I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4620 

To ensure the humane treatment of persons detained pursuant to the 

Immigration and Nationality Act. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2014 

Mr. SMITH of Washington (for himself, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. 

FOSTER, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. POLIS, Mr. QUIGLEY, and Mr. 

VELA) 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 2014’’. 

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. No detainee shall be retaliated 


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1 against for filing a complaint or grievance or for or2 ganizing peaceful demonstrations. 

3 (5) ACCESS TO TELEPHONES.—Detainees shall 

4 have sufficient access to telephones, and the ability 

5 to contact, free of charge, legal representatives, for6 eign consulates, the immigration courts, the Board 

7 of Immigration Appeals, Family Courts, local crimi8 nal courts, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Federal 

9 courts. The rates charged for telephone calls shall be 

10 reasonable and shall not significantly impair detain11 ees’ access to telephones. 

12 (6) LOCATION OF FACILITIES.—All detention 

13 facilities whose date of first use by the Department 

14 of Homeland Security occurs after the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act shall be located and within 50 

16 miles of a community in which there is a dem17 onstrated capacity to provide free or low-cost legal 

18 representation by— 

19 (A) nonprofit legal aid organizations; or 

20 (B) pro bono attorneys with expertise in 

21 asylum or immigration law. 

22 (7) PROCEDURES GOVERNING TRANSFER OF

23 DETAINESS.—Procedures governing the transfer of a 

24 detainee shall take into account— 


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1 (A) the detainee’s access to legal rep2 resentatives; 

3 (B) the proximity of the facility to the 

4 venue of the asylum or removal proceeding; 

5 (C) the detainee’s proximity to scheduled 

6 bond hearings; and 

7 (D) the detainee’s proximity to family 

8 members. 

9 Prior to transfer, the Secretary shall give advance 

10 notice to the detainee, the attorney of the detainee, 

11 and the family of the detainee. 

12 (8) INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION CAPA13 BILITIES.—Detention facilities shall employ staff, in14 cluding medical personnel, who, to the extent prac15 ticable, are qualified in the languages represented in 

16 the population of detainees at a detention facility, 

17 and alternative interpreter and translation services 

18 shall be made available. Detention facilities shall not 

19 rely on detainees to translate or interpret for one 

20 another. 

21 (9) RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVI22 TIES.—All detainees, including detainees in adminis23 trative or disciplinary segregation, shall be afforded 

24 daily access to indoor and outdoor recreational pro25 grams and activities. All detainees shall have access 


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1 to religious services and reading materials necessary 

2 to their religious practice. 

3 (10) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.—Procedures 

4 and conditions of detention shall accommodate the 

5 unique needs of asylum seekers, victims of torture 

6 and trafficking, families with children, detainees 

7 with special religious, cultural, or spiritual consider8 ations, pregnant women, nursing mothers, individ9 uals older than 65 years of age, and other vulnerable 

10 populations. 

11 (11) QUALITY OF MEDICAL CARE.— 

12 (A) RIGHT TO MEDICAL CARE.—The Sec13 retary shall ensure that prompt and adequate 

14 emergency, primary, specialty, and hospital 

15 medical care is provided at no cost to detainees, 

16 including dental care, eye care, mental health 

17 care, individual and group counseling, and serv18 ices with respect to medical dietary needs. 

19 (B) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 

20 ensure that procedures for providing medical 

21 care to detainees include comprehensive intake 

22 screening, effective continuity of care, prompt 

23 responses to requests for medical care or treat24 ment, and accurate and timely distribution of 

25 prescribed medication. 


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1 (C) MEDICAL FACILITIES.—The Secretary 

2 shall ensure that medical facilities in all deten3 tion facilities maintain current accreditation by 

4 the National Commission on Correctional 

5 Health Care. 

6 (D) MEDICAL RECORDS.—The Secretary 

7 shall ensure that complete medical records are 

8 maintained for every detainee and that the 

9 records are made available upon request to the 

10 detainee, the detainee’s legal representative, or 

11 other authorized individuals. 

12 (12) VOLUNTARY WORK.—Detainees may have 

13 opportunities to work and earn money while in de14 tention, subject to the number of work opportunities 

15 available. Detainees shall be able to volunteer for 

16 work assignments but otherwise shall not be re17 quired to work, subject to the following: 

18 (A) Available work opportunities shall be 

19 provided in order to reduce idleness and im20 prove morale, but shall not be provided for the 

21 economic benefit of the detention center. De22 tainees shall not be the main source of labor for 

23 the essential functions required to operate de24 tention facilities. 


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1 (B) All work opportunities shall comply 

2 with Occupational Safety and Health Adminis3 tration protections. 

4 (C) The Rate of Pay for voluntary work 

5 shall be reviewed by the Secretary on an annual 

6 basis. 

7 (D) The Secretary shall provide and make 

8 publically available a report on the rate of pay, 

9 job descriptions, and full time equivalents for 

10 employed detainees compared to full time staff 

11 in each detention facility to the Committee on 

12 the Judiciary of the House, the Committee on 

13 the Judiciary of the Senate, Committee on 

14 Homeland Security of the House, and Com15 mittee on Homeland Security & Governmental 

16 Affairs of the Senate. 

17 (13) LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS.—The 

18 Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary, 

19 shall ensure that all detained aliens in immigration 

20 and asylum proceedings receive legal orientation 

21 through the Legal Orientation Program adminis22 tered and implemented by the Executive Office for 

23 Immigration Review of the Department of Justice. 

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

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1 terials and equipment to facilitate the preparation of 

2 documents. All detainees shall have meaningful ac3 cess to law libraries, legal materials, and equipment. 

4 Special consideration shall be given to detainees fac5 ing deadlines or time constraints. 

6 (c) RULEMAKING.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre8 scribe regulations, using the procedures for nego9 tiated rulemakings under subchapter III of chapter 

10 5 of title 5, United States Code, to establish stand11 ards to ensure detainees held under the authority of 

12 the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs En13 forcement or the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 

14 Border Protection are treated humanely and to en15 sure compliance with the minimum requirements set 

16 forth in subsection (b). 

17 (2) REPRESENTATION OF NEGOTIATED RULE18 MAKING COMMITTEE.—Any negotiated rulemaking 

19 committee established by the Secretary pursuant to 

20 paragraph (1) shall include representatives and ex21 perts from— 

22 (A) relevant agencies of the Department; 

23 (B) the Office of Refugee Resettlement at 

24 the Department of Health and Human Services; 


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1 (C) representatives of State and local gov2 ernments; 

3 (D) the United States Commission on 

4 International Religious Freedom; 

5 (E) nongovernmental organizations with 

6 expertise working on behalf of aliens in deten7 tion facilities, including organizations that em8 phasize protections for vulnerable populations; 

9 (F) nongovernmental organizations with 

10 expertise advocating for asylum seekers; 

11 (G) labor organizations that represent em12 ployees who work at detention facilities; 

13 (H) accrediting bodies for medical care in 

14 settings comparable to detention facilities, such 

15 as the National Commission on Correctional 

16 Health Care, or other experts in the field of 

17 providing quality medical care in such settings; 

18 and 

19 (I) a person appointed by— 

20 (i) the majority leader of the House of 

21 Representatives; 

22 (ii) the minority leader of the House 

23 of Representatives; 

24 (iii) the majority leader of the Senate; 

25 and 


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1 (iv) the minority leader of the Senate. 

2 (3) TIME REQUIREMENT.—The procedures for 

3 the negotiated rulemaking referred to in paragraph 

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

5 that— 

6 (A) any recommendations with respect to 

7 proposed regulations are provided to the Sec8 retary not later than 1 year after the date of 

9 enactment of this Act; and 

10 (B) a final rule is promulgated not later 

11 than 1 year and 6 months after the date of en12 actment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 3. ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish na15 tionwide alternatives to detention programs that incor16 porate case management services in each field office of the 

17 Department to ensure appearances at immigration pro18 ceedings and public safety. 

19 (b) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

20 contract with nongovernmental community-based organi21 zations to conduct screening of detainees and operate com22 munity-based supervision programs. The Secretary shall 

23 regularly assess the demand for alternative to detention 

24 programs and make available sufficient alternative to de25 tention slots regardless of proximity to available detention 


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1 beds. Alternative programs shall offer a continuum of su2 pervision mechanisms and options, including community 

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

4 circumstances. The Secretary may contract with non5 governmental organizations to implement secure alter6 natives that maintain custody over the alien. 

7 (1) Information regarding the amount of slots 

8 available in each area shall be made public. 

9 (c) INDIVIDUALIZED DETERMINATIONS.—In deter10 mining whether to use alternatives to detention programs, 

11 the Secretary shall make an individualized determination, 

12 and for each individual placed in an alternatives to deten13 tion program, shall review the level of supervision on a 

14 monthly basis. Alternatives to detention programs shall 

15 not be used when release on bond or recognizance is deter16 mined to be a sufficient measure to ensure appearances 

17 at immigration proceedings and public safety. 

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

19 to detention programs to maintain custody over any alien 

20 detained under the Immigration and Nationality Act, ex21 cept for aliens detained under section 236A of such Act 

22 (8 U.S.C. 1226a). If an individual is not eligible for re23 lease from custody or detention, the Secretary shall con24 sider the alien for placement in alternative programs that 


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1 maintain custody over the alien, including the use of elec2 tronic ankle devices. 

3 (e) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS (ACCESS TO ALTER4 NATIVES).—In determining whether to place a detainee in 

5 an alternatives to detention program, the Secretary shall 

6 consider whether the detainee is a member of a vulnerable 

7 population (as identified in section 2(b)(10)). Notwith8 standing section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality 

9 Act, a member of a vulnerable population whose needs 

10 cannot be adequately met by a detention facility may not 

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

12 the Secretary determines to be exceptional circumstances. 

13 SEC. 4. DETENTION CAPACITY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi15 sion of law, the number of detention beds maintained shall 

16 be determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and 

17 shall be based solely on detention needs. 

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that appropriations Acts shall not mandate mainte20 nance of a minimum number of detention beds. 

21 SEC. 5. OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION FACILITIES. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) APPLICABLE STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘ap24 plicable standards’’ means the most recent version of 

25 detention standards and detention-related policies 


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1 issued by the Secretary or the Director of U.S. Im2 migration and Customs Enforcement, or the Com3 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 

4 compliance with section 2. 

5 (2) DETENTION FACILITY.—The term ‘‘deten6 tion facility’’ means a Federal, State, or local gov7 ernment facility, or a privately owned and operated 

8 facility, that is used, in whole or in part, to hold in9 dividuals under the authority of the Director of U.S. 

10 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including 

11 facilities that hold such individuals under a contract 

12 or agreement with the Director. 

13 (b) OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) ANNUAL INSPECTION.—All detention facili15 ties shall be inspected by the Secretary on an annual 

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

17 a biannual basis, for compliance with applicable de18 tention standards issued by the Secretary and other 

19 applicable regulations in compliance with section 2. 

20 (2) ROUTINE OVERSIGHT.—In addition to an21 nual inspections, the Secretary shall conduct routine 

22 oversight of detention facilities, including unan23 nounced inspections. 

24 (3) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—All detention 

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1 cial records, evaluations, audits, and reviews shall be 

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

3 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (4) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall seek 

5 input on an annual basis from nongovernmental or6 ganizations regarding their independent opinion of 

7 specific facilities. The Secretary shall provide a re8 port on the opinions gathered and the response of 

9 the Secretary to any concerns expressed in those 

10 consultations to the Committee on the Judiciary of 

11 the House of Representatives, the Committee on the 

12 Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Home13 land Security of the House of Representatives, and 

14 the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern15 mental Affairs of the Senate. 

16 (5) ACCESS.—Facilities shall permit representa17 tives of the news media and nongovernmental orga18 nizations to have access to nonclassified and non19 confidential information about their operation; given 

20 appropriate notice, to tour facilities; and with per21 mission from the detainees, to interview individual 

22 detainees. 

23 (c) COMPLIANCE MECHANISMS.— 

24 (1) AGREEMENTS.— 


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1 (A) NEW AGREEMENTS.—Compliance with 

2 applicable standards and rules of the Secretary, 

3 and meaningful financial penalties for failure to 

4 comply, shall be a material term in any new 

5 contract, memorandum of agreement, or any re6 negotiation, modification, or renewal of an ex7 isting contract or agreement, including fee ne8 gotiations, executed with detention facilities. 

9 (B) EXISTING AGREEMENTS.—Not later 

10 than 180 days after the promulgation of the 

11 rule, the Secretary shall secure a modification 

12 incorporating these terms for any existing con13 tracts or agreements that will not be renegoti14 ated, renewed, or otherwise modified. 

15 (C) CANCELLATION OF AGREEMENTS.— 

16 Unless the Secretary provides a reasonable ex17 tension to a specific detention facility that is 

18 negotiating in good faith, contracts or agree19 ments with detention facilities that are not 

20 modified within 180 days of the promulgation 

21 of the rule, will be cancelled. 

22 (D) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—In 

23 making modifications under this paragraph, the 

24 Secretary shall require that detention facilities 

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1 randa of agreement, evaluations, and reviews 

2 regarding the facility not later than 180 days 

3 after any modification. The Secretary shall 

4 make these materials publicly available. 

5 (2) FINANCIAL PENALTIES.— 

6 (A) REQUIREMENT TO IMPOSE.—Subject 

7 to subsection (b), the Secretary shall impose 

8 meaningful financial penalties upon facilities 

9 that fail to comply with applicable detention 

10 standards issued by the Secretary and other ap11 plicable regulations. 

12 (B) TIMING OF IMPOSITION.—Financial 

13 penalties imposed under subparagraph (A) shall 

14 be imposed 120 days after a facility fails to 

15 achieve an adequate or the equivalent median 

16 score in any performance evaluation. 

17 (C) WAIVER.—The requirements of sub18 paragraph (A) may be waived if the facility cor19 rects the noted deficiencies and receives an ade20 quate score in not more than 90 days. 

21 (D) MULTIPLE OFFENDERS.—In cases of 

22 persistent and substantial noncompliance, in23 cluding scoring less than adequate or the equiv24 alent median score in 2 consecutive inspections, 

25 the Secretary shall terminate contracts or 


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1 agreements for the operation and use of such 

2 facilities within 60 days, or in the case of facili3 ties operated by the Secretary, such facilities 

4 shall be closed within 90 days. 

5 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

7 each year, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to 

8 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

9 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

10 Representatives a report on inspection and oversight 

11 activities of detention facilities. 

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 and other applicable regulations; 

18 (B) a description of the actions taken by 

19 the Department to remedy any findings of non20 compliance or other identified problems, includ21 ing financial penalties, contract or agreement 

22 termination, or facility closure; and 

23 (C) information regarding whether the ac24 tions described in subparagraph (B) resulted in 


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1 compliance with applicable detention standards 

2 and regulations. 

Æ 


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