# 119-hr-9070: OPEN Act 119-hr-9070, OPEN Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-15). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9070 - As of: 2026-07-15 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-9070 - Congress: 119 - Title: OPEN Act - Status: in_committee - Introduced: 2026-05-29 - Sponsor: Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO) - Cosponsors: 3 - Policy area: Immigration - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-07-15 ## Summary **The OPEN Act would boost federal focus on greater transparency and oversight of immigration detention.** It centers on unfettered lawmaker access, stronger detainee protections, and limits on creating or converting detention facilities. - Members of Congress would get unrestricted, advance-notice-free access to every Department of Homeland Security detention site. Any delay or denial must be reported within 72 hours and repeated denials can trigger staff discipline with committee notice in 48 hours. - People in custody and their families would have guaranteed, timely access to legal counsel, faith leaders, and family in person or by phone with privacy protections. The bill would require confidential, multilingual grievance systems with non-retaliation rules and facility-level reporting on sexual abuse prevention and investigations. - New or converted detention centers would face strict pre‑operational audits published at least 30 days before contracts and inspections that DHS must report within 14 days. The bill would bar certain conversions until standards are met, impose financial penalties for systemic failures, and require judicially enforceable warrants for arrests with unlawfully obtained evidence excluded from removal proceedings. ## Cosponsors (3) - Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7] (D-CO), 2026-05-29T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6] (D-CO), 2026-05-29T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1] (D-CO), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Ban on using unlawfully obtained evidence: benefit, high. If enacted, information gathered in violation of the bill's warrant rules could not be used as evidence in removal hearings to prove alienage or chargeability. A person in a case could file a motion to enforce the ban, including a motion to terminate removal proceedings when appropriate. This would… - Judicial warrants for home arrests: benefit, high. If enacted, ICE and CBP could not arrest or detain someone at home without a judicially enforceable warrant from a magistrate or Article III judge. Administrative warrants could not authorize entry into private residences or forced entry, except for people determined to be a flight risk or danger t… - Fast access to lawyers and family: benefit, medium. If enacted, detained people would have quick rights to contact supporters. A family member must be notified within 5 hours of detention. Detainees would get at least one phone call within 5 hours and reasonable access to a lawyer and a faith leader within 12 hours. Access could be limited only by n… - Safer detainee transfer rules: benefit, medium. If enacted, people moved between detention sites would get minimum safety and medical protections during transport. Vehicles must have secure seating or seatbelts and no standing-room transport. Detainees must have food, water, medication access, and restroom breaks at least every 2 hours. Sending… - Medical care and hospital notifications: benefit, medium. If enacted, DHS would have to provide timely medical and mental health care under federal detention standards. People receiving VA care would keep access to Department of Veterans Affairs services. Legal counsel and a designated representative must be told immediately if a detainee goes to a hospit… - Annual sexual abuse reporting: benefit, medium. If enacted, DHS would publish a facility-specific report at least once a year on compliance with sexual abuse prevention standards. Reports would list the number of allegations, investigation status and outcomes, compliance findings, and any corrective actions and their status. - No‑notice congressional access to facilities: benefit, medium. If enacted, Members of Congress would have unrestricted, no-advance-notice access to all DHS immigration detention facilities. They could see all areas and privately speak with detainees and staff the same day. DHS must report within 72 hours if access is delayed or denied and take discipline and n… - Pre-opening inspections and contract penalties: benefit, medium. If enacted, new or converted detention centers would need an independent inspection and a published report at least 30 days before any contract is signed. State attorneys general and civil-rights monitors would get unannounced access. DHS must report inspection results to Congress and the Governor… - Public reporting and removal for misconduct: benefit, medium. If enacted, DHS would publicly report aggregated misconduct data, excluding personal details. If an investigation finds an officer used excessive force, that person must be removed from duties involving supervision, custody, or transport and not returned to those duties at that facility. Transport-… - Reconstituted DHS civil rights office: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Department of Homeland Security would reconstitute its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties with an independent reporting structure. The office would report directly to the DHS Secretary and would investigate, review, and report on civil-rights and civil-liberties issues in i… - Confidential grievance system for detainees: benefit, low. If enacted, every immigration detention facility would have a confidential grievance process. Complaints could be filed orally or in writing and in commonly spoken languages. The system must protect against retaliation and provide timely review and resolution of complaints about force, misconduct,… ## Related bills - 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025 - 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026 - 119-hr-10115: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026 ## Sources - [119-hr-9070 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9070) ## Related - [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725) - [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853) - [119-hr-10115: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10115) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9070 (as of 2026-07-15).