IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2203 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To increase transparency, accountability, and community en-
gagement within the Department of Homeland Security, 
provide independent oversight of border security activi-
ties, improve training for agents and officers of U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE OM-
BUDSMAN FOR BORDER AND IMMIGRATION 
ENFORCEMENT RELATED CONCERNS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VII of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 711. OMBUDSMAN FOR BORDER AND IMMIGRATION 
ENFORCEMENT RELATED CONCERNS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within the Department there 
shall be a position of Ombudsman for Border and Immi-
gration Enforcement Related Concerns (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘Ombudsman’), who shall— 
‘‘(1) be independent of Department agencies 
and officers; 
‘‘(2) report directly to the Secretary; and 
‘‘(3) have a background in immigration law, 
civil rights, and law enforcement. 
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—It shall be the function of the 
Ombudsman to— 
‘‘(1) in coordination with the Inspector General 
of the Department, establish an independent, neu-
tral, accessible, confidential, and standardized proc-
ess to assist individuals (including aliens (as such 
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term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)) in resolving 
complaints with respect to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment, a subcontractor, or a cooperating entity, 
which process shall include a publicly accessible 
website through which a complainant can check on 
the status of such a complaint; 
‘‘(2) identify and thereafter review, examine, 
and make recommendations to the Secretary to ad-
dress chronic issues identified by the Ombudsman in 
carrying out the function described in paragraph 
(1); 
‘‘(3) establish a Border Oversight Panel in ac-
cordance with subsection (f); and 
‘‘(4) review compliance with departmental poli-
cies and standards of care for custody of aliens by 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including any 
violations of applicable policy or standards of care 
involving force-feeding. 
‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The existence of a com-
plaint, including the identity of any Department employee 
implicated in a complaint, shall be kept confidential by the 
Ombudsman and, in the absence of the written consent 
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of an individual who submits a complaint, the Ombudsman 
shall keep confidential the identity of and any identifying 
information relating to such individual. Such confiden-
tiality requirement may not be considered as a factor of 
whether or not information under this subsection may be 
disclosed under section 552 of title 5, United Stated Code 
(commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information 
Act). 
‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORTING.—Not later than June 30 
of each year beginning in the year after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Ombudsman shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
Senate a report that includes, for the previous year, the 
following: 
‘‘(1) The number and types of complaints re-
ceived under this section and for each complaint— 
‘‘(A) the component or subcomponent, sub-
contractor, or cooperating entity identified; 
‘‘(B) the demographics of the complainant; 
and 
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‘‘(C) a description of the resolution of the 
complaint or the status of the resolution proc-
ess. 
‘‘(2) Any complaint pattern that could be pre-
vented or reduced by policy training or practice 
changes. 
‘‘(3) A description of any pattern of violations 
of any applicable policy or standards. 
‘‘(4) A description of each complaint received 
under this section with respect to which U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, a subcontractor, or a cooper-
ating entity, as applicable, has taken action to re-
solve, and the time between receipt and resolution of 
each such complaint. 
‘‘(5) A description of complaints received under 
this section for which action has not been taken 
after one year, and the period during which each 
complaint has been open. 
‘‘(6) Recommendations the Ombudsman has 
made under subsection (b)(2). 
‘‘(7) Other information, as determined appro-
priate by the Ombudsman. 
‘‘(e) APPOINTMENT OF BORDER COMMUNITIES LIAI-
SON.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsman, in con-
junction with the Office for Civil Rights and Civil 
Liberties of the Department, shall appoint a Border 
Community Liaison (in this subsection referred to as 
the ‘Liaison’) in each U.S. Border Patrol sector on 
the northern and southern borders. Each Liaison 
shall report to the Ombudsman. 
‘‘(2) 
PURPOSES.—Each 
Liaison 
appointed 
under this subsection shall— 
‘‘(A) foster cooperation between U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement, and border commu-
nities; 
‘‘(B) consult with border communities on 
the development of policies, directives, and pro-
grams of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment; 
‘‘(C) receive feedback from border commu-
nities on the performance of U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement; and 
‘‘(D) submit to the Ombudsman an annual 
report detailing their findings, feedback re-
ceived from border communities, and rec-
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ommendations to increase cooperation between 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Im-
migration and Customs Enforcement, and bor-
der communities. 
‘‘(f) BORDER OVERSIGHT PANEL.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Ombudsman shall 
establish a Border Oversight Panel (in this sub-
section referred to as the ‘Panel’). 
‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Panel shall be 
composed of 30 members selected by the Om-
budsman. 
‘‘(B) 
CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Ombudsman 
shall be the chair of the Panel. 
‘‘(C) EXPERTISE.—Members of the Panel 
shall have expertise in immigration, local crime 
indices, civil and human rights, community re-
lations, cross-border trade and commerce, qual-
ity of life indicators, or other experience the 
Ombudsman determines is appropriate, and 
shall include individuals who reside in or near 
border counties. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Panel shall evaluate and 
make recommendations regarding the border en-
forcement policies, strategies, and programs of the 
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Department operating along the northern and south-
ern borders of the United States to— 
‘‘(A) take into consideration the impact of 
such policies, strategies, and programs on bor-
der communities, including protecting due proc-
ess, civil and human rights of border residents 
and visitors, and private property rights of land 
owners; 
‘‘(B) uphold domestic and international 
legal obligations; 
‘‘(C) reduce the number of migrant deaths; 
and 
‘‘(D) improve the safety of agents and offi-
cers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment. 
‘‘(g) STAFFING.—The Secretary shall take appro-
priate action to ensure the Ombudsman’s office is suffi-
ciently staffed and resourced to carry out its duties effec-
tively and efficiently. 
‘‘(h) TRAINING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsman shall con-
duct a yearly evaluation of all training given to 
agents and officers of U.S. Customs and Border 
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Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs En-
forcement. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each evaluation under para-
graph (1) shall include whether the training referred 
to in such paragraph adequately addresses the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) Best practices in community policing, 
cultural awareness, and carrying out enforce-
ment actions near sensitive locations, such as 
places of worship or religious ceremony, school 
or education-related places or events, court-
houses or other civic buildings providing serv-
ices accessible to the public, hospitals, medical 
treatment or health care facilities, public dem-
onstrations, and attorney’s offices (including a 
public defender or legal aid offices). 
‘‘(B) Policies for operating in locations 
where there are limitations on cooperation by 
local law enforcement. 
‘‘(C) Interaction with vulnerable popu-
lations, including instruction on screening, iden-
tifying, and responding to vulnerable popu-
lations, such as children, victims of human traf-
ficking, and the acutely ill. 
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‘‘(D) Standards of professional and ethical 
conduct, including the following: 
‘‘(i) Lawful use of force, de-escalation 
tactics, and alternatives to the use of force. 
‘‘(ii) Complying with chain of com-
mand and lawful orders. 
‘‘(iii) Conduct and ethical behavior to-
ward the public in a civil and professional 
manner. 
‘‘(iv) Civil rights and legal protections 
for nationals of the United States and 
aliens. 
‘‘(v) Non-biased questioning. 
‘‘(vi) Sensitivity towards lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, transgender, and queer individ-
uals. 
‘‘(vii) Permissible and impermissible 
social media activity. 
‘‘(viii) Sexual and other harassment 
and assault, including an assessment of 
whether adequate policies exist to resolve 
complaints. 
‘‘(E) Protecting the civil, constitutional, 
human, and privacy rights of individuals, with 
special emphasis on the scope of enforcement 
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authority, including chain of evidence practices 
and document seizure, and use of force policies 
available to agents and officers. 
‘‘(F) Maintaining and updated under-
standing of Federal legal rulings, court deci-
sions, and Department policies and procedures. 
‘‘(G) The scope of agents’ and officers’ au-
thority to conduct immigration enforcement ac-
tivities, including interviews, interrogations, 
stops, searches, arrests, and detentions, in addi-
tion to identifying and detecting fraudulent doc-
uments. 
‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 90 
days after conducting each evaluation under para-
graph (1), the Ombudsman shall develop, and sub-
mit to the Secretary, recommendations regarding 
any additional training. 
‘‘(4) FEEDBACK.—Not later than 180 days 
after receiving recommendations transmitted by the 
Ombudsman, the Secretary shall respond publicly 
and in writing with feedback on each of the rec-
ommendations, an action plan to implement any of 
such recommendations with which the Secretary con-
curs, and a justification for why any of such rec-
ommendations have been rejected. 
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‘‘(i) ELECTRONIC TRACKING.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Ombudsman, in co-
ordination with the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection, the Director of U.S. Immi-
gration and Customs Enforcement, and the Office of 
Refugee Resettlement of the Department of Health 
and Human Services, shall develop recommendations 
for the establishment of an electronic tracking num-
ber system on a single interface, which shall be used 
to track the location of a child who has been sepa-
rated from a parent, legal guardian, or other relative 
of such child, and which shall be accessible to agents 
and officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and 
the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 
‘‘(2) TRACKING
NUMBER.—The recommenda-
tions developed under this subsection shall consider 
how a tracking number can be assigned to a child 
who has been separated from a parent, legal guard-
ian, or other relative of such child that— 
‘‘(A) is transferrable; 
‘‘(B) may be shared easily on the elec-
tronic tracking system described in this sub-
section by agents and officers of— 
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‘‘(i) U.S. Customs and Border Protec-
tion; 
‘‘(ii) U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement; and 
‘‘(iii) the Office of Refugee Resettle-
ment of the Department of Health and 
Human Services; and 
‘‘(C) is interoperable with the electronic lo-
cation records of a parent, legal guardian, or 
other relative of such child. 
‘‘(j) BODY-WORN CAMERAS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the 
Ombudsman, in coordination with the Commissioner 
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Direc-
tor of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 
and labor organizations representing agents and offi-
cers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, shall 
submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs and the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate a plan for re-
quiring, not later than one year after such date of 
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enactment, the use of body-worn cameras by U.S. 
Border Patrol agents and U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement officers whenever such agents 
and officers are engaged in border security or immi-
gration enforcement activities. 
‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required under 
paragraph (1) shall include the following: 
‘‘(A) Benchmarks for implementation of 
the use of body-worn cameras within U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection and U.S. Immigra-
tion and Customs Enforcement. 
‘‘(B) Policies, procedures, and training 
modules for the use of body-worn cameras by 
agents and officers of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, including training modules relat-
ing to the appropriate use of such cameras and 
adverse action for non-compliance. 
‘‘(C) Mechanisms to ensure compliance 
with body-worn camera policies and procedures. 
‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—The plan required 
under paragraph (1) shall be informed by— 
‘‘(A) existing State and local policies re-
quiring the use of body-worn cameras; and 
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‘‘(B) principles regarding body-worn cam-
eras published by major civil and human rights 
organizations.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by add-
ing after the item relating to section 710 the following 
new item: 
‘‘Sec. 711. Ombudsman for Border and Immigration Enforcement Related Con-
cerns.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 25, 
2019. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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