PRIA Logo™
119-s-3997119th Congress

Homeland Security Improvement Act

Sponsored By: Senator Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]

Introduced

Summary

Independent oversight of DHS border operations is the central goal of this bill. It would create new watchdog offices, tighten training and reporting, and add protections for migrants and border communities.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

6 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Stronger limits on separating families

If enacted, this bill would bar DHS officers from removing a child from a parent solely to deter migration or to promote compliance. Children could only be removed near the border in narrow state-law or child-welfare cases, and DHS would have to give parents written reasons and evidence for any removal. DHS must get an independent qualified child welfare expert review within 48 hours and reunite the child if the expert says removal was not permissible. Parents could sue in federal court for injunctive relief, and anyone who knowingly removes a child in violation could face fines up to $10,000 per occurrence.

Longer training for border agents

If enacted, this bill would require longer initial training and regular continuing education for CBP and Border Patrol. Office of Field Operations staff would get at least 19 weeks and Border Patrol at least 23 weeks before assignments, plus at least 8 hours of yearly continuing education. Trainers on Fourth Amendment and use-of-force topics must be DHS Office of General Counsel attorneys, and the Comptroller General would review use-of-force rules within 1 year and overall training within 6 years.

More data on stops and checkpoints

If enacted, this bill would require DHS and other law enforcement to collect standard data for patrol stops and searches, including date, place, perceived race, items seized, outcomes, language used, and whether recordings exist. CBP would compile checkpoint counts and details. The Secretary must issue data rules within 180 days, publish annual reports to Congress, and the Comptroller General must audit compliance within one year of the rules taking effect.

New Border Ombudsman Office

If enacted, this bill would create an independent Office of the Ombudsman inside DHS. The Ombudsman would take multilingual complaints, investigate and seek redress, and could pursue immigration relief or money damages. The office would run a public complaint database, an online detainee locator for people in CBP custody, and Border Community Liaison Offices in each Border Patrol sector.

New Border Oversight Commission

If enacted, this bill would create a 30-member independent Border Oversight Commission with northern and southern subcommittees. Members would be appointed by congressional leaders in consultation with the President and serve four-year terms. The Commission would meet regularly, make recommendations on border policies with attention to community impacts, and issue annual reports to DHS and Congress.

Reports to reduce deaths and delays

If enacted, this bill would require CBP and ICE to jointly report on migrant deaths within 180 days and then every year. DHS must also deliver a ports-of-entry management assessment within 180 days and issue guidelines to cut delays, including adding technology at ports averaging over two-hour delays. CBP must send sector-level reports within one year and annually. The Comptroller General would review each migrant-deaths report within 90 days.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM]

NM • D

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation