to the Secretary con22 taining the results of such inspection; and 

23 (B) make the report available to the public 

24 on the internet website of the Department. 

25 (3) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH STANDARDS.— 


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1 (A) INITIAL FAILURE.— 

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Inspector 

3 General determines that a facility has 

4 failed to comply with the standards estab5 lished under section 4 for the first time 

6 during any 2-year period, and such non7 compliance constitutes a deficiency that 

8 threatens the health, safety, or rights of 

9 detainees— 

10 (I) the Inspector General shall 

11 notify the Secretary of such deter12 mination; and 

13 (II) the Secretary shall— 

14 (aa) in the case of a facility 

15 not owned by the Department, 

16 impose a meaningful fine of not 

17 less than 10 percent of the value 

18 of the contract with the facility; 

19 and 

20 (bb) in the case of a facility 

21 owned by the Department— 

22 (AA) issue a written 

23 warning to the facility not 

24 later than 30 days after re25 ceiving such notification 


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1 from the Inspector General, 

2 which shall include remedial 

3 measures to be carried out 

4 not later than 60 days after 

5 the issuance of the warning; 

6 and 

7 (BB) not later than 60 

8 days after the issuance of a 

9 warning under subitem 

10 (AA), certify to the Inspec11 tor General that the reme12 dial measures have been car13 ried out. 

14 (ii) FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION.—Not 

15 later than 180 days after the date on 

16 which the Inspector General makes a noti17 fication under clause (i)(I), the Inspector 

18 General shall conduct an in-person inspec19 tion of the facility to determine whether 

20 the facility has achieved compliance with 

21 the standards established under section 4. 

22 (B) SUBSEQUENT FAILURES.—If the In23 spector General determines that a facility has 

24 failed to comply with the standards established 

25 under section 4 in 2 or more inspections under 


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1 paragraph (1) during any 2-year period, and 

2 such noncompliance constitutes a deficiency 

3 that threatens the health, safety, or rights of 

4 detainees— 

5 (i) the Inspector General shall notify 

6 the Secretary of such determination; and 

7 (ii) the Secretary shall— 

8 (I) in the case of a facility not 

9 owned by the Department— 

10 (aa) not later than 30 days 

11 after receiving such notification, 

12 transfer each detainee to a facil13 ity that does so comply; and 

14 (bb) terminate the contract 

15 with the owner or operator of the 

16 facility; and 

17 (II) in the case of a facility 

18 owned by the Department— 

19 (aa) not later than 60 days 

20 after receiving such notification, 

21 transfer each detainee to a facil22 ity that does so comply; and 

23 (bb) suspend the use of such 

24 facility until such time as the In25 spector General— 


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1 (AA) certifies to the 

2 Secretary that the facility is 

3 in compliance with such 

4 standards; and 

5 (BB) makes available 

6 to the public on the internet 

7 website of the Department 

8 information relating to the 

9 remedial measures taken. 

10 (b) DEATHS IN CUSTODY.— 

11 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 24 hours 

12 after the death of an alien in the custody of the De13 partment, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate 

14 committees of Congress of such death. 

15 (2) INVESTIGATIONS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

17 after the death of an alien in the custody of the 

18 Department, the Secretary shall conduct an in19 vestigation into such death, which shall include 

20 a root cause analysis that identifies any 

21 changes to policies, practices, training curricula, 

22 staffing, or potential systemwide errors that 

23 may reduce the probability of such an event in 

24 the future. 


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1 (B) ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS.—Each root 

2 cause analysis required by subparagraph (A) 

3 shall be carried out— 

4 (i) by appropriately qualified per5 sonnel, including 1 or more medical profes6 sionals qualified in a field relevant to the 

7 cause of death; and 

8 (ii) in accordance with professional 

9 medical standards for investigating sentinel 

10 events in medical care facilities, including 

11 the Sentinel Event Policy promulgated by 

12 The Joint Commission. 

13 (C) PUBLIC REPORT.—Not later than 60 

14 days after such a death, the Secretary shall— 

15 (i) issue a full report describing the 

16 results of the investigation required by 

17 subparagraph (A); and 

18 (ii) make the report available to the 

19 public on the internet website of the De20 partment. 

21 (D) REVIEW BY INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

22 Not later than 90 days after the death of an 

23 alien in the custody of the Department, the In24 spector General shall conduct a review of the 


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1 report issued under subparagraph (C) with re2 spect to such death. 

3 (3) DEFINITION OF DEATH OF AN ALIEN IN

4 THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT.—The term 

5 ‘‘death of an alien in the custody of the Depart6 ment’’ means the death of an alien occurring while 

7 the alien is under the supervision of the Depart8 ment, regardless of— 

9 (A) the location of the death; or 

10 (B) whether the death may have resulted 

11 from a health problem that existed before or 

12 during, or was exacerbated by, the detention of 

13 the alien. 

14 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than an16 nually, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

17 committees of Congress a report on the inspections 

18 and oversight of facilities at which aliens in the cus19 tody of the Department are detained. 

20 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by para21 graph (1) shall include, for the preceding year— 

22 (A) a list of detention facilities found by 

23 the Inspector General to be in noncompliance 

24 with the standards established under section 4; 


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1 (B) for each such facility, a description of 

2 the remedial actions taken, or planned to be 

3 taken, by the Secretary so as to achieve compli4 ance with such standards; and 

5 (C) a determination as to whether such re6 medial actions have succeeded in bringing the 

7 facility into compliance with such standards. 

8 (d) CLASSIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS FOR PURPOSES

9 OF FOIA.—The reports required by subsections (a)(2) 

10 and (b)(2)(C) and any contract between the Department 

11 and a private or public entity that provides for the use 

12 of a facility not owned by the Department to detain aliens 

13 in the custody of the Department are considered records 

14 for purposes of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

15 and do not qualify for the exception under subsection 

16 (b)(4) of such section. 

17 (e) FACILITIES MATRIX.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the first day of each 

19 month, the Secretary shall ensure that a publicly ac20 cessible internet website of the Department contains 

21 the information described in paragraph (2) for each 

22 facility at which aliens in the custody of the Depart23 ment are detained. 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—The information referred to in 

2 paragraph (1) is, for each such facility, the fol3 lowing: 

4 (A) The name and location of the facility. 

5 (B) Whether the facility houses adults, 

6 children, or both. 

7 (C) The number of beds available in the 

8 facility on the last day of the preceding month, 

9 disaggregated by gender. 

10 (D) The total number of aliens detained in 

11 the facility on the last day of the preceding 

12 month, disaggregated by gender and classifica13 tion as a child or as an adult. 

14 (E) Whether the facility is used to detain 

15 aliens for longer than 72 hours. 

16 (F) Whether the facility is used to detain 

17 aliens for longer than 7 days. 

18 (G) The average number of aliens detained 

19 in the facility during the current year and dur20 ing the preceding month, disaggregated by gen21 der and classification as a child or as an adult. 

22 (H) Whether the facility is in compliance 

23 with the standards established under section 4. 

24 (I) In the case of a facility not owned by 

25 the Department, a description of the nature of 


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1 the contract providing for the detention of 

2 aliens at the facility. 

3 (J) The average, median, 25th quartile, 

4 and 50th quartile number of days that an alien 

5 has been detained at the facility during the pre6 ceding month. 

7 (f) ONLINE DETAINEE LOCATOR SYSTEM.—The Sec8 retary shall ensure that the online detainee locator system 

9 maintained by the Department, or any successor system, 

10 is updated not later than 12 hours after an alien is— 

11 (1) taken into, or released from, custody by the 

12 Department; 

13 (2) transferred to, or detained in, a detention 

14 facility; or 

15 (3) removed from the United States. 

16 (g) INFORMATION COLLECTED AND MAINTAINED

17 REGARDING ALIENS IN DHS CUSTODY.—The Secretary 

18 shall collect and maintain, for each alien in the custody 

19 of the Department, the following information: 

20 (1) The gender and age of the alien. 

21 (2) The date on which the alien was taken into 

22 such custody. 

23 (3) The country of nationality of the alien. 

24 (4) Whether the alien is considered a vulnerable 

25 person (as such term is defined in section 236(c)(5) 


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1 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended 

2 by section 9) or a primary caregiver. 

3 (5) The provision of law pursuant to which the 

4 Secretary is authorized to detain the alien. 

5 (6) The name of the facility in which the alien 

6 is detained. 

7 (7) With respect to any transfer of the alien to 

8 another detention facility— 

9 (A) a description of the transfer of the 

10 alien to the other detention facility; 

11 (B) the reason for the transfer; and 

12 (C) in the case of a transfer effectuated 

13 despite presence of the alien’s legal counsel or 

14 immediate relative in the jurisdiction of the 

15 original detention facility, a justification for 

16 such transfer. 

17 (8) The status and basis of any removal pro18 ceedings of which the alien is the subject. 

19 (9) The initial custody determination made by 

20 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in21 cluding any review of such determination. 

22 (10) The date of the alien’s release or removal, 

23 and the reason for such release or removal, as appli24 cable. 


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1 (11) Whether the alien is subject to a final 

2 order of removal. 

3 (12) Whether the alien was apprehended as 

4 part of a family unit. 

5 (13) Whether the alien was separated from a 

6 family unit at the border or in the interior of the 

7 United States. 

8 SEC. 6. CIVIL ACTIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—An individual detained in a facil10 ity required to comply with the standards established 

11 under section 4 who is injured as a result of a violation 

12 of such standards may file a claim in the appropriate dis13 trict court of the United States. 

14 (b) RECOVERY.—In a civil action under this sub15 section, the court may order injunctive relief and compen16 satory damages, and may award the prevailing party rea17 sonable attorney fees, and costs. 

18 SEC. 7. DETENTION FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND MAIN19 TENANCE. 

20 (a) RESTRICTION ON CONSTRUCTION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days be22 fore initiating, or entering into a contract for, the 

23 construction of a new facility or the expansion of an 

24 existing facility for the detention of aliens in the 

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1 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a no2 tification of the plan to construct or expand such fa3 cility, including— 

4 (A) the location, size, and capacity of such 

5 facility; 

6 (B) the anticipated timeline and cost of 

7 constructing or expanding such facility; and 

8 (C) the intended population to be detained 

9 at such facility, including the gender and age 

10 category of such population. 

11 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

12 shall make the information described in paragraph 

13 (1) available to the public on the internet website of 

14 the Department. 

15 (b) PHASE-OUT OF PRIVATE DETENTION FACILITIES

16 AND USE OF JAILS.— 

17 (1) SECURE DETENTION FACILITIES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

19 (i) may not enter into or extend any 

20 contract or agreement with any public or 

21 private for-profit entity that owns or oper22 ates a detention facility for use of such fa23 cility to detain aliens in the custody of the 

24 Department; and 


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1 (ii) shall terminate any contract or 

2 agreement described in clause (i) not later 

3 than the date that is 3 years after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act. 

5 (B) OWNERSHIP REQUIREMENT.—Begin6 ning on the date that is 3 years after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, any facility at 

8 which aliens in the custody of the Department 

9 are detained shall be owned and operated by 

10 the Department. 

11 (2) ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION PRO12 GRAMS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

14 (i) may not enter into or extend any 

15 contract or agreement with any public or 

16 private for-profit entity for the operation 

17 of a program or the use of a facility for 

18 nonresidential detention-related activities 

19 for aliens who are subject to monitoring by 

20 the Department; and 

21 (ii) shall terminate any contract or 

22 agreement described in clause (i) not later 

23 than the date that is 3 years after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (B) OWNERSHIP AND OPERATION RE2 QUIREMENT.—Beginning on the date that is 3 

3 years after the date of the enactment of this 

4 Act, any program or facility used for the activi5 ties described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall be 

6 owned and operated by a nonprofit organization 

7 or the Department. 

8 (3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 

9 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary shall develop, and make publicly avail11 able, a plan and timeline for the implementation of 

12 this subsection. 

13 SEC. 8. APPEARANCE OF DETAINED ALIENS FOR OTHER 

14 LEGAL MATTERS. 

15 The Secretary shall establish rules to ensure that any 

16 alien detained in the custody of the Department who is 

17 required to appear in Federal or State court (including 

18 family court) for another matter is transported by an offi19 cer or employee of the Department to such court pro20 ceeding. 

21 SEC. 9. PROCEDURES FOR DETAINING ALIENS. 

22 (a) PROBABLE CAUSE AND CUSTODY DETERMINA23 TION HEARINGS.—Section 236 of the Immigration and 

24 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226) is amended to read as 

25 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 236. APPREHENSION AND DETENTION OF ALIENS. 

2 ‘‘(a) ARREST, DETENTION, AND RELEASE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On a warrant issued by an 

4 immigration judge, or pursuant to section 287(a)(2), 

5 the Secretary of Homeland Security may arrest an 

6 alien, and in accordance with this section, detain the 

7 alien or release the alien on bond, subject to condi8 tions or recognizance, pending a decision on whether 

9 the alien is to be removed from the United States. 

10 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN

11 CHILDREN.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—This section shall not 

13 apply to unaccompanied alien children (as de14 fined in section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Se15 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2))). 

16 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER OF CUSTODY.—Any unac17 companied alien child in the custody of the Sec18 retary of Homeland Security shall be trans19 ferred to the custody of the Secretary of Health 

20 and Human Services pursuant to section 

21 235(b)(3) of the William Wilberforce Traf22 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 

23 of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(b)(3)). 

24 ‘‘(b) BOND DETERMINATION.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An immigration judge who 

26 releases an alien on bond under this section shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) consider, for purposes of setting the 

2 amount of the bond, the alien’s financial posi3 tion and ability to pay the bond without impos4 ing financial hardship on the alien; and 

5 ‘‘(B) set bond at an amount no greater 

6 than necessary to ensure the alien’s appearance 

7 for removal proceedings. 

8 ‘‘(2) INABILITY TO PAY BOND.—The Secretary 

9 of Homeland Security may not continue to detain an 

10 alien solely based on the alien’s inability to pay 

11 bond. 

12 ‘‘(c) CUSTODY DETERMINATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) INITIAL DETERMINATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48 

15 hours after taking an alien into custody pursu16 ant to this section or section 235, or with re17 spect to an alien subject to a reinstated order 

18 of removal pursuant to section 241(a)(5) who 

19 has been found to have a credible or reasonable 

20 fear of return, the Secretary of Homeland Secu21 rity shall make an initial custody determination 

22 with regard to the alien, and provide such de23 termination in writing to the alien. 

24 ‘‘(B) LEAST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS.— 

25 With respect to a custody determination under 


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1 subparagraph (A), if the Secretary determines 

2 that the release of an alien will not reasonably 

3 ensure the appearance of the alien as required 

4 or will endanger the safety of any other indi5 vidual or the community, the Secretary shall 

6 impose the least restrictive conditions, as de7 scribed in paragraph (4). 

8 ‘‘(2) TIMING.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An alien who seeks to 

10 challenge the initial custody determination 

11 under paragraph (1) shall be provided with the 

12 opportunity for a hearing before an immigra13 tion judge not later than 72 hours after the ini14 tial custody determination to determine whether 

15 the alien should be detained. 

16 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—On request 

17 by an alien, or the legal counsel of an alien, an 

18 immigration judge may grant a reasonable con19 tinuance of a hearing under subparagraph (A) 

20 to provide the alien or such legal counsel addi21 tional time to prepare for the hearing. 

22 ‘‘(3) PRESUMPTION OF RELEASE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In a hearing under 

24 this subsection, there shall be a presumption 

25 that the alien should be released. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REBUTTAL.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security has the duty of rebut4 ting this presumption, which may only be 

5 established based on clear and convincing 

6 evidence, including credible and individual7 ized information, that— 

8 ‘‘(I) the use of alternatives to de9 tention will not reasonably ensure the 

10 appearance of the alien at removal 

11 proceedings; or 

12 ‘‘(II) the alien is a threat to any 

13 other individual or the community. 

14 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATION.—The Attorney 

15 General— 

16 ‘‘(I) shall consider the totality of 

17 each case; and 

18 ‘‘(II) may not rely on an alien’s 

19 criminal conviction, arrest, pending 

20 criminal charge, or combination there21 of as the sole factor to justify the con22 tinued detention of the alien. 

23 ‘‘(4) LEAST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS RE24 QUIRED.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an immigration 

2 judge determines, pursuant to a hearing under 

3 this section, that the release of an alien will not 

4 reasonably ensure the appearance of the alien 

5 as required or will endanger the safety of any 

6 other individual or the community, the immi7 gration judge shall order the least restrictive 

8 conditions, or combination of conditions, that 

9 the judge determines will reasonably ensure the 

10 appearance of the alien as required and the 

11 safety of any other individual and the commu12 nity, which may include— 

13 ‘‘(i) release on recognizance; 

14 ‘‘(ii) secured or unsecured release on 

15 bond; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) participation in a program de17 scribed in subsection (f). 

18 ‘‘(B) MONTHLY REVIEW.—Not less fre19 quently than monthly, the immigration judge 

20 shall review any condition assigned to an alien 

21 pursuant to subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATION OF CONDITIONS OF

23 SUPERVISION.—An immigration judge may 

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1 posed on an alien by the Secretary of Homeland 

2 Security. 

3 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE FOR VULNERABLE PER4 SONS AND PRIMARY CAREGIVERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an alien 

6 subject to a custody determination under this 

7 subsection who is a vulnerable person or a pri8 mary caregiver, the alien may not be detained 

9 unless the Secretary of Homeland Security 

10 demonstrates, in addition to the requirements 

11 under paragraph (3), that it is unreasonable or 

12 not practicable to place the alien in a commu13 nity-based supervision program. 

14 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(i) MATERIAL WITNESS.—The term 

16 ‘material witness’ means an individual who 

17 presents a declaration to an attorney inves18 tigating, prosecuting, or defending a work19 place claim or from the presiding officer 

20 overseeing a workplace claim attesting 

21 that, to the best of the declarant’s knowl22 edge and belief, reasonable cause exists to 

23 believe that the testimony of the individual 

24 will be relevant to the outcome of the 

25 workplace claim. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) PRIMARY CAREGIVER.—The term 

2 ‘primary caregiver’ means an individual 

3 who is established to be a caregiver, par4 ent, or close relative caring for or traveling 

5 with a child. 

6 ‘‘(iii) VULNERABLE PERSON.—The 

7 term ‘vulnerable person’ means an indi8 vidual who— 

9 ‘‘(I) is under 21 years of age or 

10 over 60 years of age; 

11 ‘‘(II) is pregnant; 

12 ‘‘(III) identifies as lesbian, gay, 

13 bisexual, transgender, queer, or 

14 intersex; 

15 ‘‘(IV) is a victim or witness of a 

16 crime; 

17 ‘‘(V) has filed a nonfrivolous civil 

18 rights claim in Federal or State court; 

19 ‘‘(VI) has filed, or is a material 

20 witness to, a bonafide workplace 

21 claim; 

22 ‘‘(VII) has a serious mental or 

23 physical illness or disability; 

24 ‘‘(VIII) has been determined by 

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1 ducted under section 235(b)(1)(B) to 

2 have a credible fear of persecution or 

3 torture; 

4 ‘‘(IX) has limited English lan5 guage proficiency and is not provided 

6 access to appropriate and meaningful 

7 language services in a timely fashion; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(X) has been determined by an 

10 immigration judge or by the Secretary 

11 of Homeland Security to have experi12 enced or to be experiencing severe 

13 trauma or to be a survivor of torture 

14 or gender-based violence, based on in15 formation obtained during intake, 

16 from the alien’s attorney or legal serv17 ice provider, or through credible self18 reporting. 

19 ‘‘(iv) WORKPLACE CLAIM.—The term 

20 ‘workplace claim’ means any written or 

21 oral claim, charge, complaint, or grievance 

22 filed with, communicated to, or submitted 

23 to the employer, a Federal, State, or local 

24 agency or court, or an employee represent25 ative, related to the violation of applicable 


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1 Federal, State, and local labor laws, in2 cluding laws concerning wages and hours, 

3 labor relations, family and medical leave, 

4 occupational health and safety, civil rights, 

5 or nondiscrimination. 

6 ‘‘(6) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.—An 

7 alien detained under this section shall be provided 

8 with a de novo custody determination hearing under 

9 this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(A) not later than 30 days after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act; 

12 ‘‘(B) every 60 days; and 

13 ‘‘(C) upon showing of a change in cir14 cumstances or good cause for such a hearing. 

15 ‘‘(d) RELEASE UPON AN ORDER GRANTING RELIEF

16 FROM REMOVAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Security— 

17 ‘‘(1) shall immediately release an alien with re18 spect to whom an immigration judge has entered an 

19 order providing relief from removal (including an 

20 order granting asylum or withholding, deferral, or 

21 cancellation of removal) or an order terminating re22 moval proceedings, which order is pending appeal, 

23 upon entry of the order; and 

24 ‘‘(2) may impose only reasonable conditions on 

25 the alien’s release from custody. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON DETENTION OF CHILDREN.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Sec3 retary of Homeland Security may not detain in a facility 

4 operated or contracted by U.S. Immigration and Customs 

5 Enforcement any individual who is under the age of 18 

6 years. 

7 ‘‘(f) COMMUNITY-BASED CASE MANAGEMENT PRO8 GRAM.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security shall establish, outside of the purview of 

11 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a com12 munity-based case management program that— 

13 ‘‘(A) provides alternatives to detaining 

14 aliens; 

15 ‘‘(B) offers a continuum of community16 based support options and services, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) case management; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) access to— 

19 ‘‘(I) social services; 

20 ‘‘(II) medical and mental health 

21 services; 

22 ‘‘(III) housing; 

23 ‘‘(IV) transportation; and 

24 ‘‘(V) legal services; and 


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•S 1208 IS

1 ‘‘(C) provides services in the appropriate 

2 language. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON ELECTRONIC SURVEIL4 LANCE.—The program under paragraph (1) may not 

5 include, as an alternative to detention, the provision 

6 of ankle monitors or other forms of electronic sur7 veillance. 

8 ‘‘(3) CONTRACTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

10 enter into 1 or more contracts to operate the 

11 case management program described in para12 graph (1). 

13 ‘‘(B) PRIORITIZATION.—In entering into a 

14 contract under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

15 shall give priority to direct contracts with quali16 fied nongovernmental community-based organi17 zations that have experience providing services 

18 to immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking pop19 ulations. 

20 ‘‘(4) INDIVIDUALIZED DETERMINATION RE21 QUIRED.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In determining wheth23 er to order an alien to participate in a program 

24 under this subsection, the Secretary or the im25 migration judge, as appropriate, shall make an 


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•S 1208 IS

1 individualized determination to determine the 

2 appropriate level of supervision for the alien. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.—Participation in a pro4 gram under this subsection may not be ordered 

5 for an alien for whom it is determined that re6 lease on reasonable bond or recognizance will 

7 reasonably ensure the appearance of the alien 

8 as required and the safety of any other indi9 vidual and the community. 

10 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON FEES FOR ALTER11 NATIVES TO DETENTION.—An alien who is required 

12 to participate in a specific alternatives to detention 

13 program or service may not be charged a fee for 

14 such participation. 

15 ‘‘(6) CASE MANAGEMENT REVIEW AND FEASI16 BILITY STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of the Dignity for Detained 

18 Immigrants Act of 2023, the Secretary shall con19 duct— 

20 ‘‘(A) a review of best practices in federally 

21 funded case management programs and related 

22 services; and 

23 ‘‘(B) a study of the feasibility of transfer24 ring alternatives to detention case management 


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•S 1208 IS

1 programs out of the purview of the Department 

2 of Homeland Security.’’. 

3 (b) PROBABLE CAUSE HEARING.—Section 287(a) of 

4 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1357(a)(2)) is amended by striking the subsection des6 ignation and all that follows through ‘‘United States;’’ in 

7 paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any officer or employee of the 

9 Department of Homeland Security authorized under regu10 lations prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security 

11 shall have power without warrant— 

12 ‘‘(1) to interrogate any alien or person believed 

13 to be an alien as to the person’s right to be or to 

14 remain in the United States, provided that such in15 terrogation is not based on the person’s race, eth16 nicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, 

17 color, spoken language, or English language pro18 ficiency; and 

19 ‘‘(2) to arrest any alien who, in the presence or 

20 view of the officer or employee, is entering or at21 tempting to enter the United States in violation of 

22 any law or regulation made pursuant to law regu23 lating the admission, exclusion, expulsion, or re24 moval of aliens, or to arrest any alien in the United 

25 States, if— 


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•S 1208 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the officer or employee has probable 

2 cause to believe that— 

3 ‘‘(i) the alien is in the United States 

4 in violation of any such law or regulation; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) is likely to escape before a war7 rant can be obtained for the arrest of the 

8 alien; 

9 ‘‘(B) the officer or employee has reason to 

10 believe that the alien would knowingly and will11 fully fail to appear in immigration court in re12 sponse to a properly served notice to appear; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(C) not later than 48 hours after being 

15 taken into custody, the alien is provided with a 

16 hearing before an immigration judge to deter17 mine whether there was probable cause for such 

18 arrest, including probable cause to believe that 

19 the alien would have knowingly and willfully 

20 failed to appear as required under subpara21 graph (B) if the alien had not been arrested, 

22 which burden to establish probable cause shall 

23 be on the Department of Homeland Security;’’. 

24 (c) MANDATORY DETENTION REPEALED.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended— 

3 (A) in section 235(b) (8 U.S.C. 1225(b))— 

4 (i) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

5 (I) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘de6 tained’’ and inserting ‘‘referred’’; and 

7 (II) in clause (iii), by striking 

8 subclause (IV); and 

9 (ii) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking 

10 ‘‘detained’’ and inserting ‘‘referred’’; 

11 (B) by striking section 236A (8 U.S.C. 

12 1226); 

13 (C) in section 238(a)(2) (8 U.S.C. 

14 1228(a)(2)), by striking ‘‘pursuant to section 

15 236(c),’’; and 

16 (D) in section 506(a)(2) (8 U.S.C. 

17 1536(a)(2)— 

18 (i) by amending the heading to read 

19 as follows: ‘‘RELEASE HEARING FOR

20 ALIENS DETAINED’’; and 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (I) by amending the heading to 

23 read as follows: ‘‘IN GENERAL’’; 


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•S 1208 IS

1 (II) in the matter preceding 

2 clause (i), by striking ‘‘lawfully admit3 ted for permanent residence’’; 

4 (III) by striking clause (i); and 

5 (IV) by redesignating clauses (ii) 

6 and (iii) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec7 tively. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (A) The table of sections for the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

11 seq.) is amended by striking the item relating 

12 to section 236A. 

13 (B) Section 241(c)(3)(A)(ii) of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1231(c)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended— 

16 (C) in subclause (I), by striking the comma 

17 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

18 (D) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘, or’’ 

19 and inserting a period; and 

20 (E) by striking subclause (III). 

21 (d) ALIENS ORDERED REMOVED.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 241(a) of the Immi23 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(a)) is 

24 amended— 


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•S 1208 IS

1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘90 

2 days’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘60 

3 days’’; 

4 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(2) INITIAL CUSTODY REDETERMINATION

7 HEARING.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 72 

9 hours after the entry of a final administrative 

10 order of removal, the alien ordered removed 

11 shall be provided with a custody redetermina12 tion hearing before an immigration judge. 

13 ‘‘(B) PRESUMPTION OF DETENTION.—For 

14 purposes of the hearing under subparagraph 

15 (A), the alien shall be detained during the re16 moval period unless the alien demonstrates by 

17 the preponderance of the evidence that— 

18 ‘‘(i) the alien’s removal is not reason19 ably foreseeable; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the alien does not pose a risk to 

21 the safety of any other individual or the 

22 community.’’; 

23 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik25 ing ‘‘90-DAY’’ and inserting ‘‘60-DAY’’; and 


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•S 1208 IS

1 (ii) in the matter preceding subpara2 graph (A), by striking ‘‘the alien, pending 

3 removal, shall be subject to supervision 

4 under’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘except 

5 as provided in paragraph (6), any alien 

6 who has been detained during the removal 

7 period shall be released from custody, 

8 pending removal, subject to individualized 

9 supervision requirements in accordance 

10 with’’; 

11 (D) by amending paragraph (6) to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(6) SUBSEQUENT CUSTODY REDETERMINA14 TION HEARINGS.— 

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

16 Homeland Security may request a subsequent 

17 redetermination hearing before an immigration 

18 judge seeking continued detention for an alien 

19 ordered to be detained pursuant to paragraph 

20 (2) who has not been removed within the re21 moval period. 

22 ‘‘(B) STANDARD.—An alien may only be 

23 detained after the removal period upon a show24 ing by the Secretary of Homeland Security 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the alien’s removal is reasonably 

2 foreseeable; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the alien poses a risk to the safe4 ty of any other individual or the commu5 nity, which— 

6 ‘‘(I) may only be established 

7 based on credible and individualized 

8 information; and 

9 ‘‘(II) may not be established 

10 based solely on the fact that the alien 

11 has been charged with, or is suspected 

12 of, a crime. 

13 ‘‘(C) PERIOD OF DETENTION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alien may not 

15 be detained pursuant to an order under 

16 this paragraph for longer than a 60-day 

17 period. 

18 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT REDETERMINA19 TION HEARING.—The Secretary of Home20 land Security may seek subsequent redeter21 mination hearings under this paragraph in 

22 order to continue detaining an alien be23 yond each such 60-day period.’’; and 

24 (E) by striking paragraph (7). 


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•S 1208 IS

1 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND2 MENTS.—The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

3 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (A) in section 238 (8 U.S.C. 1228)— 

5 (i) in subsection (a)(1)— 

6 (I) by moving the paragraph 2 

7 ems to the right; 

8 (II) by amending the paragraph 

9 heading to read as follows: ‘‘IN GEN10 ERAL’’; and 

11 (III) in the first sentence— 

12 (aa) by striking ‘‘section 

13 241(a)(2)(A)(iii)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘section 237(a)(2)(A)(iii)’’; 

15 (bb) by striking ‘‘section 

16 241(a)(2)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘section 237(a)(2)(A)(ii)’’; and 

18 (cc) by striking ‘‘section 

19 241(a)(2)(A)(i)’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘237(a)(2)(A)(i)’’; 

21 (ii) in the second subsection (c)— 

22 (I) in paragraph (2)(B), by strik23 ing ‘‘section 241(a)(2)(A)’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘section 237(a)(2)(A)’’; and 


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1 (II) in paragraph (4), by striking 

2 ‘‘section 241(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec3 tion 237(a)’’; and 

4 (iii) by redesignating the second sub5 section (c) as subsection (d); 

6 (B) in section 276(b)(4) (8 U.S.C. 

7 1326(b)(4)), by striking ‘‘section 241(a)(4)(B)’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘section 237(a)(4)(B)’’; and 

9 (C) in section 501(1) (8 U.S.C. 1531(1)), 

10 by striking ‘‘section 241(a)(4)(B)’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘section 237(a)(4)(B)’’. 

12 SEC. 10. PROHIBITION ON SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—An individual in the custody of 

14 the Department may not be placed in solitary confine15 ment. 

16 (b) DEFINITION OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.—In 

17 this section, the term ‘‘solitary confinement’’ means— 

18 (1) in the case of an individual who is older 

19 than 21 years of age, the state of being confined to 

20 the individual’s cell, alone or with a cellmate, for 

21 more than 22 hours during a 24-hour period, with 

22 very limited out-of-cell time and severely restricted 

23 activity, movement, and social interaction whether 

24 pursuant to disciplinary, administrative, or classi25 fication action; and 


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1 (2) in the case of an individual who is 21 years 

2 of age or younger, involuntary confinement alone in 

3 a cell, room, or other area for a period greater than 

4 3 hours. 

Æ 


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