Protecting Sensitive Locations Act
Bill: H.R.529 | Sponsor: Rep. Espaillat, Adriano (D-NY)
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Protecting Sensitive Locations Act
This bill prohibits immigration enforcement actions within 1,000 feet of a sensitive location unless there are exigent circumstances and written prior approval has been obtained from certain officials.
Sensitive locations include
The prohibition shall apply to Department of Homeland Security officers and agents, as well as state employees pursuing immigration enforcement actions.
If an enforcement action is carried out in violation of this prohibition (1) no information resulting from the action may be entered into the record in a resulting removal proceeding, and (2) the affected alien may move to immediately terminate such a proceeding.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall annually report to Congress about enforcement actions taken at sensitive locations in the preceding year.

To amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit 
immigration enforcement actions at sensitive locations, to clarify the 
 powers of immigration officers at sensitive locations, 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 ``Protecting Sensitive Locations 
Act''.

SEC. 2. POWERS OF IMMIGRATION OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES AT SENSITIVE 
              LOCATIONS.

    Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i)(1) In order to ensure individuals' access to sensitive 
locations, this subsection shall apply to any enforcement action by--
            ``(A) officers or agents of the Department of Homeland 
        Security, including officers and agents of U.S. Immigration and 
        Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and
            ``(B) any individual designated to perform immigration 
        enforcement functions pursuant to subsection (g).
    ``(2)(A) An enforcement action may not take place at, be focused 
on, or occur within, 1,000 feet of, a sensitive location, except--
            ``(i) under exigent circumstances; and
            ``(ii) if prior approval is obtained.
    ``(B) If an enforcement action is taking place under exigent 
circumstances, and the exigent circumstances permitting the enforcement 
action cease, the enforcement action shall be discontinued until such 
exigent circumstances reemerge.
    ``(3)(A) When proceeding with an enforcement action at or near a 
sensitive location, individuals referred to in subparagraphs (A) and 
(B) of paragraph (1) shall make every effort--
            ``(i) to conduct themselves as discreetly as possible, 
        consistent with officer and public safety;
            ``(ii) to limit the time spent at the sensitive 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 sensitive location, individuals referred 
to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) are led to or near a 
sensitive location, and no exigent circumstance and prior approval with 
respect to the sensitive location exists, such individuals shall--
            ``(i) cease before taking any further enforcement action;
            ``(ii) conduct themselves in a discreet manner;
            ``(iii) maintain surveillance; and
            ``(iv) immediately consult their supervisor in order to 
        determine whether such enforcement action should be 
        discontinued.
    ``(C) This section 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 providing such individual 
medical care.
    ``(4) If an enforcement action is carried out in violation of this 
subsection--
            ``(A) no information resulting from the enforcement action 
        may be entered into the record or received into evidence in a 
        removal proceeding 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 proceeding.
    ``(5)(A) Each official specified in subparagraph (B) shall ensure 
that the employees under the supervision of such official receive 
annual training in compliance with the requirements of this subsection 
and section 239 of this Act 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 subparagraph are the 
following:
            ``(i) The Chief Counsel of U.S. Immigration and Customs 
        Enforcement.
            ``(ii) The Field Office Directors of U.S. Immigration and 
        Customs Enforcement.
            ``(iii) Each Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration 
        and Customs Enforcement.
            ``(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 Border Protection.
    ``(6)(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 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 following:
            ``(i) The number of enforcement actions at or focused on a 
        sensitive location.
            ``(ii) The number of enforcement actions where officers or 
        agents were subsequently led to or near a sensitive 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 responsible for each 
        such enforcement action.
            ``(v) A description of the intended target of each such 
        enforcement action.
            ``(vi) The number of individuals, if any, arrested or taken 
        into custody through each such enforcement action.
            ``(vii) The number of collateral arrests, if any, from each 
        such enforcement action and the reasons for each such arrest.
            ``(viii) A certification of whether the location 
        administrator was contacted prior to, during, or after each 
        such enforcement action.
    ``(7) In this subsection:
            ``(A) The term `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
                    ``(i) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
                Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
                    ``(ii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
                Senate;
                    ``(iii) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    ``(iv) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    ``(v) the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    ``(vi) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
                Senate.
            ``(B) The term `early childhood education program' has the 
        meaning given the term under section 103 of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003).
            ``(C) The term `enforcement action' means an arrest, 
        interview, search, or surveillance for the purposes of 
        immigration enforcement, and includes an enforcement action at, 
        or focused on, a sensitive location that is part of a joint 
        case led by another law enforcement agency.
            ``(D) The term `exigent circumstances' means a situation 
        involving the following:
                    ``(i) The imminent risk of death, violence, or 
                physical harm to any person, including a situation 
                implicating terrorism or the national security of the 
                United States in some other manner.
                    ``(ii) The immediate arrest or pursuit of a 
                dangerous felon, terrorist suspect, or other individual 
                presenting an imminent danger or public safety risk.
                    ``(iii) The imminent risk of destruction of 
                evidence that is material to an ongoing criminal case.
            ``(E) The term `prior approval' means the following:
                    ``(i) In the case of officers and agents of U.S. 
                Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prior written 
                approval for a specific, targeted operation from one of 
                the following officials:
                            ``(I) The Assistant Director of Operations, 
                        Homeland Security Investigations.
                            ``(II) The Executive Associate Director of 
                        Homeland Security Investigations.
                            ``(III) The Assistant Director for Field 
                        Operations, Enforcement, and Removal 
                        Operations.
                            ``(IV) The Executive Associate Director for 
                        Field Operations, Enforcement, and Removal 
                        Operations.
                    ``(ii) In the case of officers and agents of U.S. 
                Customs and Border Protection, prior written approval 
                for a specific, targeted operation from one of the 
                following officials:
                            ``(I) A Chief Patrol Agent.
                            ``(II) The Director of Field Operations.
                            ``(III) The Director of Air and Marine 
                        Operations.
                            ``(IV) The Internal Affairs Special Agent 
                        in Charge.
            ``(F) The term `sensitive location' includes all of the 
        physical space located within 1,000 feet of the following:
                    ``(i) Any medical treatment or health care 
                facility, including any hospital, doctor's office, 
                accredited health clinic, or emergent or urgent care 
                facility, or community health center.
                    ``(ii) Public and private schools (including pre-
                schools, primary schools, secondary schools, and 
                postsecondary schools (including colleges and 
                universities)), sites of early childhood education 
                programs, other institutions of learning, such as 
                vocational or trade schools, and other sites where 
                individuals who are unemployed or underemployed may 
                apply for or receive workforce training.
                    ``(iii) Any scholastic or education-related 
                activity or event, including field trips and 
                interscholastic events.
                    ``(iv) Any school bus or school bus stop during 
                periods when school children are present on the bus or 
                at the stop.
                    ``(v) Locations where emergency services providers 
                provide shelter or food.
                    ``(vi) Locations of any organization that--
                            ``(I) assists children, pregnant women, 
                        victims of crime or abuse, or individuals with 
                        significant mental or physical disabilities, 
                        including domestic violence shelters, rape 
                        crisis centers, supervised visitation centers, 
                        family justice centers, and victims services 
                        providers; or
                            ``(II) provides disaster or emergency 
                        social services and assistance, or services for 
                        individuals experiencing homelessness, 
                        including, food banks and shelters.
                    ``(vii) Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other 
                places of worship, such as buildings rented for the 
                purpose of religious services.
                    ``(viii) Sites of funerals, weddings, or other 
                public religious ceremonies.
                    ``(ix) Sites during the occurrence of a public 
                demonstration, such as a march, rally, or parade.
                    ``(x) Any Federal, State, or local courthouse, 
                including the office of an individual's legal counsel 
                or representative, and a probation office.
                    ``(xi) Congressional district offices.
                    ``(xii) Public assistance offices, including 
                locations where individuals may apply for or receive 
                unemployment compensation or report violations of labor 
                and employment laws.
                    ``(xiii) Social Security offices.
                    ``(xiv) Indoor and outdoor premises of departments 
                of motor vehicles.
                    ``(xv) Such other locations as the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security shall specify for purposes of this 
                subsection.''.
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