Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.994 | Sponsor: Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. (D-AZ)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2021
This bill prohibits private for-profit entities from operating confinement facilities (e.g., prisons) or providing electronic monitoring of released persons at the federal, state, and local levels.
The bill also establishes various requirements related to the standards of detention and availability of services at confinement facilities. The bill provides for the establishment of

To prohibit the use of for-profit facilities and detention centers, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Justice is Not For Sale Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``core correctional services'' means the 
        housing, transporting, safeguarding, protecting, and 
        disciplining of individuals--
                    (A) charged with or convicted of an offense; or
                    (B) who are in custody for purposes of enforcing 
                the immigration laws, as defined in section 101(a) of 
                the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a));
            (2) the term ``local government'' means a city, county, 
        township, town, borough, parish, village, or other general 
        purpose political subdivision of a State;
            (3) the term ``State'' means a State of the United States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or 
        another commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 
        States; and
            (4) the term ``facility housing adult prisoners or 
        detainees in the custody of a State or local government'' 
        includes for-profit civil commitment centers, return to custody 
        units, community corrections and treatment centers, halfway 
        houses and re-entry programs, restitution or day reporting 
        centers, transitional centers, mental health facilities, or 
        other facilities or programs that are under contract with a 
        government entity to provide custody, control, supervision, 
        treatment, and rehabilitation of prisoners or detainees.

SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF FEDERAL CONTRACTS FOR PRIVATELY RUN PRISONS 
              WITHIN 2 YEARS.

    (a) Operational Control.--Except as provided in subsection (b), not 
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act--
            (1) each facility housing adult prisoners or detainees in 
        the custody of the Federal Government shall be under the 
        direct, operational control of the Federal Government; and
            (2) core correctional services at each such facility shall 
        be performed by employees of the Federal Government.
    (b) Waiver Authorized.--If the Attorney General determines that the 
Federal Government is unable to comply with subsection (a) by the date 
that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 
General may waive the application of subsection (a) for not more than 1 
year.
    (c) Electronic Monitoring of Released Persons.--Electronic 
monitoring of the location of a person released from the custody of the 
Federal Government may be conducted only by a public entity under the 
supervision and control of the Federal Government or a non-profit 
entity that has a contract with the Federal Government to perform such 
monitoring.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES RUNNING STATE AND 
              LOCAL PRISONS OR DETENTION ALTERNATIVES AFTER 2 YEARS.

    (a) Operational Control.--Except as provided in subsection (b), on 
and after the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
Act--
            (1) no private for-profit entity engaged in or affecting 
        interstate commerce shall own or have direct, operational 
        control over a facility housing adult prisoners or detainees in 
        the custody of the State or local government; and
            (2) no private for-profit entity engaged in or affecting 
        interstate commerce shall perform core correctional services at 
        such a facility.
    (b) Waiver Authorized.--If the Attorney General determines that a 
State or local government requires services from a private for-profit 
entity that are described in subsection (a) after the date that is 2 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General may 
waive the application of subsection (a) as to that private for-profit 
entity for not more than 1 year.
    (c) Electronic Monitoring of Released Persons.--No private for-
profit entity engaged in or affecting interstate commerce may operate 
electronic monitoring of the location of a person released from the 
custody of a State or local government.
    (d) Enforcement.--The Attorney General may bring a civil action in 
an appropriate district court of the United States for such declaratory 
or injunctive relief as is necessary to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. CFPB OVERSIGHT OF PROVIDERS OF MONEY TRANSFER SERVICES FOR 
              CORRECTIONAL AND IMMIGRATION DETENTION FACILITIES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Bureau'' means the Bureau of Consumer 
        Financial Protection;
            (2) the term ``correctional facility'' means a jail, 
        prison, or other detention facility used to house people who 
        have been arrested, detained, held, or convicted by a criminal 
        justice agency or a court;
            (3) the term ``covered inmate'' means--
                    (A) an individual who is being held, detained, or 
                incarcerated in a correctional facility; and
                    (B) an individual who is being held in an 
                immigration detention facility;
            (4) the term ``covered provider'' means a provider of a 
        service, including a money transfer service, that--
                    (A) facilitates the electronic transfer of funds 
                from an individual who is not a covered inmate to a 
                covered inmate;
                    (B) provides a payment to a covered inmate who is 
                being released from a correctional facility or an 
                immigration detention facility; or
                    (C) provides a payment on behalf of a covered 
                inmate; and
            (5) the term ``immigration detention facility'' means a 
        Federal, State, or local government facility, or a privately 
        owned and operated facility, that is used, in whole or in part, 
        to hold individuals under the authority of the Director of U.S. 
        Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including facilities that 
        hold such individuals under a contract or agreement with the 
        Department of Homeland Security.
    (b) Reasonable and Proportional Fee or Charge.--The amount of any 
fee or charge that a covered provider may impose with respect to a 
service described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (a)(4) 
shall be reasonable and proportional to the relative cost or value of 
the service.
    (c) Requirement To Issue Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Bureau shall issue final rules to 
        establish standards for assessing whether the amount of any fee 
        or charge described in subsection (b) is reasonable and 
        proportional to the relative cost or value of the service 
        provided by a covered provider.
            (2) Considerations.--In issuing the final rules under 
        paragraph (1), the Bureau shall consider--
                    (A) whether there are alternative means for 
                transferring funds into correctional facilities and 
                immigration detention facilities;
                    (B) whether those alternatives can reasonably be 
                considered comparable;
                    (C) differing cost structures for transferring 
                funds into correctional facilities and immigration 
                detention facilities; and
                    (D) such other factors as the Bureau may determine 
                necessary or appropriate.
            (3) Differentiation permitted.--In issuing the final rules 
        under paragraph (1), the Bureau may establish different 
        standards for different types of fees and charges, as 
        appropriate.

SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONFINEMENT FACILITY COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Section 276 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 276) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Additional Requirements for Confinement Facility 
Communications Services.--
            ``(1) Authority.--
                    ``(A) In general.--All charges, practices, 
                classifications, and regulations for and in connection 
                with confinement facility communications services shall 
                be just and reasonable, and any such charge, practice, 
                classification, or regulation that is unjust or 
                unreasonable is declared to be unlawful.
                    ``(B) Rulemaking required.--Not later than 18 
                months after the date of the enactment of this 
                subsection, the Commission shall issue rules to adopt, 
                for the provision of confinement facility 
                communications services, rates and ancillary service 
                charges that are just and reasonable, which shall be 
                the maximum such rates and charges that a provider of 
                confinement facility communications services may charge 
                for such services. In determining rates and charges 
                that are just and reasonable, the Commission shall 
                adopt such rates and charges based on the average 
                industry costs of providing such services using data 
                collected from providers of confinement facility 
                communications services.
                    ``(C) Biennial review.--Not less frequently than 
                every 2 years following the issuance of rules under 
                subparagraph (B), the Commission shall--
                            ``(i) determine whether the rates and 
                        ancillary service charges authorized by the 
                        rules issued under such subparagraph remain 
                        just and reasonable; and
                            ``(ii) if the Commission determines under 
                        clause (i) that any such rate or charge does 
                        not remain just and reasonable, revise such 
                        rules so that such rate or charge is just and 
                        reasonable.
            ``(2) Interim rate caps.--Until the Commission issues the 
        rules required by paragraph (1)(B), a provider of confinement 
        facility communications services may not charge a rate for any 
        voice service communication using confinement facility 
        communications services that exceeds the following:
                    ``(A) For debit calling or prepaid calling, $0.04 
                per minute.
                    ``(B) For collect calling, $0.05 per minute.
            ``(3) Assessment on per-minute basis.--Except as provided 
        in paragraph (4), a provider of confinement facility 
        communications services--
                    ``(A) shall assess all charges for a communication 
                using such services on a per-minute basis for the 
                actual duration of the communication, measured from 
                communication acceptance to termination, rounded up to 
                the next full minute, except in the case of charges for 
                services that the confinement facility offers free of 
                charge or for amounts below the amounts permitted under 
                this subsection; and
                    ``(B) may not charge a per-communication or per-
                connection charge for a communication using such 
                services.
            ``(4) Ancillary service charges.--
                    ``(A) General prohibition.--A provider of 
                confinement facility communications services may not 
                charge an ancillary service charge other than--
                            ``(i) if the Commission has not yet issued 
                        the rules required by paragraph (1)(B), a 
                        charge listed in subparagraph (B) of this 
                        paragraph; or
                            ``(ii) a charge authorized by the rules 
                        adopted by the Commission under paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Permitted charges and rates.--If the 
                Commission has not yet issued the rules required by 
                paragraph (1)(B), a provider of confinement facility 
                communications services may not charge a rate for an 
                ancillary service charge in excess of the following:
                            ``(i) In the case of an automated payment 
                        fee, 2.9 percent of the total charge on which 
                        the fee is assessed.
                            ``(ii) In the case of a fee for single-call 
                        and related services, the exact transaction fee 
                        charged by the third-party provider, with no 
                        markup.
                            ``(iii) In the case of a live agent fee, 
                        $5.95 per use.
                            ``(iv) In the case of a paper bill or 
                        statement fee, $2 per use.
                            ``(v) In the case of a third-party 
                        financial transaction fee, the exact fee, with 
                        no markup, charged by the third party for the 
                        transaction.
            ``(5) Prohibition on site commissions.--A provider of 
        confinement facility communications services may not assess a 
        site commission.
            ``(6) Relationship to state law.--A State or political 
        subdivision of a State may not enforce any law, rule, 
        regulation, standard, or other provision having the force or 
        effect of law relating to confinement facility communications 
        services that allows for higher rates or other charges to be 
        assessed for such services than is permitted under any Federal 
        law or regulation relating to confinement facility 
        communications services.
            ``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Ancillary service charge.--The term 
                `ancillary service charge' means any charge a consumer 
                may be assessed for the setting up or use of a 
                confinement facility communications service that is not 
                included in the per-minute charges assessed for 
                individual communications.
                    ``(B) Automated payment fee.--The term `automated 
                payment fee' means a credit card payment, debit card 
                payment, or bill processing fee, including a fee for a 
                payment made by means of interactive voice response, 
                the internet, or a kiosk.
                    ``(C) Collect calling.--The term `collect calling' 
                means an arrangement whereby a credit-qualified party 
                agrees to pay for charges associated with a 
                communication made to such party using confinement 
                facility communications services and originating from 
                within a confinement facility.
                    ``(D) Confinement facility.--The term `confinement 
                facility'--
                            ``(i) means a jail or a prison; and
                            ``(ii) includes any juvenile, detention, 
                        work release, or mental health facility that is 
                        used primarily to hold individuals who are--
                                    ``(I) awaiting adjudication of 
                                criminal charges or an immigration 
                                matter; or
                                    ``(II) serving a sentence for a 
                                criminal conviction.
                    ``(E) Confinement facility communications 
                service.--The term `confinement facility communications 
                service' means a service that allows incarcerated 
                persons to make electronic communications (whether 
                intrastate, interstate, or international and whether 
                made using video, audio, or any other communicative 
                method, including advanced communications services) to 
                individuals outside the confinement facility, or to 
                individuals inside the confinement facility, where the 
                incarcerated person is being held, regardless of the 
                technology used to deliver the service.
                    ``(F) Consumer.--The term `consumer' means the 
                party paying a provider of confinement facility 
                communications services.
                    ``(G) Debit calling.--The term `debit calling' 
                means a presubscription or comparable service which 
                allows an incarcerated person, or someone acting on an 
                incarcerated person's behalf, to fund an account set up 
                through a provider that can be used to pay for 
                confinement facility communications services originated 
                by the incarcerated person.
                    ``(H) Fee for single-call and related services.--
                The term `fee for single-call and related services' 
                means a billing arrangement whereby communications made 
                by an incarcerated person using collect calling are 
                billed through a third party on a per-communication 
                basis, where the recipient does not have an account 
                with the provider of confinement facility 
                communications services.
                    ``(I) Incarcerated person.--The term `incarcerated 
                person' means a person detained at a confinement 
                facility, regardless of the duration of the detention.
                    ``(J) Jail.--The term `jail'--
                            ``(i) means a facility of a law enforcement 
                        agency of the Federal Government or of a State 
                        or political subdivision of a State that is 
                        used primarily to hold individuals who are--
                                    ``(I) awaiting adjudication of 
                                criminal charges;
                                    ``(II) post-conviction and 
                                committed to confinement for sentences 
                                of one year or less; or
                                    ``(III) post-conviction and 
                                awaiting transfer to another facility; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) includes--
                                    ``(I) city, county, or regional 
                                facilities that have contracted with a 
                                private company to manage day-to-day 
                                operations;
                                    ``(II) privately-owned and operated 
                                facilities primarily engaged in housing 
                                city, county, or regional incarcerated 
                                persons; and
                                    ``(III) facilities used to detain 
                                individuals pursuant to a contract with 
                                U.S. Immigration and Customs 
                                Enforcement.
                    ``(K) Live agent fee.--The term `live agent fee' 
                means a fee associated with the optional use of a live 
                operator to complete a confinement facility 
                communications service transaction.
                    ``(L) Paper bill or statement fee.--The term `paper 
                bill or statement fee' means a fee associated with 
                providing a consumer an optional paper billing 
                statement.
                    ``(M) Per-communication or per-connection charge.--
                The term `per-communication or per-connection charge' 
                means a one-time fee charged to a consumer at the 
                initiation of a communication.
                    ``(N) Prepaid calling.--The term `prepaid calling' 
                means a calling arrangement that allows a consumer to 
                pay in advance for a specified amount of confinement 
                facility communications services.
                    ``(O) Prison.--The term `prison'--
                            ``(i) means a facility operated by a State 
                        or Federal agency that is used primarily to 
                        confine individuals convicted of felonies and 
                        sentenced to terms in excess of one year; and
                            ``(ii) includes--
                                    ``(I) public and private facilities 
                                that provide outsource housing to State 
                                or Federal agencies such as State 
                                Departments of Correction and the 
                                Federal Bureau of Prisons; and
                                    ``(II) facilities that would 
                                otherwise be jails but in which the 
                                majority of incarcerated persons are 
                                post-conviction or are committed to 
                                confinement for sentences of longer 
                                than one year.
                    ``(P) Provider of confinement facility 
                communications services.--The term `provider of 
                confinement facility communications services' means any 
                communications service provider that provides 
                confinement facility communications services, 
                regardless of the technology used.
                    ``(Q) Site commission.--The term `site commission' 
                means any monetary payment, in-kind payment, gift, 
                exchange of services or goods, fee, technology 
                allowance, or product that a provider of confinement 
                facility communications services or an affiliate of a 
                provider of confinement facility communications 
                services may pay, give, donate, or otherwise provide 
                to--
                            ``(i) an entity that operates a confinement 
                        facility;
                            ``(ii) an entity with which the provider of 
                        confinement facility communications services 
                        enters into an agreement to provide confinement 
                        facility communications services;
                            ``(iii) a governmental agency that oversees 
                        a confinement facility;
                            ``(iv) the State or political subdivision 
                        of a State where a confinement facility is 
                        located; or
                            ``(v) an agent or other representative of 
                        an entity described in any of clauses (i) 
                        through (iv).
                    ``(R) Third-party financial transaction fee.--The 
                term `third-party financial transaction fee' means the 
                exact fee, with no markup, that a provider of 
                confinement facility communications services is charged 
                by a third party to transfer money or process a 
                financial transaction to facilitate the ability of a 
                consumer to make an account payment via a third party.
                    ``(S) Voice service.--The term `voice service'--
                            ``(i) means any service that is 
                        interconnected with the public switched 
                        telephone network and that furnishes voice 
                        communications to an end user using resources 
                        from the North American Numbering Plan or any 
                        successor to the North American Numbering Plan 
                        adopted by the Commission under section 
                        251(e)(1); and
                            ``(ii) includes--
                                    ``(I) transmissions from a 
                                telephone facsimile machine, computer, 
                                or other device to a telephone 
                                facsimile machine; and
                                    ``(II) without limitation, any 
                                service that enables real-time, two-way 
                                voice communications, including any 
                                service that requires internet 
                                protocol-compatible customer premises 
                                equipment (commonly known as `CPE') and 
                                permits out-bound calling, whether or 
                                not the service is one-way or two-way 
                                voice over internet protocol.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 276(d) of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 276(d)) is amended by striking ``inmate telephone 
service in correctional institutions'' and inserting ``confinement 
facility communications services (as defined in subsection (e)(7))''.
    (c) Existing Contracts.--
            (1) In general.--In the case of a contract that was entered 
        into and under which a provider of confinement facility 
        communications services was providing such services at a 
        confinement facility on or before the date of the enactment of 
        this Act--
                    (A) paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (e) of 
                section 276 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added 
                by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply to the 
                provision of confinement facility communications 
                services by such provider at such facility beginning on 
                the earlier of--
                            (i) the date that is 60 days after such 
                        date of enactment; or
                            (ii) the date of the termination of the 
                        contract; and
                    (B) the terms of such contract may not be extended 
                after such date of enactment, whether by exercise of an 
                option or otherwise.
            (2) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms 
        ``confinement facility'', ``confinement facility communications 
        service'', and ``provider of confinement facility 
        communications services'' have the meanings given such terms in 
        paragraph (7) of subsection (e) of section 276 of the 
        Communications Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a) of this 
        section.
    (d) Authority.--Section 2(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 152(b)) is amended by inserting ``section 276,'' after ``227, 
inclusive,''.

SEC. 7. OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION FACILITIES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Applicable standards.--The term ``applicable 
        standards'' means the most recent version of detention 
        standards and detention-related policies issued by the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security or the Director of U.S. 
        Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
            (2) Detention facility.--The term ``detention facility'' 
        means a Federal, State, or local government facility, or a 
        privately owned and operated facility, that is used, in whole 
        or in part, to hold individuals under the authority of the 
        Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including 
        facilities that hold such individuals under a contract or 
        agreement with the Department of Homeland Security.
    (b) Detention Requirements.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall ensure that all persons detained pursuant to the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) are treated humanely and 
benefit from the protections set forth in this section.
    (c) Oversight Requirements.--
            (1) Annual inspection.--All detention facilities housing 
        noncitizens in the custody of the Department of Homeland 
        Security shall be inspected, for compliance with applicable 
        detention standards issued by the Secretary and other 
        applicable regulations, by--
                    (A) the Immigration Detention Ombudsman at least 
                biannually; and
                    (B) an independent, third-party auditor at least 
                biannually.
            (2) Routine oversight.--In addition to the inspections 
        required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct 
        routine oversight of the detention facilities described in 
        paragraph (1), including unannounced inspections.
            (3) Availability of records.--All detention facility 
        contracts, memoranda of agreement, audits, inspections, 
        evaluations and reviews, include those conducted by the Office 
        for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Office of 
        Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, shall 
        be considered public records for purposes of section 552(f)(2) 
        of title 5, United States Code.
            (4) Consultation.--The Secretary shall seek input from 
        nongovernmental organizations regarding their independent 
        opinion of specific facilities.
            (5) Report of immigration detention ombudsman.--The 
        Immigration Detention Ombudsman shall submit a report to 
        Congress on a bi-annual basis on its activities, findings, and 
        recommendations, based on the inspections conducted under 
        paragraph (1), including a copy of any complaint form or 
        mechanism created, the number and types of complaints received, 
        the number of complaints investigated, and the number of 
        inspections under paragraph (1) that the Ombudsman conducted 
        during the previous 6-month period, including any unannounced 
        inspections.
    (d) Compliance Mechanisms.--
            (1) Agreements.--
                    (A) New agreements.--Compliance with applicable 
                standards of the Secretary of Homeland Security and all 
                applicable regulations, and meaningful financial 
                penalties for failure to comply, shall be a material 
                term in any new contract, memorandum of agreement, or 
                any renegotiation, modification, or renewal of an 
                existing contract or agreement, including fee 
                negotiations, executed with detention facilities.
                    (B) Existing agreements.--Not later than 180 days 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
                Secretary shall secure a modification incorporating 
                these terms for any existing contracts or agreements 
                that will not be renegotiated, renewed, or otherwise 
                modified.
                    (C) Cancellation of agreements.--Unless the 
                Secretary provides a reasonable extension to a specific 
                detention facility that is negotiating in good faith, 
                contracts or agreements with detention facilities that 
                are not modified within 1 year of the date of the 
                enactment of this Act will be cancelled.
                    (D) Provision of information.--In making 
                modifications under this paragraph, the Secretary shall 
                require that detention facilities provide to the 
                Secretary all contracts, memoranda of agreement, 
                evaluations, and reviews regarding the facility on a 
                regular basis. The Secretary shall make these materials 
                publicly available on a timely and regular basis.
            (2) Financial penalties.--
                    (A) Requirement to impose.--Subject to subparagraph 
                (C), the Secretary shall impose meaningful financial 
                penalties upon facilities that fail to comply with 
                applicable detention standards issued by the Secretary 
                and other applicable regulations.
                    (B) Timing of imposition.--Financial penalties 
                imposed under subparagraph (A) shall be imposed 
                immediately after a facility fails to achieve an 
                adequate or the equivalent median score in any 
                performance evaluation.
                    (C) Waiver.--The requirements of subparagraph (A) 
                may be waived if the facility corrects the noted 
                deficiencies and receives an adequate score in not more 
                than 90 days.
                    (D) Multiple offenders.--If the Secretary 
                determines that a facility has been persistently and 
                substantially violating the detention standards issued 
                by the Secretary, including by scoring less than 
                adequate or the equivalent median score in 2 
                consecutive inspections--
                            (i) the Secretary shall terminate contracts 
                        or agreements with such facilities within 60 
                        days; or
                            (ii) in the case of facilities operated by 
                        the Secretary, the Secretary shall close such 
                        facilities within 90 days.
    (e) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) Objectives.--Not later than June 30 of each year, the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a report to the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that describes 
        the inspection and oversight activities at detention 
        facilities.
            (2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) a description of each detention facility found 
                to be in noncompliance with applicable detention 
                standards issued by the Department of Homeland Security 
                and other applicable regulations;
                    (B) a description of the actions taken by the 
                Department to remedy any findings of noncompliance or 
                other identified problems, including financial 
                penalties, contract or agreement termination, or 
                facility closure; and
                    (C) information regarding whether the actions 
                described in subparagraph (B) resulted in compliance 
                with applicable detention standards and regulations.

SEC. 8. REPLACEMENT OF FAMILY DETENTION WITH ALTERNATIVES.

    Section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Prohibition on Detention of Families.--
            ``(1) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security is prohibited 
        from--
                    ``(A) detaining a family unit under the authority 
                of this section; or
                    ``(B) separating a family unit whose members were 
                apprehended together in order to detain a family member 
                under this section.
            ``(2) Alternatives to detention.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall establish community-based and community-
                supported case management programs operated by 
                nonprofit organizations for family units who are 
                prohibited from being detained pursuant to paragraph 
                (1), which programs shall impose the least onerous 
                obligations possible on participants.
                    ``(B) Prohibition on certain alternatives.--The 
                Secretary may not use an ankle-worn or other GPS 
                tracking device as an alternative to detention under 
                this paragraph.''.

SEC. 9. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.

    (a) In General.--A person aggrieved of any violation of this Act or 
an amendment made by this Act may bring a civil action in an 
appropriate district court of the United States.
    (b) Relief.--For a prevailing plaintiff in a civil action brought 
under subsection (a), the court--
            (1) shall award damages in the amount equal to the greater 
        of--
                    (A) the actual damages of the plaintiff; or
                    (B) $1,000 for each violation of this Act or an 
                amendment made by this Act;
            (2) may order injunctive relief; and
            (3) shall award reasonable attorney fees.
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