II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2221 

To prohibit the expansion of immigration detention facilities, to improve 

the oversight of such facilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2019 

Ms. HARRIS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To prohibit the expansion of immigration detention facilities, 

to improve the oversight of such facilities, 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 TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Detention Oversight, 

5 Not Expansion Act’’ or the ‘‘DONE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Despite a significant decrease in border ap9 prehensions, the Federal immigrant detention sys10 tem expanded dramatically between 1994 and 2019, 


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1 with the average daily population of detained non2 citizens increasing from fewer than 7,000 during fis3 cal year 1994 to approximately 48,000 during fiscal 

4 year 2019. This population consists of increasing 

5 numbers of children and women, including pregnant 

6 women and asylum seekers. 

7 (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce8 ment (referred to in this section as ‘‘ICE’’) inspec9 tions of detention facilities are performed by field of10 fices, facility staff, or divisions within ICE head11 quarters and are not conducted by qualified inde12 pendent third parties. Since the inspectors are not 

13 independent, they often misrepresent conditions in14 side the facilities and rarely impose consequences for 

15 violations. For example, an outside review of 8 facili16 ties concluded that although ICE identified viola17 tions of medical standards as contributing factors to 

18 deaths in detention, routine ICE detention facility 

19 inspections before and even after the deaths failed to 

20 acknowledge (and even dismissed) those violations. 

21 (3) Multiple Federal oversight bodies, including 

22 the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of 

23 Inspector General, ICE’s Advisory Committee on 

24 Family Residential Centers, and the Government Ac25 countability Office, have documented poor conditions 


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1 and inhumane detainee treatment, including medical 

2 negligence, in immigration detention facilities. State 

3 oversight bodies, including the Office of the Attorney 

4 General of California, have also noted abuses at de5 tention centers within their borders. 

6 (4) Since 2003, more than 170 deaths have 

7 been reported in immigration detention facilities, a 

8 significant number of which resulted from egregious 

9 violations of ICE medical care standards, which were 

10 often overlooked during ICE inspections of facilities. 

11 Since the inauguration of President Trump, more 

12 than 24 people have died in ICE custody. 

13 (5) The Department of Homeland Security Of14 fice for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Of15 fice of Inspector General have received formal com16 plaints and numerous allegations of inadequate med17 ical care for pregnant women who are in custody in 

18 such facilities. 

19 (6) Responses by the Department of Homeland 

20 Security to Freedom of Information Act requests 

21 suggest that fewer than 3 percent of the claims of 

22 sexual and physical abuse of detainees in such facili23 ties have been investigated by the Office of Inspector 

24 General. 


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1 (7) Multiple Federal oversight bodies, including 

2 the Homeland Security Advisory Council, have docu3 mented limited oversight and management account4 ability of immigration detention facilities, including 

5 a lack of reasonable inspections and deficient con6 tracting practices. 

7 (8) Some immigration detention facilities have 

8 unreasonably restricted visitation and access by at9 torneys and community groups in violation of appli10 cable requirements, raising serious due process con11 cerns. 

12 (9) The Department of Homeland Security 

13 seeks to vastly expand the immigration detention 

14 system despite the availability of a wide array of 

15 community-based alternatives to detention that pro16 vide cheaper, more compassionate, rights-respecting 

17 responses to migration. 

18 (10) Although the Family Case Management 

19 Program operated at a fraction of the cost of deten20 tion and resulted in nearly a 100 percent compliance 

21 rate among participants, the Department of Home22 land Security terminated the program without pro23 viding any justification. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Appropriations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

7 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

9 Senate; 

10 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the House of Representatives; 

12 (E) the Committee on Homeland Security 

13 of the House of Representatives; and 

14 (F) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

15 House of Representatives. 

16 (2) EXPANSION.—The term ‘‘expansion’’— 

17 (A) means the acquisition of any new con18 tract, contract addendum, modification, or rider 

19 that would increase current immigration deten20 tion bed usage or activate existing unused im21 migration detention bed capacity for existing or 

22 new contracts at any immigration detention fa23 cility, including— 

24 (i) Bureau of Prison facilities; 

25 (ii) contract detention facilities; 


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1 (iii) intergovernmental service agree2 ments; 

3 (iv) service processing centers; 

4 (v) United States Marshals Service 

5 intergovernmental agreements on which 

6 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce7 ment is an authorized user; and 

8 (vi) juvenile or family detention facili9 ties; and 

10 (B) does not include improvements or ren11 ovations unrelated to the increase of current 

12 immigration bed usage or activation of unused 

13 immigration bed capacity. 

14 (3) IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITY.—The 

15 term ‘‘immigration detention facility’’ means any 

16 site at which U.S. Immigration and Customs En17 forcement holds noncitizens in custody for any pe18 riod. 

19 SEC. 4. MORATORIUM ON EXPANSION OF IMMIGRATION DE20 TENTION FACILITIES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity may not use any Federal funds for the construction 

23 or expansion of immigration detention facilities. 

24 (b) REPORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of HomeVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2221.IS S2221

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1 land Security shall submit a report to the appropriate con2 gressional committees that contains a detailed plan on— 

3 (1) how the number of immigration detention 

4 beds will be decreased to 50 percent of the number 

5 available during fiscal year 2018; and 

6 (2) how to implement community-based alter7 natives to detention, as a substitute for detention in 

8 a facility, which is developed in consultation with 

9 stakeholders, including nonprofit legal service pro10 viders, nonprofit shelter providers, and detention vis11 itation programs. 

12 (c) NOTIFICATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of Home14 land Security determines that more immigration de15 tention space will be needed, the Secretary, not later 

16 than 60 days before such anticipated need, shall 

17 submit a written justification of such need to the 

18 chair and ranking member of the appropriate con19 gressional committees. 

20 (2) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub21 section may be construed to authorize the use of 

22 Federal funds to expand immigration detention fa23 cilities without explicit statutory authorization after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (d) ENDING A CONTRACT.—If a facility is deemed 

2 less than adequate in the 2 most recent inspections, au3 dits, or investigations conducted by the Office of Inspector 

4 General of the Department of Homeland Security pursu5 ant to section 5(a)(1), the Department of Homeland Secu6 rity may not continue to contract with such facility. 

7 SEC. 5. INCREASED OVERSIGHT OF IMMIGRATION DETEN8 TION FACILITIES. 

9 (a) INSPECTIONS; AUDITS; INVESTIGATIONS.—In ad10 dition to exercising its responsibilities and duties under 

11 the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), the 

12 Office of the Inspector General of the Department of 

13 Homeland Security shall— 

14 (1) conduct— 

15 (A) unannounced periodic inspections of 

16 immigration detention facilities not less fre17 quently than annually; 

18 (B) audits of immigration detention facili19 ties to ensure compliance with the national 

20 standards established under the Violence 

21 Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 

22 (Public Law 113–4) and the Standards to Pre23 vent, Detect, and Respond to Sexual Abuse and 

24 Assault in Confinement Facilities (79 Fed. Reg. 

25 13099 et seq.), which were published by the DeVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:15 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2221.IS S2221

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1 partment of Homeland Security on March 7, 

2 2014; and 

3 (C) investigations focused on health, safe4 ty, and due process concerns at immigration de5 tention facilities, including— 

6 (i) deaths in custody; 

7 (ii) detainee access to medical and 

8 mental health care, including pregnant 

9 women and other vulnerable populations; 

10 (iii) sexual assault and harassment; 

11 and 

12 (iv) compliance with legal visitation 

13 and access requirements; 

14 (2) measure inspections, audits, and investiga15 tions conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) against 

16 the American Bar Association’s Civil Detention 

17 Standards, in addition to the U.S. Immigration and 

18 Customs Enforcement standards to which each facil19 ity is held; 

20 (3) deliver a conclusion on adequacy at the con21 clusion of each inspection, audit, and investigation 

22 conducted pursuant to paragraph (1); and 

23 (4) make publicly available the results of the in24 spections, audits, and investigations conducted pur25 suant to paragraph (1) without compromising the 


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1 confidentiality of individuals who submitted com2 plaints. 

3 (b) CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office for Civil Rights 

5 and Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland 

6 Security shall conduct investigations of civil rights 

7 and civil liberties complaints in immigration deten8 tion facilities in accordance with section 8I(f) of the 

9 Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

10 (2) INFORMATION REQUESTS.—Each compo11 nent agency of the Department of Homeland Secu12 rity shall comply with all document and information 

13 requests from the Office for Civil Rights and Civil 

14 Liberties to facilitate investigations under this sec15 tion. 

16 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (1) OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The In18 spector General of the Department of Homeland Se19 curity shall— 

20 (A) not later than 60 days after any in21 spection, audit, or investigation, submit a re22 port to the appropriate congressional commit23 tees that summarizes the results, in accordance 

24 with subsection (a); and 


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1 (B) release aggregate data on its website 

2 on a quarterly basis, without compromising con3 fidentiality, regarding— 

4 (i) complaints lodged about or from 

5 an immigration detention facility; 

6 (ii) actions taken in response to such 

7 complaints; and 

8 (iii) investigation outcomes. 

9 (2) OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIB10 ERTIES.—The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Lib11 erties of the Department of Homeland Security 

12 shall— 

13 (A) not later than 60 days after the con14 clusion of any investigation under subsection 

15 (b), submit a report to the appropriate congres16 sional committees that summarizes the results 

17 of the investigation; and 

18 (B) release aggregate data on its website 

19 on a quarterly basis, without compromising con20 fidentiality, regarding— 

21 (i) complaints lodged about or from 

22 an immigration detention facility; 

23 (ii) actions taken in response to such 

24 complaints; and 

25 (iii) investigation outcomes. 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi2 tion to amount otherwise authorized to be appropriated 

3 for such purposes, there is authorized to be appropriated 

4 to the Department of Homeland Security, for each of the 

5 fiscal years 2020 through 2028— 

6 (1) $45,000,000 to conduct and report on the 

7 inspections, audits, and investigations required 

8 under subsection (a); and 

9 (2) $10,000,000 to conduct and report on the 

10 investigations required under subsection (b). 

Æ 


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