I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5603 
To limit the authority immigration officers have at protected emergency 
response locations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 26, 2025 
Ms. RANDALL (for herself, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KELLY 
of Illinois, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. HUFFMAN, 
Ms. LOFGREN, and Mr. GARCIA of California) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To limit the authority immigration officers have at protected 
emergency response locations. 
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 ‘‘Emergency Responder 
Protection Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. POWERS OF IMMIGRATION OFFICERS AND EMPLOY-
EES AT PROTECTED EMERGENCY RESPONSE 
LOCATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 287 of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(i)(1)(A) An enforcement action may not take place 
at, be focused on, or occur within, 1,000 feet of a pro-
tected emergency response location, except under exigent 
circumstances. 
‘‘(B) If an immigration enforcement action 
is taking place under exigent circumstances, 
and the exigent circumstances permitting the 
enforcement action cease, the enforcement ac-
tion shall be discontinued until such exigent cir-
cumstances reemerge. 
‘‘(C) If an individual referred to in sub-
paragraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) is not 
certain as to whether exigent circumstances 
exist, the individual shall cease the enforcement 
action immediately, consult with their super-
visor in real time as to the existence of exigent 
circumstances, and shall not continue the en-
forcement action until the individual’s super-
visor affirmatively confirms the existence of exi-
gent circumstances. 
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‘‘(2) This subsection shall apply to any enforce-
ment action by— 
‘‘(A) officers or agents of the Department 
of Homeland Security, including officers and 
agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs En-
forcement and U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection; and 
‘‘(B) any individual designated to perform 
immigration enforcement functions pursuant to 
subsection (g). 
‘‘(3)(A) When proceeding with an enforcement 
action at or near a protected emergency response lo-
cation, individuals referred to in subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of paragraph (2) shall make every effort— 
‘‘(i) to conduct themselves as dis-
creetly as possible, consistent with officer 
and public safety; 
‘‘(ii) to limit the time spent at the 
protected emergency response location; and 
‘‘(iii) to limit the enforcement action 
to the person or persons for whom prior 
approval was obtained. 
‘‘(B) If, in the course of an enforcement 
action that is not initiated at or focused on a 
protected emergency response location, individ-
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uals referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
of paragraph (2) are led to or near a protected 
emergency response location, and no clear exi-
gent circumstance with respect to the protected 
emergency response location exists, such indi-
viduals shall— 
‘‘(i) cease before taking any further 
enforcement action; 
‘‘(ii) conduct themselves in a discreet 
manner; 
‘‘(iii) maintain surveillance; and 
‘‘(iv) in the event that uncertainty ex-
ists about the existence of exigent cir-
cumstances, immediately consult their su-
pervisor in order to determine whether 
such enforcement action should be discon-
tinued pursuant to paragraph (1)(C). 
‘‘(C) This subsection shall not apply to the 
transportation of an individual apprehended at 
or near a land or sea border to a hospital or 
health care provider for the purpose of pro-
viding such individual medical care. 
‘‘(D) This subsection shall not apply to a 
rare premeditated arrest operation, undertaken 
with the prior written approval of an appro-
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priate authorizing official, involving the tar-
geted arrest of a terrorist suspect, an individual 
who poses a clear threat to national security, or 
an individual who poses an extraordinary dan-
ger to public safety. 
‘‘(4) If an enforcement action is carried out in 
violation of this subsection— 
‘‘(A) no information resulting from the en-
forcement action may be entered into the record 
or received into evidence in a removal pro-
ceeding resulting from the enforcement action; 
and 
‘‘(B) the alien who is the subject of such 
removal proceeding may file a motion for the 
immediate termination of the removal pro-
ceeding. 
‘‘(5)(A) Each official specified in subparagraph 
(B) shall ensure that the employees under the super-
vision of such official receive annual training in com-
pliance with the requirements of this subsection, sec-
tion 239, and section 384 of the Illegal Immigration 
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 
(8 U.S.C. 1367). 
‘‘(B) The officials specified in this sub-
paragraph are the following: 
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‘‘(i) The Chief Counsel of U.S. Immi-
gration and Customs Enforcement. 
‘‘(ii) The Field Office Directors of 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment. 
‘‘(iii) Each Special Agent in Charge of 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment. 
‘‘(iv) Each Chief Patrol Agent of U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection. 
‘‘(v) The Director of Field Operations 
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 
‘‘(vi) The Director of Air and Marine 
Operations of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection. 
‘‘(vii) The Internal Affairs Special 
Agent in Charge of U.S. Customs and Bor-
der Protection. 
‘‘(6)(A) Not later than 30 days after any en-
forcement action is taken at a protected emergency 
response location by any individual referred to in 
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2), the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall provide a report 
to both the Office of the Inspector General of the 
Department of Homeland Security and the Office 
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for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security for each of these indi-
vidual enforcement actions, which shall contain the 
following information: 
‘‘(i) The date, State, and local polit-
ical subdivision (such as city, town, or 
county) in which each enforcement action 
occurred. 
‘‘(ii) The specific protected emergency 
response location site where the enforce-
ment action occurred. 
‘‘(iii) The type of enforcement action 
that occurred. 
‘‘(iv) The specific department, agency, 
and officers responsible for the enforce-
ment action. 
‘‘(v) A thorough description of the cir-
cumstances which purportedly justified the 
enforcement action, including either— 
‘‘(I) a clear description of the ex-
igent circumstances involved; or 
‘‘(II) a certified copy of the writ-
ten approval for the immigration ar-
rest that was signed by an appro-
priate authorizing officer, along with 
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a clear description of the specific and 
rare threat which justified the pre-
meditated arrest at this protected 
emergency response location. 
‘‘(vi) A description of the intended 
target of the enforcement action. 
‘‘(vii) The number of individuals, if 
any, arrested or taken into custody 
through the enforcement action. 
‘‘(viii) The number of collateral ar-
rests, if any, from the enforcement action 
and the reasons for each such arrest. 
‘‘(ix) A certification of whether a su-
pervisor was contacted prior to, during, or 
after each such enforcement action. 
‘‘(B) An appropriate committee of Con-
gress may, at any time, request, and the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall provide, a 
confidential or redacted copy of one of the indi-
vidual reports described in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(7)(A) The Director of U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement and the Commissioner of U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection shall each submit to 
the appropriate committees of Congress each year a 
report on the enforcement actions undertaken by 
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, respectively, 
during the preceding year that were covered by this 
subsection. 
‘‘(B) Each report on an agency for a year 
under this paragraph shall set forth the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) The number of enforcement ac-
tions at or focused on a protected emer-
gency response location. 
‘‘(ii) The number of enforcement ac-
tions where officers or agents were subse-
quently led to or near a protected emer-
gency response location. 
‘‘(iii) The date, site, State, and local 
political subdivision (such as city, town, or 
county) in which each enforcement action 
covered by clause (i) or (ii) occurred. 
‘‘(iv) The component of the agency re-
sponsible for each such enforcement action. 
‘‘(v) A description of the intended tar-
get of each such enforcement action. 
‘‘(vi) The number of individuals, if 
any, arrested or taken into custody 
through each such enforcement action. 
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‘‘(vii) The number of collateral ar-
rests, if any, from each such enforcement 
action and the reasons for each such ar-
rest. 
‘‘(viii) A certification of whether the 
location administrator was contacted prior 
to, during, or after each such enforcement 
action. 
‘‘(8)(A) The Office of the Inspector General of 
the Department of Homeland Security shall submit 
to the appropriate committees of Congress each year 
a report on the complaints of enforcement actions 
taken in protected emergency response locations by 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the pre-
ceding year that were covered by this subsection. 
‘‘(B) Each report for a year under this 
paragraph shall set forth the following: 
‘‘(i) The number of complaints of en-
forcement actions reported at or focused 
on a protected emergency response loca-
tion. 
‘‘(ii) The reported date, site, State, 
and local political subdivision (such as city, 
town, or county) in which each enforce-
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‘‘(B) The term ‘appropriate authorizing of-
ficial’ means the following: 
‘‘(i) In the case of officers and agents 
of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment, one of the following officials: 
‘‘(I) The Assistant Director of 
Operations, Homeland Security Inves-
tigations. 
‘‘(II) The Executive Associate 
Director of Homeland Security Inves-
tigations. 
‘‘(III) The Assistant Director for 
Field Operations, Enforcement, and 
Removal Operations. 
‘‘(IV) The Executive Associate 
Director for Field Operations, En-
forcement, and Removal Operations. 
‘‘(V) Any other individual who is 
determined to be an appropriate au-
thorizing official by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security. 
‘‘(ii) In the case of officers and agents 
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
one of the following officials: 
‘‘(I) A Chief Patrol Agent. 
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‘‘(II) The Director of Field Oper-
ations. 
‘‘(III) The Director of Air and 
Marine Operations. 
‘‘(IV) The Internal Affairs Spe-
cial Agent in Charge. 
‘‘(V) Any other individual who is 
determined to be an appropriate au-
thorizing official by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security. 
‘‘(iii) In the case of all other individ-
uals referred to in subparagraph (A) or 
(B) of paragraph (2), an official deter-
mined under rules promulgated by the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security not later than 
90 days after the date of the enactment of 
this subsection. 
‘‘(C) The term ‘appropriate committees of 
Congress’ means— 
‘‘(i) the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity and Governmental Affairs of the 
Senate; 
‘‘(ii) the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the Senate; 
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‘‘(iii) the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the Senate; 
‘‘(iv) the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the Senate; 
‘‘(v) the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity of the House of Representatives; 
‘‘(vi) the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the House of Representatives; 
‘‘(vii) the Committee on Natural Re-
sources of the House of Representatives; 
‘‘(viii) the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives; and 
‘‘(ix) the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the House of Representatives. 
‘‘(D) The term ‘enforcement action’ means 
an apprehension, arrest, interview, request for 
identification, search, or surveillance for the 
purposes of immigration enforcement, and in-
cludes an enforcement action at, or focused on, 
a protected emergency response location that is 
part of a joint case led by another law enforce-
ment agency. 
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‘‘(E) The term ‘exigent circumstances’ 
means a situation involving any of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) The imminent risk of death, vio-
lence, or physical harm to any person, in-
cluding a situation implicating terrorism or 
the national security of the United States 
in some other manner. 
‘‘(ii) The immediate arrest or hot pur-
suit of an individual presenting an immi-
nent danger to public safety, including the 
imminent risk of death, violence, or phys-
ical harm to a person. 
‘‘(iii) A rare, premeditated arrest op-
eration described in paragraph (3)(D), un-
dertaken with the prior written approval of 
an appropriate authorizing official, involv-
ing the targeted arrest of a terrorist sus-
pect, an individual who poses a clear threat 
to national security, or an individual who 
poses an extraordinary danger to public 
safety. 
‘‘(iv) The imminent risk of destruction 
of evidence that is material to an ongoing 
criminal case. 
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‘‘(F) The term ‘protected emergency re-
sponse location’ includes all of the physical 
space located within 1,000 feet of the following: 
‘‘(i) Locations where active natural 
disaster, human-caused events, emergency 
declarations are in effect, or emergency re-
sponse and relief is being provided, such as 
the distribution of emergency supplies, 
food, and water; places of temporary shel-
ter; along evacuation routes; and sites 
where registration for disaster-related as-
sistance or family reunification is under 
way. 
‘‘(ii) Locations of any organization 
that provides disaster or emergency social 
services and assistance. 
‘‘(G) The term ‘supervisor’ means an offi-
cial determined under rules promulgated by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security not later than 
90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
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(c) RULE MAKING.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home-
land Security shall issue rules to carry out the amendment 
made by subsection (a). 
Æ 
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