I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4620 
To ensure the humane treatment of persons detained pursuant to the 
Immigration and Nationality Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2014 
Mr. SMITH of Washington (for himself, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. 
FOSTER, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. POLIS, Mr. QUIGLEY, and Mr. 
VELA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To ensure the humane treatment of persons detained 
pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act. 
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 ‘‘Accountability in Im-
migration Detention Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. MINIMUM DETENTION CENTER STANDARDS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) DETENTION FACILITY.—The term ‘‘deten-
tion facility’’ means a Federal, State, or local gov-
ernment facility, or a privately owned and operated 
facility, that is used, in whole or in part, to hold in-
dividuals under the authority of the Director of U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Com-
missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 
including facilities that hold such individuals under 
a contract or agreement with the Director or the 
Commissioner. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
(3) DETAINEES.—The term ‘‘detainee’’ means 
an individual who is subject to detention under the 
Immigration and Nationality Act. 
(b) DETENTION
REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall ensure that all persons detained pursuant to the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) are 
treated humanely and shall ensure that all detention facili-
ties comply with the following minimum requirements: 
(1) FAIR AND HUMANE TREATMENT.—Detain-
ees shall not be subject to degrading or inhumane 
treatment, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse or 
harassment, psychological abuse, retaliatory actions, 
arbitrary punishment, or discrimination based on 
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nationality, sexual orientation, race, gender identity, 
or religion. 
(2) DETENTION FACILITY STANDARDS.—Deten-
tion facilities shall comply fully with the national 
standards for the detection, prevention, reduction, 
and punishment of prison rape pursuant to section 
8 of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (42 
U.S.C. 15607). 
(3) LIMITATIONS
ON
SOLITARY
CONFINE-
MENT.—Detainees shall not be subject to solitary 
confinement, shackling, or strip searches, except to 
the extent that such techniques are necessary to en-
sure the security of other detainees, staff, or the 
public and only if less coercive measures will not en-
sure the security of other detainees, staff, and the 
public. Decisions to place detainees in solitary con-
finement shall be reported to the Field Officer Di-
rector at a minimum for any placement lasting at 
least 3 days continuously or 3 days out of a 7 day 
period, and reviewed on a weekly basis thereafter. 
(4) INVESTIGATION OF GRIEVANCES.—Detain-
ees shall have the right to prompt, effective, and im-
partial investigations of grievances related to condi-
tions of detention. No detainee shall be retaliated 
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against for filing a complaint or grievance or for or-
ganizing peaceful demonstrations. 
(5) ACCESS TO TELEPHONES.—Detainees shall 
have sufficient access to telephones, and the ability 
to contact, free of charge, legal representatives, for-
eign consulates, the immigration courts, the Board 
of Immigration Appeals, Family Courts, local crimi-
nal courts, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Federal 
courts. The rates charged for telephone calls shall be 
reasonable and shall not significantly impair detain-
ees’ access to telephones. 
(6) LOCATION
OF
FACILITIES.—All detention 
facilities whose date of first use by the Department 
of Homeland Security occurs after the date of the 
enactment of this Act shall be located and within 50 
miles of a community in which there is a dem-
onstrated capacity to provide free or low-cost legal 
representation by— 
(A) nonprofit legal aid organizations; or 
(B) pro bono attorneys with expertise in 
asylum or immigration law. 
(7) PROCEDURES
GOVERNING
TRANSFER
OF 
DETAINESS.—Procedures governing the transfer of a 
detainee shall take into account— 
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(A) the detainee’s access to legal rep-
resentatives; 
(B) the proximity of the facility to the 
venue of the asylum or removal proceeding; 
(C) the detainee’s proximity to scheduled 
bond hearings; and 
(D) the detainee’s proximity to family 
members. 
Prior to transfer, the Secretary shall give advance 
notice to the detainee, the attorney of the detainee, 
and the family of the detainee. 
(8) INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION CAPA-
BILITIES.—Detention facilities shall employ staff, in-
cluding medical personnel, who, to the extent prac-
ticable, are qualified in the languages represented in 
the population of detainees at a detention facility, 
and alternative interpreter and translation services 
shall be made available. Detention facilities shall not 
rely on detainees to translate or interpret for one 
another. 
(9) RECREATIONAL
PROGRAMS
AND
ACTIVI-
TIES.—All detainees, including detainees in adminis-
trative or disciplinary segregation, shall be afforded 
daily access to indoor and outdoor recreational pro-
grams and activities. All detainees shall have access 
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to religious services and reading materials necessary 
to their religious practice. 
(10) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.—Procedures 
and conditions of detention shall accommodate the 
unique needs of asylum seekers, victims of torture 
and trafficking, families with children, detainees 
with special religious, cultural, or spiritual consider-
ations, pregnant women, nursing mothers, individ-
uals older than 65 years of age, and other vulnerable 
populations. 
(11) QUALITY OF MEDICAL CARE.— 
(A) RIGHT TO MEDICAL CARE.—The Sec-
retary shall ensure that prompt and adequate 
emergency, primary, specialty, and hospital 
medical care is provided at no cost to detainees, 
including dental care, eye care, mental health 
care, individual and group counseling, and serv-
ices with respect to medical dietary needs. 
(B) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that procedures for providing medical 
care to detainees include comprehensive intake 
screening, effective continuity of care, prompt 
responses to requests for medical care or treat-
ment, and accurate and timely distribution of 
prescribed medication. 
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(B) All work opportunities shall comply 
with Occupational Safety and Health Adminis-
tration protections. 
(C) The Rate of Pay for voluntary work 
shall be reviewed by the Secretary on an annual 
basis. 
(D) The Secretary shall provide and make 
publically available a report on the rate of pay, 
job descriptions, and full time equivalents for 
employed detainees compared to full time staff 
in each detention facility to the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the House, the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate, Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House, and Com-
mittee on Homeland Security & Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate. 
(13) LEGAL
ORIENTATION
PROGRAMS.—The 
Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary, 
shall ensure that all detained aliens in immigration 
and asylum proceedings receive legal orientation 
through the Legal Orientation Program adminis-
tered and implemented by the Executive Office for 
Immigration Review of the Department of Justice. 
(14) LEGAL ACCESS.—All detainees shall have 
access to a properly equipped law library, legal ma-
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terials and equipment to facilitate the preparation of 
documents. All detainees shall have meaningful ac-
cess to law libraries, legal materials, and equipment. 
Special consideration shall be given to detainees fac-
ing deadlines or time constraints. 
(c) RULEMAKING.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre-
scribe regulations, using the procedures for nego-
tiated rulemakings under subchapter III of chapter 
5 of title 5, United States Code, to establish stand-
ards to ensure detainees held under the authority of 
the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs En-
forcement or the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection are treated humanely and to en-
sure compliance with the minimum requirements set 
forth in subsection (b). 
(2) REPRESENTATION OF NEGOTIATED RULE-
MAKING
COMMITTEE.—Any negotiated rulemaking 
committee established by the Secretary pursuant to 
paragraph (1) shall include representatives and ex-
perts from— 
(A) relevant agencies of the Department; 
(B) the Office of Refugee Resettlement at 
the Department of Health and Human Services; 
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(C) representatives of State and local gov-
ernments; 
(D) the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom; 
(E) nongovernmental organizations with 
expertise working on behalf of aliens in deten-
tion facilities, including organizations that em-
phasize protections for vulnerable populations; 
(F) nongovernmental organizations with 
expertise advocating for asylum seekers; 
(G) labor organizations that represent em-
ployees who work at detention facilities; 
(H) accrediting bodies for medical care in 
settings comparable to detention facilities, such 
as the National Commission on Correctional 
Health Care, or other experts in the field of 
providing quality medical care in such settings; 
and 
(I) a person appointed by— 
(i) the majority leader of the House of 
Representatives; 
(ii) the minority leader of the House 
of Representatives; 
(iii) the majority leader of the Senate; 
and 
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(iv) the minority leader of the Senate. 
(3) TIME REQUIREMENT.—The procedures for 
the negotiated rulemaking referred to in paragraph 
(1) shall be conducted in a timely manner to ensure 
that— 
(A) any recommendations with respect to 
proposed regulations are provided to the Sec-
retary not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act; and 
(B) a final rule is promulgated not later 
than 1 year and 6 months after the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
SEC. 3. ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish na-
tionwide alternatives to detention programs that incor-
porate case management services in each field office of the 
Department to ensure appearances at immigration pro-
ceedings and public safety. 
(b) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 
contract with nongovernmental community-based organi-
zations to conduct screening of detainees and operate com-
munity-based supervision programs. The Secretary shall 
regularly assess the demand for alternative to detention 
programs and make available sufficient alternative to de-
tention slots regardless of proximity to available detention 
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beds. Alternative programs shall offer a continuum of su-
pervision mechanisms and options, including community 
support, depending on an assessment of each individual’s 
circumstances. The Secretary may contract with non-
governmental organizations to implement secure alter-
natives that maintain custody over the alien. 
(1) Information regarding the amount of slots 
available in each area shall be made public. 
(c) INDIVIDUALIZED DETERMINATIONS.—In deter-
mining whether to use alternatives to detention programs, 
the Secretary shall make an individualized determination, 
and for each individual placed in an alternatives to deten-
tion program, shall review the level of supervision on a 
monthly basis. Alternatives to detention programs shall 
not be used when release on bond or recognizance is deter-
mined to be a sufficient measure to ensure appearances 
at immigration proceedings and public safety. 
(d) CUSTODY.—The Secretary may use alternatives 
to detention programs to maintain custody over any alien 
detained under the Immigration and Nationality Act, ex-
cept for aliens detained under section 236A of such Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1226a). If an individual is not eligible for re-
lease from custody or detention, the Secretary shall con-
sider the alien for placement in alternative programs that 
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maintain custody over the alien, including the use of elec-
tronic ankle devices. 
(e) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS (ACCESS TO ALTER-
NATIVES).—In determining whether to place a detainee in 
an alternatives to detention program, the Secretary shall 
consider whether the detainee is a member of a vulnerable 
population (as identified in section 2(b)(10)). Notwith-
standing section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act, a member of a vulnerable population whose needs 
cannot be adequately met by a detention facility may not 
be held in a detention facility except in the case of what 
the Secretary determines to be exceptional circumstances. 
SEC. 4. DETENTION CAPACITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the number of detention beds maintained shall 
be determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and 
shall be based solely on detention needs. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that appropriations Acts shall not mandate mainte-
nance of a minimum number of detention beds. 
SEC. 5. OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION FACILITIES. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPLICABLE STANDARDS.—The term ‘‘ap-
plicable standards’’ means the most recent version of 
detention standards and detention-related policies 
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