Sec. 4. Training and continuing education

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The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish policies and guidelines to ensure that every agent and officer of U.S. Customs and Border Protection receives a minimum of 19 weeks of training that are directly related to the mission of the Border Patrol and the Office of Field Operations before the initial assignment of such agents and officers, and eight hours of training and continuing education annually thereafter. Such training and continuing education shall be conducted by attorneys who have experience with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, including appropriate application of the use of force by agents and officers of U.S.

Customs and Border Protection. Such attorneys shall be members of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of General Counsel, and all instruction provided shall be in alignment with curriculum developed and endorsed by FLETC. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish policies and guidelines governing training with FLETC and continuing education of agents and officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding border awareness, accountability, and oversight.

Such training with FLETC shall include individual courses for each of the following issues: Community relations, including the following: Best practices in community policing. Policies limiting location of enforcement and cooperation with local law enforcement. Best practices in responding to grievances and how to refer complaints to the Ombudsman for Border and Immigration Related Concerns in accordance with section 452 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended by section 3 of this Act.

Interdiction, including the following: Instruction on formal and proper command language. Situational awareness of what language is appropriate. Legal application of use of force policies and guidelines. Policies and training scenarios necessary to ensure the agent or officer and the community is safe when intervening in situations in urban areas, including— scenario-based training and guidelines; and non-lethal force training and certification on at least one non-lethal force instrument, including tasers.

Policies necessary to ensure the agent or officer and the community is safe when intervening in situations in rural and remote locations. Vulnerable populations, including instruction on screening, identifying, and responding to vulnerable populations, such as children and victims of human trafficking. Cultural and societal issues, including the following: Understanding of the diversity of immigrant communities. Language and basic cultural awareness of major migrant-sending countries.

Natural resource protection and environmental policies along the border. Privacy considerations regarding border-related technologies. Standards of professional conduct, including the following: Lawful use of force. Complying with chain of command and lawful orders. Conduct and ethical behavior toward the public in a civil and professional manner. Respect for civil rights and protection of the well-being of individuals. In addition to the training and continuing education required under subsections

(a)and (b), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish policies and guidelines governing the continuing education of agents and officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who attain a supervisory or management position. Such training and continuing education shall include the following: Instruction relating to management and leadership best practices. Refresher instruction or in-service training relating to legal application of use of force policies and guidelines, intervention, community relations, and professional conduct. Mitigation training to identify, diagnose, and address issues within such supervisory and management roles. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a review process to ensure that port supervisors and managers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as the case may be, are evaluated annually on their actions and standards of conduct, and on the actions, situational and educational development, and standards of conduct of their staffs. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall annually require all agents and officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who are required to undergo training under subsections

(a)through

(c)to participate in continuing education to maintain and update understanding of Federal legal rulings, court decisions, and Department of Homeland Security policies, procedures, and guidelines related to the subject matters described in such subsections. Continuing education under this subsection shall include a course on protecting the civil, constitutional, human, and privacy rights of individuals, with special emphasis on the scope of enforcement authority, including chain of evidence practices and document seizure, and use of force policies available to agents and officers. Continuing education under this subsection shall also include a course on the following: Scope of authority to conduct immigration enforcement activities, including interviews, interrogations, stops, searches, arrests, and detentions, in addition to identifying and detecting fraudulent documents. Identifying, screening, and responsibility for vulnerable populations, such as children and victims of trafficking. Cultural and societal issues, including understanding of the diversity of immigrant communities, language and basic cultural awareness of major migrant-sending countries, and natural resource protection and environmental policies along the border. Courses offered as part of continuing education under this subsection shall— be administered in consultation with FLETC by the individual Border Patrol sectors and the Office of Field Operations of the Department of Homeland Security in order to provide such sectors field offices with flexibility to design or tailor such courses to the specific needs and conditions of each such sector and field office; and be approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security before being offered to ensure that such courses satisfy the requirements for training under this section. Courses offered as part of continuing education under this subsection shall include— a yearly course focusing on the curriculum described in paragraph (2); and an additional course to be rotated on a three-year basis focusing on curriculum described in paragraph (3). Not later than six years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that assesses the training and education, including continuing education, required under this section.