I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6537 
To require the release of most aliens detained by U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement during a national emergency related to a commu-
nicable disease. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 17, 2020 
Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Mr. NADLER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. CA´RDENAS, 
Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. 
GARCIA of Texas, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 
JACKSON LEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. LEE of 
California, Mr. LEWIS, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MOORE, Ms. 
OMAR, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. 
RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require the release of most aliens detained by U.S. Immi-
gration and Customs Enforcement during a national 
emergency related to a communicable disease. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Immigrant Re-
lease for Safety and security Together Act’’ or the 
‘‘FIRST Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COVERED HEALTH CONDITION.—The term 
‘‘covered health condition’’, with respect to an indi-
vidual, means the individual— 
(A) is pregnant; 
(B) has chronic lung disease or asthma; 
(C) has congestive heart failure, coronary 
artery disease, or hypertension; 
(D) has diabetes; 
(E) has epilepsy; 
(F) has a neurological condition that weak-
ens the ability to cough; 
(G) has human immunodeficiency virus 
(HIV); 
(H) has chronic liver or kidney disease (in-
cluding hepatitis and dialysis patients); 
(I) has blood disorders (including sickle 
cell anemia); 
(J) has inherited metabolic disorders; 
(K) had a stroke; 
(L) has a developmental delay; 
(M) has cancer or has had cancer during 
the last 12 months; 
(N) has a weakened immune system; or 
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(O) has any other condition identified by 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
to increase the risk of serious illness from a 
communicable disease. 
(2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 
individual’’ means an individual who— 
(A) is 50 years of age or older; 
(B) is 21 years of age or younger; or 
(C) has a covered health condition. 
(3) ENFORCEMENT
ACTION.—The term ‘‘en-
forcement action’’ means an apprehension or arrest 
for the purpose of immigration enforcement. 
(4) NATIONAL
EMERGENCY
RELATED
TO
A 
COMMUNICABLE
DISEASE.—The 
term 
‘‘national 
emergency related to a communicable disease’’ 
means— 
(A) an emergency involving Federal pri-
mary responsibility determined to exist by the 
President under section 501(b) of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) with respect to a 
communicable disease; or 
(B) a national emergency declared by the 
President under the National Emergency Act 
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(50 U.S.C. 1610 et seq.) with respect to a com-
municable disease. 
(5) SENSITIVE LOCATION.—The term ‘‘sensitive 
location’’ means all physical space located within 
1,000 feet of— 
(A) a medical treatment or health care fa-
cility, including a hospital, an office of a health 
care practitioner, an accredited health clinic, an 
alcohol or drug treatment center, an emergent 
or urgent care facility, and a community health 
center; 
(B) a location at which emergency service 
providers distribute food or provide shelter; 
(C) an organization that provides— 
(i) disaster or emergency social serv-
ices and assistance; 
(ii) services for individuals experi-
encing homelessness, including food banks 
and shelters; or 
(iii) assistance for children, pregnant 
women, victims of crime or abuse, or indi-
viduals with significant mental or physical 
disabilities; 
(D) a public assistance office, including 
any Federal, State, or municipal location at 
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which individuals may apply for or receive un-
employment compensation or report violations 
of labor and employment laws; 
(E) a Federal, State, or local courthouse, 
including the office of the legal counsel or rep-
resentative of an individual; 
(F) a domestic violence shelter, rape crisis 
center, supervised visitation center, family jus-
tice center, or victim services provider; 
(G) an office of the Social Security Admin-
istration; 
(H) a childcare facility or a school, includ-
ing a preschool, primary school, secondary 
school, post-secondary school up to and includ-
ing a college or university, and any other insti-
tution of learning such as a vocational or trade 
school; 
(I) a church, synagogue, mosque, or any 
other institution of worship, such as a building 
rented for the purpose of a religious service; 
(J) the site of a funeral, wedding, or any 
other public religious ceremony; 
(K) in the case of a jurisdiction in which 
a shelter-in-place order is in effect during a 
coronavirus public health emergency, any busi-
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ness location considered to provide an essential 
service, such as a pharmacy or a grocery store; 
and 
(L) any other location specified by the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security. 
SEC. 3. RELEASE OF CERTAIN COVERED INDIVIDUALS. 
(a) RELEASE.—During the period beginning on the 
date on which a national emergency related to a commu-
nicable disease is declared, the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity shall release from detention all covered individuals 
who are in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement without requiring any covered individual to 
post a bond. 
(b) EXCEPTION.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 
Secretary— 
(1) may not release any individual determined, 
by clear and convincing evidence, to be likely to pose 
a specific and substantial risk of causing bodily in-
jury or using violent force against the person of an-
other; 
(2) shall place, in the A-file of each individual 
described in paragraph (1), documentation of the de-
termination described in such paragraph, including 
the evidence used to make such determination; 
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(3) not later than 180 days after the date on 
which the national emergency relating to a commu-
nicable disease expires, shall submit a report to Con-
gress that documents— 
(A) the demographic data (including coun-
try of origin, race, gender, age, the status and 
basis of removal proceedings, and criminal his-
tory) of the individuals denied release pursuant 
to paragraph (1); and 
(B) the justification for such denials; and 
(4) may not use the results of any determina-
tion under paragraph (1) as evidence in any under-
lying immigration proceeding. 
(c) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide notice to 
nonprofit organizations providing services to immigrants 
in the communities surrounding a detention facility if 
more than 25 individuals are released from such facility 
in a 24-hour period. 
SEC. 4. REVIEW OF IMMIGRATION FILES. 
(a) MANDATORY REVIEW.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law that mandates detention, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall determine wheth-
er each individual in detention who is not a covered 
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individual will remain in detention for the duration 
of a national emergency. 
(2) PROCESS.—Not later than 7 days after the 
declaration of a national emergency related to a 
communicable disease, the Secretary shall establish 
a process for reviewing the immigration files of all 
individuals in detention who are not covered individ-
uals, and apply a presumption that aliens should be 
released based upon the need to significantly reduce 
the detention population due to the risk of spread of 
a communicable disease in congregate setting. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 
(a), the Secretary— 
(A) may only rebut the presumption of re-
lease based on a credible and individualized de-
termination by clear and convincing evidence 
that— 
(i) the use of alternatives to detention, 
including release on recognizance or parole, 
will not reasonably ensure the appearance 
of the individual at removal proceedings; or 
(ii) the individual is likely to pose a 
specific and substantial risk of causing 
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bodily injury or using violent force against 
the person of another; 
(B) may not release an individual with a 
final order of removal entered against him or 
her, after all appeals have been exhausted if the 
removal of such alien is reasonably foreseeable; 
and 
(C) may not use the results of any deter-
mination under this section as evidence in any 
underlying immigration proceeding. 
(2) PENDING CRIMINAL CHARGE OR PAST CON-
VICTIONS.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the 
Secretary may not justify the continued detention of 
an individual solely based on the fact that the indi-
vidual— 
(A) has a criminal charge pending against 
him or her; or 
(B) was convicted of a crime more than 5 
years previously. 
(3) REASONABLY FORESEEABLE DEFINED.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para-
graph (1)(C), the removal of an alien is reason-
ably foreseeable if the Government— 
(i) has already obtained travel docu-
ments for the alien; or 
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(ii) can demonstrate, by clear and 
convincing evidence, that such travel docu-
ments will likely be obtained within 10 
days. 
(B) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of para-
graph (1)(C), the removal of an alien is not rea-
sonably foreseeable if such removal is not likely 
during the period of the national emergency re-
lated to a communicable disease due to— 
(i) the unavailability of transportation 
options to the country of removal; or 
(ii) the refusal of the country of re-
moval to accept the repatriation of the 
alien during such period. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the expi-
ration of the national emergency related to a commu-
nicable disease, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
submit a report to Congress that documents— 
(1) the demographic data, including country of 
origin, race, gender, age, the status and basis of re-
moval proceedings, and criminal history, of the indi-
viduals denied release pursuant to subsection (a); 
and 
(2) the justification for such denials. 
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SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON INTERIOR ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(c), beginning on the date on which a national emergency 
related to a communicable disease is declared and ending 
on the date that such national emergency expires, U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall take meas-
ures to prevent the spread of the communicable viral dis-
ease by suspending— 
(1) the requirement that individuals under su-
pervision or enrolled in Enforcement and Removal 
Operations’ Intensive Supervision Appearance Pro-
gram report in-person; 
(2) enforcement in sensitive locations without a 
valid judicial warrant; and 
(3) enforcement actions. 
(b) SUSPENSION OF COLLATERAL ARRESTS.—Except 
as provided in subsection (c), if an individual, who is only 
in violation of civil immigration law, is encountered by 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the indi-
vidual may be issued charging documents, but may not 
be taken into custody or placed in detention. 
(c) EXCEPTION.—The suspensions under subsections 
(a)(1), (a)(3), and (b) shall not apply to individuals who 
are determined, by clear and convincing evidence, to be 
likely to pose a specific and substantial risk of causing 
bodily injury or using violent force against another person. 
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