For Our Republic Act
Sponsored By: Senator Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced
Summary
Creates independent United States Immigration Courts with budget and procedural autonomy. It also overhauls care and legal protections for noncitizen children, bans certain immigration biometric surveillance, and tightens executive ethics and election safeguards.
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- Families and children: Strengthens rights and care standards for unaccompanied and accompanied noncitizen children, requires government‑funded legal representation and post‑release services, and creates an independent Ombudsperson for monitoring and complaints. CBP detention for families is limited to 72 hours and large congregate care must be phased out within 2 years.
- Immigration judges and cases: Establishes a three‑division United States Immigration Courts system with Trial and Appellate divisions, 21 appellate judges with staggered 15‑year terms, independent budgeting, published precedents, and new appointment, discipline, and transition rules.
- Executive ethics, surveillance, and elections: Prohibits covered CBP/ICE officers from using biometric surveillance and requires deletion of collected biometric data within 30 days. It bars covered senior officials from specified digital‑asset and prediction‑market activities during service and for 1 year after and adds civil and criminal enforcement tools for violations.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
20 provisions identified: 17 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Better health, schooling, and services in care
If enacted, ORR contractors and state‑licensed programs would have to give children prompt medical exams, ongoing medication and medical devices, and pediatric specialty care. Children would get schooling that meets state standards with materials in their primary language, disability evaluations and individualized plans, and minimum counseling and recreation time (for example, at least two individual counseling sessions weekly and at least one hour of physical activity daily). The bill also requires training for staff and accessible language interpretation.
More placement and review rights for children
If enacted, unaccompanied children and their parents or sponsors would get stronger placement and bond-review rights. Transfers into restrictive placements would require a hearing with the child's full file provided within 24 hours of the decision and at least 2 days before the hearing, and the Director would have to prove the move by clear and convincing evidence. Children in removal proceedings would be entitled to a bond redetermination hearing unless they waive it. The bill would also require child advocates, faster case‑manager contact, and rules that favor least‑restrictive, family‑like placements and timely reunification.
Ban on false election AI and seizures
If enacted, the bill would make it illegal to knowingly distribute AI-made false text, images, audio, or video that is meant to stop or intimidate voters or that falsely depicts election officials to deter voting. The Attorney General could seek court orders to stop such material. The bill would also bar Federal officers or armed forces from seizing ballots before the day after official certification, with narrow exceptions for search warrants and court-ordered recounts or audits and criminal penalties for violations.
Delete biometric records and civil remedies
If enacted, the bill would require covered immigration officers to delete biometric surveillance data they collected, including past data, within 30 days of enactment. It would also allow people harmed by unlawful biometric surveillance to sue for actual and punitive damages and attorney fees, and let courts order officer retraining or discipline. The bill would also let people sue the United States for constitutional harms caused by CBP or ICE officers and names funding sources for awards.
Limits on biometrics and data matching
If enacted, the bill would bar covered immigration officers from using biometric surveillance systems in the United States and make information obtained that way inadmissible to most federal proceedings. It would prohibit the Federal Government from comparing its records with State or local records to decide who can vote in Federal elections. The bill would also restrict which government source data a State may use to remove registrants, require Attorney General approval and monthly updates, and limit qualifying name‑and‑ID combinations.
Limits on military and federal action at polls
If enacted, the bill would make domestic military deployments a last resort and require quick public notice when federal forces are used for crowd control. It would let harmed people sue quickly over troop deployments and speed judicial review. The bill would also create private lawsuits and remedies for illegal ballot seizures and set definitions that protect polling places from federal officer intimidation.
More immigration court judges and staff
If enacted, the bill would add immigration-court capacity in fiscal year 2025. It would fund at least 75 new immigration judges, 75 additional law clerks, and 300 support staff and require better facilities, technology, and interpreters. The courts would be allowed to hire some staff outside normal civil-service rules and set pay to match comparable judicial jobs; RAIO staff would be explicitly counted as asylum officers.
New independent U.S. immigration courts
If enacted, the bill would create independent United States Immigration Courts with trial and appellate divisions, set 15‑year terms for judges, require written opinions and binding internal precedent, and let the courts set practice rules and reasonable filing fees with fee waivers for hardship. The courts would take over many removal and related proceedings and appellate review would be limited to issues raised on appeal.
New rules for federal policing conduct
If enacted, the bill would ban racial profiling by Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement for routine stops unless there is timely trustworthy information linking a person to a specific crime. It would also bar federal officers and military members from obscuring required identification or using unmarked vehicles during crowd control or arrests. If an officer arrests someone after violating those ID or vehicle rules, the arrest could be unlawful.
Stronger protections for immigrant children
If enacted, the bill would add many new protections for noncitizen children in U.S. custody. CBP could not hold a child for more than 72 hours and HHS must decide sponsor placement within 7 days. The bill would ban secure placements except very narrow danger cases, phase out large congregate facilities (over 25 people) within 2 years with benchmarks at 1 year and 545 days, and bar placing children in ICE or noncompliant CBP facilities. ORR records would be confidential and could be shared only after the child consults counsel and gives informed consent (parents/sponsors consent for under‑12); the government would provide lawyers for unaccompanied children and must give counsel the ORR case file within 7 days on request.
Tighter limits on domestic military deployments
If enacted, the bill would restrict when the President may send active-duty or reserve forces to respond to insurrections, widespread domestic violence, or obstruction of law. Deployments would terminate after 7 days unless Congress passes a joint resolution; if Congress approves, deployment would continue for 14 days from enactment unless renewed. The bill also requires consultation and reporting to Congress, insists forces follow established use-of-force and chain-of-command rules, and bars using certain Title 32 National Guard duty statuses for suppression.
CBP custody, transport, and border medical rules
If enacted, CBP would have to keep unaccompanied children separated from unrelated adults and limit holding a child with an unrelated adult to no more than 6 hours when immediate separation is infeasible. Children must get a medical screening within 6 hours of arrival, access to medication and pediatric care, and in‑person interpretation. Parents or family could accompany children to hospitals unless a child‑welfare expert finds a safety risk. CBP must update transportation standards and make facilities compliant within set timelines.
Stronger oversight of child facilities
If enacted, HHS would create an independent Ombudsperson, open regional offices, and get subpoena power to inspect and investigate childcare and influx facilities. The bill would require monthly on‑site monitoring of influx sites, annual audits of each childcare facility, public reporting, and a $46.5 million contingency fund to hire case managers when nationwide bed use reaches specified triggers. Operators that lose state licenses or fail standards could be suspended or debarred for at least 3 years.
Stronger oversight, emoluments, and spending checks
If enacted, the bill would require Congressional consent before an agency may be dissolved, merged, or have its mission changed. It would bar the President and Vice President from accepting emoluments without Congress and let the White House inspector seek disgorgement. The bill would also limit who may be nominated as Inspectors General, but it would let the President block certain sensitive IG probes with post‑hoc notice to Congress. The bill restricts executive rescissions of appropriations and requires Congressional approval for payments from the named Anti‑Weaponization Fund and for a specific East Wing project.
New ethics limits, crypto and market bans
If enacted, covered officials would face new ethics rules and reporting duties, including written confirmations about foreign financial interests and penalties for knowing failures. The bill would ban certain paid digital‑asset transactions by covered officials while in office and for one year after, and would bar listing or trading contracts tied to elections, government actions, sports, or military events on registered exchanges (with narrow hedging exceptions). It would also create a gratuities crime for transactions tied to deals worth $5,000 or more.
Stricter rules for child residential care
If enacted, a child could go to a residential therapeutic facility only after a licensed child psychologist or psychiatrist does a detailed evaluation. The evaluator must find the child poses a substantial risk, that residential care is in the child's best interest, and that less restrictive family options cannot work. The Director must try family-based therapeutic foster care first. The evaluator must write reasons, treatment goals, and a transition plan. Reviews must follow timing rules: hearings at least 72 hours after notice and at least 5 business days before a planned transfer; a written decision must be issued at least 2 business days before transfer and sent to the Ombudsperson within 72 hours.
More notice for federal workforce cuts
If enacted, agencies would have to include a detailed written justification when issuing rules about workforce reductions. The justification would have to explain specific reasons, expected effects on operations and employees, alternatives considered and why they were rejected, and consultations with affected employees or representatives. The bill would also expand the definition of a "rule" to cover RIF-related orders and major agency actions that materially affect employees or operations.
Inspector general for the Executive Office
If enacted, the President would be required to appoint an Inspector General for the Executive Office of the President within 120 days. The IG would operate under the Inspector General Act and increase independent oversight of the Executive Office.
No GSA help for conflicted deals
If enacted, the General Services Administrator would be barred from helping with any federal real property purchase, sale, lease, or transaction that would violate federal ethics rules or create a conflict or appearance of undue influence. The ban would apply to GSA decisions to assist and to transactions with GSA involvement. This would stop GSA support for deals that look like they give unfair advantage or break ethics rules.
Ban on presidents' images and signatures
If enacted, the bill would bar the image of any living current or former President on U.S. coins and bar the sitting President's signature on currency. It would also prevent using a sitting President or Vice President's image or name on passports or naming federal property without Congress. The bill would prohibit showing a living political figure on the national parks and recreation pass.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
OR • D
Cosponsors
Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 8/4/2026
Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
CT • D
Sponsored 8/4/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov