I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2489 
To impose requirements on the grant of a waiver with respect to an 
immigration detention facility, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 2, 2019 
Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself and Mr. RASKIN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To impose requirements on the grant of a waiver with respect 
to an immigration detention facility, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Waiver Accountability 
and Transparency Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS ON WAIVERS APPLICABLE TO IM-
MIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES. 
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘immi-
gration detention facility’’ means a place of detention for 
aliens detained pending removal, or a decision on removal, 
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under the immigration laws (as defined in section 
101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101(a)(17))) that is owned or operated by a pri-
vate entity or a Federal, State, Tribal, or local govern-
ment, whether or not such facility also is a place of deten-
tion for other detainees. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The following requirements 
shall apply to a grant of a waiver of a detention standard 
applicable to the detention facility: 
(1) The waiver request, justification for the 
waiver request, the assessment, final decision, 
whether the waiver was granted or denied, and ra-
tionale for the decision by U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, shall be posted on the 
website of the Department of Homeland Security for 
the public to view within 3 business days of being 
submitted to U.S. Immigration and Customs En-
forcement or to an immigration detention facility by 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 
(2) The waiver request shall be graded from 1 
to 3 based on the level of seriousness (3 being the 
most serious) by the Director (or acting Director) of 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Level 
3 shall include issues impacting due process, medical 
care, safety, security, and rights. 
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(3) If the waiver is graded to be a 3 and is 
granted, the Director (or acting Director) of U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall sign 
off on a corrective action plan. All parties to the 
contract or agreement must also sign off on the cor-
rective action plan. The corrective action plan shall 
include a timeline and a corrective action plan with 
the goal of eliminating the waiver and being compli-
ant with existing standards. 
(4) The waiver may be approved by the Direc-
tor (or acting Director) of U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement for a specified period of time 
not to exceed 90 days. 
(5) The Director (or acting Director) shall no-
tify the Congress of, and post online, any approved 
request within 3 business days. 
(6) The waiver may be reapproved every 90 
days. Any approval must be posted online and sub-
mitted to Congress within 3 business days. 
(7) After 1 year, any reapproval shall be ap-
proved by the Secretary, the Chief Financial Officer 
of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and 
the Director (or acting Director) of U.S. Immigra-
tion and Customs Enforcement, who shall publish 
jointly justification for the approval. 
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(c) QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN.— 
The Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment shall include a quality assurance surveillance plan 
in all new immigration detention facility contracts and 
agreements. The Director shall submit a report to the 
Congress not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act on plans to include quality assur-
ance surveillance plans in existing contacts and agree-
ments. 
(d) REPORTS ON FINANCIAL PENALTIES.— 
(1) PENALTIES IMPOSED.—Not later than 30 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
every 30 days thereafter, the Director of U.S. Immi-
gration and Customs Enforcement shall report to 
Congress and publicly post online any financial pen-
alties imposed on an immigration detention facility, 
including temporary withholding of payment under a 
contract. 
(2) PENALTIES NOT IMPOSED.—Not later than 
2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of Home-
land Security shall report to Congress and publicly 
post online a report analyzing a sample of cases with 
respect to which the Secretary identified a failure to 
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