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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2119 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2119

       To establish an Immigration Enforcement Review Commission.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 1993

 Mr. Becerra (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Edwards of California, Mr. 
  Gutierrez, Mr. Pastor, Mr. Serrano, and Mr. Torres) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
       To establish an Immigration Enforcement Review Commission.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Immigration Enforcement Review 
Commission Act''.

SEC. 2. CREATION OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT REVIEW COMMISSION.

    There is established the Immigration Enforcement Review Commission 
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Review Commission''). The Review 
Commission shall be comprised of a Board of Commissioners, an 
Investigations Office, and a Community Outreach Office. In the 
execution of its duties, the Review Commission shall comply with the 
requirements established in this Act. The Immigration and 
Naturalization Service and the Customs Service (hereinafter referred to 
as ``the Services'') shall cooperate fully with the Review Commission 
and its employees in carrying out the duties of the Review Commission 
under this Act, and shall provide to the Commission such records as the 
Commission considers appropriate.

SEC. 3. DUTIES OF REVIEW COMMISSION.

    The Review Commission shall be responsible for investigating 
complaints of civil rights abuses against the Services, employees of 
the Services, their divisions, or any facilities where detainees are 
held in Service custody. Based upon its findings, the Review Commission 
shall make recommendations to the Services to discipline Service 
employees responsible for committing abuses. The Review Commission 
shall also make policy recommendations to the Services as appropriate.

SEC. 4. REVIEW COMMISSION.

    (a) Composition of the Board of Commissioners.--The Board of 
Commissioners (hereinafter referred to as the ``Board'') shall be 
composed of 7 members who shall be appointed by the President by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall 
designate one member to serve as Director of the Board of 
Commissioners. Not more than 4 members may be of the same political 
party. The members of the Board shall be full-time employees.
    (b) Appointments and Terms of Office.--
            (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the term of each 
        Commissioner shall be 6 years.
            (2) Of the members first appointed, 4 shall be appointed to 
        terms of 3 years. Not more than 2 members appointed under this 
        paragraph may be of the same political party.
            (3) A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before 
        the expiration of the term for which that member's predecessor 
        was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that 
        term.
            (4) No person shall serve as a member of the Board for more 
        than 2 terms.
    (c) Compensation.--Each member of the Board shall receive 
compensation at the annual rate of basic pay in effect for level V of 
the Executive Schedule.
    (d) Eligibility.--A member of the Board may not have been employed 
by the Services within the period beginning 5 years before appointment, 
or employed by any law enforcement agency within the period beginning 1 
year before appointment.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Investigations Office.--The Review Commission shall employ such 
investigative personnel as the Board considers advisable, in accordance 
with the civil service and classification laws. Investigators shall be 
charged with the responsibility of investigating all complaints brought 
to the Review Commission's attention.
    (b) Community Outreach Office.--The Board shall appoint a Director 
of Community Outreach. The Director of Community Outreach shall 
establish local community task forces to improve the working 
relationship between the Services and local community groups and 
organizations.
    (c) Review Commission Facilities.--The Review Commission shall 
establish a headquarters and 3 regional offices. The Review Commission 
may not maintain offices in a facility under the control or operation 
of the Services, or any facility in which either of the Services 
occupies space.
    (d) Personnel Limitation.--An employee of the Review Commission may 
not have been employed by the Services within the period beginning 5 
years before appointment or employed by any law enforcement agency 
within the period beginning 1 year before appointment.
    (e) Regulations.--The Review Commission is authorized to promulgate 
such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act 
including procedures for the filing, investigation, and resolution of 
complaints.

SEC. 6. OPERATIONS OF REVIEW COMMISSION.

    (a) Complaint Forms.--
            (1) Complaint forms shall be made available at all Service 
        facilities and shall be available upon request from the Review 
        Commission.
            (2) The complaint forms shall be written in languages 
        reflecting the languages of the immigrant population.
    (b) Filing of Complaints.--
            (1) Complaints may be filed in person, by mail, by 
        telephone, by facsimile, or by any other reasonable means. 
        Complaints may be filed by any person, including anonymously, 
        and may be filed on behalf of third parties. Complaints need 
        not be filed on the official complaint forms.
            (2) The Review Commission shall establish and operate a 
        multilingual, 24-hour, toll-free hotline to receive complaints.
            (3) Whenever possible, upon receipt of a complaint, the 
        Review Commission shall provide to the complainant information 
        which describes the review procedures of the Review Commission. 
        Such information shall be available in languages reflecting the 
        languages of the immigrant population.
    (c) Public Outreach.--
            (1) The Review Commission shall educate members of the 
        public about its functions and shall receive and actively seek 
        out suggestions from the public to improve the functioning of 
        the Review Commission.
            (2) The Review Commission shall develop outreach materials, 
        which shall include, a description of the Review Commission, 
        its duties, and complaint procedures. Such materials shall be 
        made available to the public in languages reflecting the 
        languages of the immigrant population.
            (3) The Review Commission shall oversee the display and 
        dissemination of outreach materials at all Service facilities.
    (d) Service Employees' Duty To Inform Commission.--
            (1) When a complaint of agent misconduct is brought to the 
        attention of any Service employee, the employee shall promptly 
        inform the complainant of proper procedures for filing a 
        complaint.
            (2) A Service employee who witnesses or otherwise obtains 
        actual knowledge of the use of force, that is unreasonable in 
        light of the facts and circumstances and involves another 
        Service employee, shall report such incident to the Review 
        Commission within 24 hours of the acquisition of knowledge of 
        such incident.
            (3) The Review Commission may promulgate regulations 
        requiring Service employees to report to the Commission other 
        violations of the Services' operating procedures.
    (e) Investigation of Complaints.--Each complaint shall be 
investigated by an investigator who shall complete and submit a written 
report to the Board of Commissioners within 60 days of the assignment, 
unless the Board authorizes an extension. The Services shall grant 
investigators access to information, documents, or other items relevant 
to the matter under investigation. The Board may issue subpoenas. 
Service employees shall cooperate fully with Review Commission 
investigations, subject to the protections afforded by the 
Constitution. Service employees shall be advised of their 
constitutional rights and the procedural rights afforded under this 
Act.
    (f) Disposition of Complaints.--
            (1) When the Board receives a written report on a complaint 
        from an investigator, the Board shall designate a panel of 3 of 
        its members (hereinafter referred to as the ``Panel'') to 
        review the report.
            (2) The Panel shall conduct hearings on the complaint if--
                    (A) the alleged abuse is of a serious nature, as 
                defined by the regulations prescribed under authority 
                of this Act; or
                    (B) the Panel, by majority vote, decides to hold a 
                hearing.
            (3) The Panel shall issue a written finding on the 
        complaint based on the report alone or on the report and a 
        hearing, if one is held.
            (4) The Panel shall forward its finding to both the 
        complainant and the Service employee. The complainant and the 
        Service employee shall have 30 days in which to review the 
        Panel's official finding. During the 30-day period, either the 
        complainant or the Service employee may take one of the 
        following actions:
                    (A) If no hearing was held, request that the Panel 
                conduct a hearing. A hearing shall be held if one 
                member of the Panel votes to hold a hearing.
                    (B) Regardless of whether a hearing was held, 
                request an en banc review of the Panel's decision. An 
                en banc review will be granted if a majority of the 
                Board votes to conduct such review.
            (5) If neither party makes a request pursuant to 
        subparagraphs (A) or (B) of paragraph (4), or if such a request 
        is denied, then the Board, promptly, shall report its finding 
        to the appropriate Service.
            (6) All findings made by the Board of Commissioners sitting 
        en banc shall be reported directly to the appropriate Service 
        with copies to the complainant and the Service employee.
    (g) Hearings.--
            (1) Both the complainant and the subject Service employee 
        shall have the right to be represented by counsel or other 
        representative at Board hearings, to present witnesses, and to 
        cross-examine witnesses.
            (2) Any finding of a violation on the part of a Service 
        employee by the Board must be established by a preponderance of 
        the evidence.
            (3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), hearings 
        shall be open to the public and transcripts of hearings shall 
        be available to the public.
            (B) For good cause the Board of Commissioners may close to 
        the public all or any part of a hearing and may seal all or any 
        part of the transcript of a hearing.
            (4) Unless mandated by unusual circumstances, a hearing 
        shall be conducted in one location within the United States 
        that is generally convenient to the complainant and any 
        potential witnesses.
    (h) Disciplinary Recommendations.--
            (1) When a finding of a violation may constitute a criminal 
        offense, the Board of Commissioners shall inform the 
        appropriate Federal or State authorities so that appropriate 
        prosecutorial action may be considered. Prosecutorial action 
        shall not relieve the Board of its duties under this Act.
            (2) When a complaint has been substantiated, the Board 
        shall recommend disciplinary action against the subject Service 
        employee. The Board's recommendations shall be based on a 
        schedule of sanctions determined by the Commission. If the 
        Services do not adopt the recommendations of the Board, they 
        shall provide a written explanation of the grounds for refusal 
        to do so within 30 days of the Board's recommendation. The 
        Commission's recommendations and the Service's explanation 
        shall be made public.
            (3) Nothing in this Act shall affect the Services' 
        authority to discipline their employees.
    (i) Early Warning Program.--The Review Commission shall conduct a 
periodic review of all complaints in order to determine whether 
particular Service employees have been the subject of repeated 
complaints or have otherwise demonstrated they may be having difficulty 
dealing appropriately with members of the public. The results of this 
review shall be presented to the Services. The Review Commission shall 
make recommendations to the Services with respect to so identified 
Service employees including, but not limited to, recommendations of 
training or counseling.
    (j) Records of Complaints and Statistical Summaries.--The Review 
Commission shall maintain records of complaints, including a summary of 
reports made pursuant to the Early Warning Program under subsection 
(i). The Review Commission shall compile and publish, at least 
annually, a statistical summary of all complaints received and the 
dispositions of such complaints.

SEC. 7. RETALIATION.

    (a) Retaliation Prohibited.--Retaliation is prohibited and shall 
constitute the basis for a complaint to the Commission.
    (b) Definition.--For the purposes of this Act, the term 
``retaliation'' means any action or threat of action against a person, 
including a Service employee, because such person filed a complaint, 
testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation 
or hearing related to the complaint procedures established by this Act.

SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON USE OF TESTIMONY.

    No testimony or other information gathered as part of a complaint, 
investigation, or hearing under this Act may be used in any proceeding 
under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

SEC. 9. FUNDING.

    Funds authorized to be appropriated for the Offices of Inspector 
General of the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury 
are authorized to be available to carry out this Act.

                                 <all>
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