Title: Waiver Accountability and Transparency Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Waiver Accountability and Transparency Act
This bill imposes requirements related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) granting waivers to immigration detention facilities that do not meet certain standards.
ICE shall publicly post within three days of submission each waiver request, request justification, assessment, final decision, and rationale for whether the waiver was granted or denied.
ICE shall grade each waiver request from 1 to 3, with 3 being the most serious and including those with issues impacting due process, medical safety, and security. For grade 3 waivers, all parties involved, including ICE, must sign off on a corrective action plan, which shall include a timeline and plan to make the facility compliant with the relevant standards.
A waiver may not be approved for longer than 90 days, and waivers may be reapproved every 90 days. After one year, any reapproval shall be approved by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE, and DHS and ICE shall jointly publish the justification for the reapproval.
ICE shall periodically report to Congress and publicly post online financial penalties imposed on a facility. DHS shall periodically report to Congress and publicly post online an analysis of sample of cases where facility failed to meet a standard but DHS declined to impose a penalty. The Government Accountability Office shall periodically conduct a study on the waiver process and the ability of DHS to hold contractors accountable.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2489 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 Representatives 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 IMMIGRATION DETENTION 
              FACILITIES.

    (a) Definition.--In this section, the term ``immigration detention 
facility'' means a place of detention for aliens detained pending 
removal, or a decision on removal, 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 private entity or a 
Federal, State, Tribal, or local government, whether or not such 
facility also is a place of detention 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 rationale 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 Enforcement 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.
            (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 
        corrective action plan. The corrective action plan shall 
        include a timeline and a corrective action plan with the goal 
        of eliminating the waiver and being compliant with existing 
        standards.
            (4) The waiver may be approved by the Director (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 notify 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 submitted to Congress within 
        3 business days.
            (7) After 1 year, any reapproval shall be approved by the 
        Secretary, the Chief Financial Officer of U.S. Immigration and 
        Customs Enforcement, and the Director (or acting Director) of 
        U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who shall publish 
        jointly justification for the approval.
    (c) Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan.--The Director of U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement 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 assurance surveillance plans in existing 
contacts and agreements.
    (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. Immigration and Customs 
        Enforcement shall report to Congress and publicly post online 
        any financial penalties 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 Homeland 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 meet a detention standard applicable to the 
        detention facility, but declined to impose a penalty.
    (e) GAO Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall conduct a study on the waiver 
process under subsection (b) and ability of the Secretary of Homeland 
Security to hold contractors accountable through contracting, including 
financial penalties and quality assurance surveillance plans.
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