I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5166 

To amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit 

immigration enforcement actions at sensitive locations, to clarify the 

powers of immigration officers at sensitive locations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 8, 2023 

Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 

GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. BEYER, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, 

Mr. POCAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. CROCKETT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality 

Act to limit immigration enforcement actions at sensitive 

locations, to clarify the powers of immigration officers 

at sensitive locations, 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 ‘‘Protecting Sensitive 

5 Locations Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. POWERS OF IMMIGRATION OFFICERS AND EMPLOY2 EES AT SENSITIVE LOCATIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 287 of the Immigration 

4 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357) is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(i)(1) In order to ensure individuals’ access to sen7 sitive locations, this subsection shall apply to any enforce8 ment action by— 

9 ‘‘(A) officers or agents of the Department of 

10 Homeland Security, including officers and agents of 

11 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 

12 U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and 

13 ‘‘(B) any individual designated to perform im14 migration enforcement functions pursuant to sub15 section (g). 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) An enforcement action may not take place 

17 at, be focused on, or occur within, 1,000 feet of a sensitive 

18 location, except under exigent circumstances. 

19 ‘‘(B) If an immigration enforcement action is taking 

20 place under exigent circumstances, and the exigent cir21 cumstances permitting the enforcement action cease, the 

22 enforcement action shall be discontinued until such exi23 gent circumstances reemerge. 

24 ‘‘(C) If an individual referred to in subparagraph (A) 

25 or (B) of paragraph (1) is not certain as to whether exi26 gent circumstances exist, the individual shall cease the enVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5166.IH H5166

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1 forcement action immediately, consult with their super2 visor in real time as to the existence of exigent cir3 cumstances, and shall not continue the enforcement action 

4 until the individual’s supervisor affirmatively confirms the 

5 existence of exigent circumstances. 

6 ‘‘(3)(A) When proceeding with an enforcement action 

7 at or near a sensitive location, individuals referred to in 

8 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) shall make 

9 every effort— 

10 ‘‘(i) to conduct themselves as discreetly as pos11 sible, consistent with officer and public safety; 

12 ‘‘(ii) to limit the time spent at the sensitive lo13 cation; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) to limit the enforcement action to the per15 son or persons for whom prior approval was ob16 tained. 

17 ‘‘(B) If, in the course of an enforcement action that 

18 is not initiated at or focused on a sensitive location, indi19 viduals referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para20 graph (1) are led to or near a sensitive location, and no 

21 clear exigent circumstance with respect to the sensitive lo22 cation exists, such individuals shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) cease before taking any further enforce24 ment action; 

25 ‘‘(ii) conduct themselves in a discreet manner; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) maintain surveillance; and 

2 ‘‘(iv) in the event that uncertainty exists about 

3 the existence of exigent circumstances, immediately 

4 consult their supervisor in order to determine wheth5 er such enforcement action should be discontinued 

6 pursuant to paragraph (2)(C). 

7 ‘‘(C) This subsection shall not apply to the transpor8 tation of an individual apprehended at or near a land or 

9 sea border to a hospital or health care provider for the 

10 purpose of providing such individual medical care. 

11 ‘‘(D) This subsection shall not apply to a rare pre12 meditated arrest operation, undertaken with the prior 

13 written approval of an appropriate authorizing official, in14 volving the targeted arrest of a terrorist suspect, an indi15 vidual who poses a clear threat to national security, or 

16 an individual who poses an extraordinary danger to public 

17 safety. 

18 ‘‘(4) If an enforcement action is carried out in viola19 tion of this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(A) no information resulting from the enforce21 ment action may be entered into the record or re22 ceived into evidence in a removal proceeding result23 ing from the enforcement action; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the alien who is the subject of such re2 moval proceeding may file a motion for the imme3 diate termination of the removal proceeding. 

4 ‘‘(5)(A) Each official specified in subparagraph (B) 

5 shall ensure that the employees under the supervision of 

6 such official receive annual training in compliance with the 

7 requirements of this subsection, section 239, and section 

8 384 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re9 sponsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1367). 

10 ‘‘(B) The officials specified in this subparagraph are 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) The Chief Counsel of U.S. Immigration 

13 and Customs Enforcement. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The Field Office Directors of U.S. Immi15 gration and Customs Enforcement. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Each Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Im17 migration and Customs Enforcement. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Each Chief Patrol Agent of U.S. Customs 

19 and Border Protection. 

20 ‘‘(v) The Director of Field Operations of U.S. 

21 Customs and Border Protection. 

22 ‘‘(vi) The Director of Air and Marine Oper23 ations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

24 ‘‘(vii) The Internal Affairs Special Agent in 

25 Charge of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 


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1 ‘‘(6)(A) Not later than 30 days after any enforcement 

2 action is taken at a sensitive location by any individual 

3 referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), 

4 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a report 

5 to both the Office of the Inspector General of the Depart6 ment of Homeland Security and the Office for Civil Rights 

7 and Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Secu8 rity for each of these individual enforcement actions, 

9 which shall contain the following information: 

10 ‘‘(i) The date, State, and local political subdivi11 sion (such as city, town, or county) in which each 

12 enforcement action occurred. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The specific sensitive location site where 

14 the enforcement action occurred. 

15 ‘‘(iii) The type of enforcement action that oc16 curred. 

17 ‘‘(iv) The specific department, agency, and offi18 cers responsible for the enforcement action. 

19 ‘‘(v) A thorough description of the cir20 cumstances which purportedly justified the enforce21 ment action, including either— 

22 ‘‘(I) a clear description of the exigent cir23 cumstances involved; or 

24 ‘‘(II) a certified copy of the written ap25 proval for the immigration arrest that was 


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1 signed by an appropriate authorizing officer, 

2 along with a clear description of the specific 

3 and rare threat which justified the premediated 

4 arrest at this sensitive location. 

5 ‘‘(vi) A description of the intended target of the 

6 enforcement action. 

7 ‘‘(vii) The number of individuals, if any, ar8 rested or taken into custody through the enforce9 ment action. 

10 ‘‘(viii) The number of collateral arrests, if any, 

11 from the enforcement action and the reasons for 

12 each such arrest. 

13 ‘‘(ix) A certification of whether a supervisor 

14 was contacted prior to, during, or after each such 

15 enforcement action. 

16 ‘‘(B) An appropriate committee of Congress shall, at 

17 any time, be able to request and successfully receive a con18 fidential or redacted copy of one of the individual reports 

19 described in subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(7)(A) The Director of U.S. Immigration and Cus21 toms Enforcement and the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

22 and Border Protection shall each submit to the appro23 priate committees of Congress each year a report on the 

24 enforcement actions undertaken by U.S. Immigration and 

25 Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border ProVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5166.IH H5166

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1 tection, respectively, during the preceding year that were 

2 covered by this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(B) Each report on an agency for a year under this 

4 paragraph shall set forth the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) The number of enforcement actions at or 

6 focused on a sensitive location. 

7 ‘‘(ii) The number of enforcement actions where 

8 officers or agents were subsequently led to or near 

9 a sensitive location. 

10 ‘‘(iii) The date, site, State, and local political 

11 subdivision (such as city, town, or county) in which 

12 each enforcement action covered by clause (i) or (ii) 

13 occurred. 

14 ‘‘(iv) The component of the agency responsible 

15 for each such enforcement action. 

16 ‘‘(v) A description of the intended target of 

17 each such enforcement action. 

18 ‘‘(vi) The number of individuals, if any, ar19 rested or taken into custody through each such en20 forcement action. 

21 ‘‘(vii) The number of collateral arrests, if any, 

22 from each such enforcement action and the reasons 

23 for each such arrest. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) A certification of whether the location 

2 administrator was contacted prior to, during, or 

3 after each such enforcement action. 

4 ‘‘(8) In this subsection: 

5 ‘‘(A) The term ‘appropriate authorizing official’ 

6 means the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) In the case of officers and agents of 

8 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

9 one of the following officials: 

10 ‘‘(I) The Assistant Director of Oper11 ations, Homeland Security Investigations. 

12 ‘‘(II) The Executive Associate Direc13 tor of Homeland Security Investigations. 

14 ‘‘(III) The Assistant Director for 

15 Field Operations, Enforcement, and Re16 moval Operations. 

17 ‘‘(IV) The Executive Associate Direc18 tor for Field Operations, Enforcement, and 

19 Removal Operations. 

20 ‘‘(V) Any other individual who is de21 termined to be an appropriate authorizing 

22 official by the Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) In the case of officers and agents of 

2 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, one of 

3 the following officials: 

4 ‘‘(I) A Chief Patrol Agent. 

5 ‘‘(II) The Director of Field Oper6 ations. 

7 ‘‘(III) The Director of Air and Marine 

8 Operations. 

9 ‘‘(IV) The Internal Affairs Special 

10 Agent in Charge. 

11 ‘‘(V) Any other individual who is de12 termined to be an appropriate authorizing 

13 official by the Secretary of Homeland Se14 curity. 

15 ‘‘(iii) In the case of all other individuals re16 ferred to in subparagraph (A) or (B) of para17 graph (1), an official determined under rules 

18 promulgated by the Secretary of Homeland Se19 curity not later than 90 days after the date of 

20 the enactment of this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) The term ‘appropriate committees of Con22 gress’ means— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Committee on Homeland Security 

24 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

2 Senate; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the Committee on Appropriations of 

4 the Senate; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the Committee on Homeland Security 

6 of the House of Representatives; 

7 ‘‘(v) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

8 House of Representatives; and 

9 ‘‘(vi) the Committee on Appropriations of 

10 the House of Representatives. 

11 ‘‘(C) The term ‘early childhood education pro12 gram’ has the meaning given the term in section 103 

13 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

14 1003). 

15 ‘‘(D) The term ‘enforcement action’ means an 

16 arrest, interview, search, or surveillance for the pur17 poses of immigration enforcement, and includes an 

18 enforcement action at, or focused on, a sensitive lo19 cation that is part of a joint case led by another law 

20 enforcement agency. 

21 ‘‘(E) The term ‘exigent circumstances’ means a 

22 situation involving any of the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) The imminent risk of death, violence, 

24 or physical harm to any person, including a sit25 uation implicating terrorism or the national seVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5166.IH H5166

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1 curity of the United States in some other man2 ner. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The immediate arrest or hot pursuit 

4 of an individual presenting an imminent danger 

5 to public safety, including the imminent risk of 

6 death, violence, or physical harm to a person. 

7 ‘‘(iii) A rare premeditated arrest operation 

8 described in paragraph (3)(D), undertaken with 

9 the prior written approval of an appropriate au10 thorizing official, involving the targeted arrest 

11 of a terrorist suspect, an individual who poses 

12 a clear threat to national security, or an indi13 vidual who poses an extraordinary danger to 

14 public safety. 

15 ‘‘(iv) A direct threat to national security. 

16 ‘‘(v) The imminent risk of destruction of 

17 evidence that is material to an ongoing criminal 

18 case. 

19 ‘‘(F) The term ‘sensitive location’ includes all of 

20 the physical space located within 1,000 feet of the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(i) Any medical treatment or health care 

23 facility, including any hospital, doctor’s office, 

24 accredited health clinic, or emergent or urgent 

25 care facility, or community health center. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Public and private schools (including 

2 preschools, primary schools, secondary schools, 

3 and postsecondary schools (including colleges 

4 and universities)), sites of early childhood edu5 cation programs, other institutions of learning, 

6 such as vocational or trade schools, and other 

7 sites where individuals who are unemployed or 

8 underemployed may apply for or receive work9 force training. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Any scholastic or education-related 

11 activity or event, including field trips and inter12 scholastic events. 

13 ‘‘(iv) Any school bus or school bus stop 

14 during periods when school children are present 

15 on the bus or at the stop. 

16 ‘‘(v) Locations where emergency services 

17 providers provide shelter or food. 

18 ‘‘(vi) Locations of any organization that— 

19 ‘‘(I) assists children, pregnant women, 

20 victims of crime or abuse, or individuals 

21 with significant mental or physical disabil22 ities, including domestic violence shelters, 

23 rape crisis centers, supervised visitation 

24 centers, family justice centers, and victims 

25 services providers; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) provides disaster or emergency 

2 social services and assistance, or services 

3 for individuals experiencing homelessness, 

4 including food banks and shelters. 

5 ‘‘(vii) Churches, synagogues, mosques, and 

6 other places of worship, such as buildings 

7 rented for the purpose of religious services. 

8 ‘‘(viii) Sites of funerals, weddings, or other 

9 public religious ceremonies. 

10 ‘‘(ix) Sites during the occurrence of a pub11 lic demonstration, such as a march, rally, or pa12 rade. 

13 ‘‘(x) Any Federal, State, or local court14 house, including the office of an individual’s 

15 legal counsel or representative, and a probation 

16 office. 

17 ‘‘(xi) Congressional district offices. 

18 ‘‘(xii) Social Security offices. 

19 ‘‘(xiii) Public assistance offices, including 

20 locations where individuals may apply for or re21 ceive unemployment compensation or report vio22 lations of labor and employment laws. 

23 ‘‘(xiv) Indoor and outdoor premises of de24 partments of motor vehicles. 


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1 ‘‘(xv) A polling place, which includes any 

2 building or infrastructure where voting takes 

3 place during an election. 

4 ‘‘(xvi) A labor union hall or any other 

5 union-operated building or office where reg6 istered applicants are referred in rotation to 

7 jobs. 

8 ‘‘(xvii) Such other locations as the Sec9 retary of Homeland Security shall specify for 

10 purposes of this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(G) The term ‘supervisor’ means an official 

12 determined under rules promulgated by the Sec13 retary of Homeland Security not later than 90 days 

14 after the date of the enactment of this subsection.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

16 subsection (a) shall take effect 90 days after the date of 

17 the enactment of this Act. 

18 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home20 land Security shall promulgate regulations to carry out the 

21 amendment made by subsection (a). 

Æ 


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