I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2314 

To ensure the humane treatment of persons detained pursuant to the 

Immigration and Nationality Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2015 

Mr. SMITH of Washington (for himself, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. 

DELBENE, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. O’ROURKE, 

and Mr. MCDERMOTT) 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 ensure the humane treatment of persons detained 

pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

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 ‘‘Accountability in Im5 migration Detention Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MINIMUM DETENTION CENTER STANDARDS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) DETENTION FACILITY.—The term ‘‘deten2 tion facility’’ means a Federal, State, or local gov3 ernment facility, or a privately owned and operated 

4 facility, that is used, in whole or in part, to hold in5 dividuals under the authority of the Director of U.S. 

6 Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Com7 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

8 including facilities that hold such individuals under 

9 a contract or agreement with the Director or the 

10 Commissioner. 

11 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

13 (3) DETAINEES.—The term ‘‘detainee’’ means 

14 an individual who is subject to detention under the 

15 Immigration and Nationality Act. 

16 (b) DETENTION REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

17 shall ensure that all persons detained pursuant to the Im18 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) are 

19 treated humanely and shall ensure that all detention facili20 ties comply with the following minimum requirements: 

21 (1) FAIR AND HUMANE TREATMENT.—Detain22 ees shall not be subject to degrading or inhumane 

23 treatment, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse or 

24 harassment, psychological abuse, retaliatory actions, 

25 arbitrary punishment, or discrimination based on 


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1 nationality, sexual orientation, race, gender identity, 

2 or religion. 

3 (2) DETENTION FACILITY STANDARDS.—Deten4 tion facilities shall comply fully with the national 

5 standards for the detection, prevention, reduction, 

6 and punishment of prison rape pursuant to section 

7 8 of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (42 

8 U.S.C 15607). 

9 (3) LIMITATIONS ON SOLITARY CONFINE10 MENT.—Detainees shall not be subject to solitary 

11 confinement, shackling, or strip searches, except to 

12 the extent that such techniques are necessary to en13 sure the security of other detainees, staff, or the 

14 public and only if less coercive measures will not en15 sure the security of other detainees, staff, and the 

16 public. Decisions to place detainees in solitary con17 finement shall be reported to the Field Officer Di18 rector at a minimum for any placement lasting at 

19 least 3 days continuously or 3 days out of a 7 day 

20 period, and reviewed on a weekly basis thereafter. 

21 (4) INVESTIGATION OF GRIEVANCES.—Detain22 ees shall have the right to prompt, effective, and im23 partial investigations of grievances related to condi24 tions of detention or to a lack of due process in 

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1 ated against for filing a complaint or grievance or 

2 for organizing peaceful demonstrations, including 

3 hunger strikes. 

4 (5) ACCESS TO TELEPHONES.—Detainees shall 

5 have sufficient access to telephones, and the ability 

6 to contact, free of charge, legal representatives, for7 eign consulates, the immigration courts, the Board 

8 of Immigration Appeals, Family Courts, local crimi9 nal courts, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Federal 

10 courts. The rates charged for telephone calls shall be 

11 reasonable and shall not significantly impair detain12 ees’ access to telephones. 

13 (6) LOCATION OF FACILITIES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

15 subparagraph (B), all detention facilities whose 

16 date of first use by the Department of Home17 land Security occurs after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act shall be located and within 50 

19 miles of a community in which there is a dem20 onstrated capacity to provide free or low-cost 

21 legal representation by— 

22 (i) nonprofit legal aid organizations; 

23 or 

24 (ii) pro bono attorneys with expertise 

25 in asylum or immigration law. 


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1 (B) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of 

2 subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the case of 

3 a U.S. Customs and Border Protection station 

4 or a detention facility where a detainee will be 

5 present for less than 72 hours. 

6 (7) PROCEDURES GOVERNING TRANSFER OF

7 DETAINESS.—Procedures governing the transfer of a 

8 detainee shall take into account— 

9 (A) the detainee’s access to legal rep10 resentatives, including the importance of con11 tinuity with legal counsel already provided; 

12 (B) the proximity of the facility to the 

13 venue of the court proceeding; 

14 (C) the detainee’s proximity to scheduled 

15 bond hearings; and 

16 (D) the detainee’s proximity to family 

17 members. 

18 Prior to transfer, the Secretary shall give advance 

19 notice to the detainee, the attorney of the detainee, 

20 and the family of the detainee. 

21 (8) INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION CAPA22 BILITIES.—Detention facilities shall employ staff, in23 cluding medical personnel, who, to the extent prac24 ticable, are qualified in the languages represented in 

25 the population of detainees at a detention facility, 


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1 and alternative interpreter and translation services 

2 shall be made available. Detention facilities shall not 

3 rely on detainees to translate or interpret for one 

4 another. 

5 (9) RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVI6 TIES.—All detainees, including detainees in adminis7 trative or disciplinary segregation, shall be afforded 

8 daily access to indoor and outdoor recreational pro9 grams and activities. All detainees shall have access 

10 to religious services and reading materials necessary 

11 to their religious practice. 

12 (10) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.—Procedures 

13 and conditions of detention shall accommodate the 

14 unique needs of asylum seekers, victims of torture 

15 and trafficking, families with children, detainees 

16 with special religious, cultural, or spiritual consider17 ations, pregnant women, nursing mothers, individ18 uals older than 65 years of age, and other vulnerable 

19 populations, including individuals who are gay, les20 bian, bisexual, or transgendered. 

21 (11) QUALITY OF MEDICAL CARE.— 

22 (A) RIGHT TO MEDICAL CARE.—The Sec23 retary shall ensure that prompt and adequate 

24 emergency, primary, specialty, and hospital 

25 medical care is provided at no cost to detainees, 


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1 including dental care, eye care, mental health 

2 care, individual and group counseling, and serv3 ices with respect to medical dietary needs. 

4 (B) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 

5 ensure that procedures for providing medical 

6 care to detainees include comprehensive intake 

7 screening, effective continuity of care, prompt 

8 responses to requests for medical care or treat9 ment, and accurate and timely distribution of 

10 prescribed medication. 

11 (C) MEDICAL FACILITIES.—The Secretary 

12 shall ensure that medical facilities in all deten13 tion facilities maintain current accreditation by 

14 the National Commission on Correctional 

15 Health Care. 

16 (D) MEDICAL RECORDS.—The Secretary 

17 shall ensure that complete medical records are 

18 maintained for every detainee and that the 

19 records are made available upon request to the 

20 detainee, the detainee’s legal representative, or 

21 other authorized individuals. 

22 (12) VOLUNTARY WORK.—Detainees may have 

23 opportunities to work and earn money while in de24 tention, subject to the number of work opportunities 

25 available. Detainees shall be able to volunteer for 


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1 work assignments but otherwise shall not be re2 quired to work, subject to the following: 

3 (A) Available work opportunities shall be 

4 provided in order to reduce idleness and im5 prove morale, but shall not be provided for the 

6 economic benefit of the detention center. De7 tainees shall not be the main source of labor for 

8 the essential functions required to operate de9 tention facilities. 

10 (B) All work opportunities shall comply 

11 with Occupational Safety and Health Adminis12 tration protections. 

13 (C) The Rate of Pay for voluntary work 

14 shall be reviewed by the Secretary on an annual 

15 basis. 

16 (D) The Secretary shall provide and make 

17 publically available an annual report on the rate 

18 of pay, job descriptions, and full time equiva19 lents for employed detainees compared to full 

20 time staff in each detention facility to the Com21 mittee on the Judiciary of the House, the Com22 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate, Com23 mittee on Homeland Security of the House, and 

24 Committee on Homeland Security & Govern25 mental Affairs of the Senate. 


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1 (13) LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS.—The 

2 Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary, 

3 shall ensure that all detained aliens in immigration 

4 and asylum proceedings receive legal orientation 

5 through the Legal Orientation Program adminis6 tered and implemented by the Executive Office for 

7 Immigration Review of the Department of Justice. 

8 (14) LEGAL ACCESS.—All detainees shall have 

9 access to a properly equipped law library, legal ma10 terials and equipment to facilitate the preparation of 

11 documents. All detainees shall have meaningful ac12 cess to law libraries, legal materials, and equipment. 

13 Special consideration shall be give to detainees fac14 ing deadlines or time constraints. 

15 (15) FOOD QUALITY.—Detainees shall be pro16 vided food that is nutritionally adequate, and pro17 vided in conditions that do not endanger the health 

18 and well-being of detainees. 

19 (c) RULEMAKING.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre21 scribe regulations, using the procedures for nego22 tiated rulemakings under subchapter III of chapter 

23 5 of title 5, United States Code, to establish stand24 ards to ensure detainees held under the authority of 

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1 forcement or the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 

2 Border Protection are treated humanely and to en3 sure compliance with the minimum requirements set 

4 forth in subsection (b). 

5 (2) REPRESENTATION OF NEGOTIATED RULE6 MAKING COMMITTEE.—Any negotiated rulemaking 

7 committee established by the Secretary pursuant to 

8 paragraph (1) shall include representatives and ex9 perts from— 

10 (A) relevant agencies of the Department; 

11 (B) the Office of Refugee Resettlement at 

12 the Department of Health and Human Services; 

13 (C) representatives of State and local gov14 ernments; 

15 (D) the United States Commission on 

16 International Religious Freedom; 

17 (E) nongovernmental organizations with 

18 expertise working on behalf of aliens in deten19 tion facilities, including organizations that em20 phasize protections for vulnerable populations; 

21 (F) nongovernmental organizations with 

22 expertise advocating for asylum seekers; 

23 (G) labor organizations that represent em24 ployees who work at detention facilities; 


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1 (H) accrediting bodies for medical care in 

2 settings comparable to detention facilities, such 

3 as the National Commission on Correctional 

4 Health Care, or other experts in the field of 

5 providing quality medical care in such settings; 

6 and 

7 (I) a person appointed by— 

8 (i) the majority leader of the House of 

9 Representatives; 

10 (ii) the minority leader of the House 

11 of Representatives; 

12 (iii) the majority leader of the Senate; 

13 and 

14 (iv) the minority leader of the Senate. 

15 (3) TIME REQUIREMENT.—The procedures for 

16 the negotiated rulemaking referred to in paragraph 

17 (1) shall be conducted in a timely manner to ensure 

18 that— 

19 (A) any recommendations with respect to 

20 proposed regulations are provided to the Sec21 retary not later than 1 year after the date of 

22 enactment of this Act; and 

23 (B) a final rule is promulgated not later 

24 than 1 year and 6 months after the date of en25 actment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish na3 tionwide alternatives to detention programs that incor4 porate case management services in each field office of the 

5 Department to ensure appearances at immigration pro6 ceedings and public safety. 

7 (b) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

8 contract with nongovernmental community-based organi9 zations to conduct screening of detainees and operate com10 munity-based supervision programs. The Secretary shall 

11 regularly assess the demand for alternative to detention 

12 programs and make available sufficient alternative to de13 tention slots regardless of proximity to available detention 

14 beds. Alternative programs shall offer a continuum of su15 pervision mechanisms and options, including community 

16 support, depending on an assessment of each individual’s 

17 circumstances. The Secretary may contract with non18 governmental organizations to implement secure alter19 natives that maintain custody over the alien. 

20 (1) Information regarding the amount of slots 

21 available in each area shall be made public. 

22 (c) INDIVIDUALIZED DETERMINATIONS.—In deter23 mining whether to use alternatives to detention programs, 

24 the Secretary shall make an individualized determination, 

25 and for each individual placed in an alternatives to deten26 tion programs, shall review the level of supervision on a 


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1 monthly basis. Alternatives to detention programs shall 

2 not be used when release on bond or recognizance is deter3 mined to be a sufficient measure to ensure appearances 

4 at immigration proceedings and public safety. 

5 (d) CUSTODY.—The Secretary may use alternatives 

6 to detention programs to maintain custody over any alien 

7 detained under the Immigration and Nationality Act, ex8 cept for aliens detained under section 236A of such Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1226a). If an individual is not eligible for re10 lease from custody or detention, the Secretary shall con11 sider the alien for placement in alternative programs that 

12 maintain custody over the alien, including the use of elec13 tronic ankle devices. 

14 (e) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS (ACCESS TO ALTER15 NATIVES).—In determining whether to place a detainee in 

16 an alternatives to detention program, the Secretary shall 

17 consider whether the detainee is a member of a vulnerable 

18 population (as identified in section 2(b)(10)). Notwith19 standing section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act, a member of a vulnerable population whose needs 

21 cannot be adequately met by a detention facility may not 

22 be held in a detention facility except in the case of what 

23 the Secretary determines to be exceptional circumstances. 


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1 SEC. 4. DETENTION CAPACITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, the number of detention beds maintained shall 

4 be determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and 

5 shall be based solely on detention needs. 

6 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that appropriations Acts shall not mandate mainte8 nance of a minimum number of detention beds. 

9 SEC. 5. OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION FACILITIES. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) APPLICABLE STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘ap12 plicable standards’’ means the most recent version of 

13 detention standards and detention-related policies 

14 issued by the Secretary or the Director of U.S. Im15 migration and Customs Enforcement, or the Com16 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 

17 compliance with section 2. 

18 (2) DETENTION FACILITY.—The term ‘‘deten19 tion facility’’ means a Federal, State, or local gov20 ernment facility, or a privately owned and operated 

21 facility, that is used, in whole or in part, to hold in22 dividuals under the authority of the Director of U.S. 

23 Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Com24 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

25 including facilities that hold such individuals under 

26 a contract or agreement with the Director. 


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1 (b) OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (1) ANNUAL INSPECTION.—All detention facili3 ties shall be inspected by the Secretary on an annual 

4 basis and an independent (third party) auditor, on 

5 a biannual basis, for compliance with applicable de6 tention standards issued by the Secretary and other 

7 applicable regulations in compliance with section 2. 

8 (2) ROUTINE OVERSIGHT.—In addition to an9 nual inspections, the Secretary shall conduct routine 

10 oversight of detention facilities, including unan11 nounced inspections. 

12 (3) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—All detention 

13 facility contracts, memoranda of agreement, finan14 cial records, evaluations, audits, and reviews shall be 

15 considered records for purposes of section 552(f)(2) 

16 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 (4) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall seek 

18 input on an annual basis from nongovernmental or19 ganizations regarding their independent opinion of 

20 specific facilities. The Secretary shall provide a re21 port on the opinions gathered and the response of 

22 the Secretary to any concerns expressed in those 

23 consultations to the Committee on the Judiciary of 

24 the House of Representatives, the Committee on the 

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1 land Security of the House of Representatives, and 

2 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern3 mental Affairs of the Senate. 

4 (5) ACCESS.—Facilities shall permit representa5 tives of the news media and nongovernmental orga6 nizations to have access to nonclassified and non7 confidential information about their operation; given 

8 appropriate notice, to tour facilities; and with per9 mission from the detainees, to interview individual 

10 detainees. 

11 (c) COMPLIANCE MECHANISMS.— 

12 (1) AGREEMENTS.— 

13 (A) NEW AGREEMENTS.—Compliance with 

14 applicable standards and rules of the Secretary, 

15 and meaningful financial penalties for failure to 

16 comply, shall be a material term in any new 

17 contract, memorandum of agreement, or any re18 negotiation, modification, or renewal of an ex19 isting contract or agreement, including fee ne20 gotiations, executed with detention facilities. 

21 (B) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—Not later 

22 than 180 days after the promulgation of the 

23 rule, the Secretary shall secure a modification 

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1 tracts or agreements that will not be renegoti2 ated, renewed, or otherwise modified. 

3 (C) CANCELLATION OF AGREEMENTS.— 

4 Unless the Secretary provides a reasonable ex5 tension to a specific detention facility that is 

6 negotiating in good faith, contracts or agree7 ments with detention facilities that are not 

8 modified within 180 days of the promulgation 

9 of the rule, will be cancelled. 

10 (D) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—In 

11 making modifications under this paragraph, the 

12 Secretary shall require that detention facilities 

13 provide to the Secretary all contracts, memo14 randa of agreement, evaluations, and reviews 

15 regarding the facility not later than 180 days 

16 after any modification. The Secretary shall 

17 make these materials publicly available. 

18 (2) FINANCIAL PENALTIES.— 

19 (A) REQUIREMENT TO IMPOSE.—Subject 

20 to subsection (b), the Secretary shall impose 

21 meaningful financial penalties upon facilities 

22 that fail to comply with applicable detention 

23 standards issued by the Secretary and other ap24 plicable regulations. 


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1 (B) TIMING OF IMPOSITION.—Financial 

2 penalties imposed under subparagraph (A) shall 

3 be imposed 120 days after a facility fails to 

4 achieve an adequate or the equivalent median 

5 score in any performance evaluation. 

6 (C) WAIVER.—The requirements of sub7 paragraph (A) may be waived if the facility cor8 rects the noted deficiencies and receives an ade9 quate score in not more than 90 days. 

10 (D) MULTIPLE OFFENDERS.—In cases of 

11 persistent and substantial noncompliance, in12 cluding scoring less than adequate or the equiv13 alent median score in 2 consecutive inspections, 

14 the Secretary shall terminate contracts or 

15 agreements for the operation and use of such 

16 facilities within 60 days, or in the case of facili17 ties operated by the Secretary, such facilities 

18 shall be closed within 90 days. 

19 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

21 each year, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to 

22 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

23 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

24 Representatives a report on inspection and oversight 

25 activities of detention facilities. 


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1 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include— 

3 (A) a description of each detention facility 

4 found to be in noncompliance with applicable 

5 detention standards issued by the Department 

6 and other applicable regulations; 

7 (B) a description of the actions taken by 

8 the Department to remedy any findings of non9 compliance or other identified problems, includ10 ing financial penalties, contract or agreement 

11 termination, or facility closure; and 

12 (C) information regarding whether the ac13 tions described in subparagraph (B) resulted in 

14 compliance with applicable detention standards 

15 and regulations. 

Æ 


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