No PREJUDICE Act

Protect immigrants from biased DHS stops

This bill would prohibit officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security and people acting under DHS authority from seizing, detaining, or arresting someone or subjecting them to routine or spontaneous investigatory activities based on actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. It would also bar stops because a person is at places tied to informal or temporary work (for example, bus stops, car washes, or agricultural sites), because of participation in a particular hobby, leisure activity, job, or career, or because the person speaks Spanish or any language other than English or speaks English with an accent. The bill would frame these limits as a prohibition on the use of federal funds for such actions. An alien in removal proceedings could request a hearing in U.S. district court to determine whether the prohibition was violated. If a district judge finds a violation, the judge would dismiss the removal proceedings. If the judge finds no violation, the case would be remanded to immigration court for further removal proceedings. The rule would take effect upon enactment.