Sec. 8. Conditions of detention
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In this section: The term applicable standards means the most recent version of detention standards and detention-related policies issued by the Secretary or the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The term detention facility means a Federal, State, or local government facility, or a privately owned and operated facility, that is used, in whole or in part, to hold individuals under the authority of the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including facilities that hold such individuals under a contract or agreement with the Director.
The Secretary shall ensure that all persons detained pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq. ) are treated humanely and benefit from the protections set forth in this section. All detention facilities shall be inspected by the Secretary on a regular basis, but not less than annually, for compliance with applicable detention standards issued by the Secretary and other applicable regulations. In addition to annual inspections, the Secretary shall conduct routine oversight of detention facilities, including unannounced inspections.
All detention facility contracts, memoranda of agreement, and evaluations and reviews shall be considered records for purposes of section 552(f)(2) of title 5, United States Code. The Secretary shall seek input from nongovernmental organizations regarding their independent opinion of specific facilities. Compliance with applicable standards established by the Secretary and all applicable regulations, and meaningful financial penalties for failure to comply, shall be a material term in any new contract, memorandum of agreement, or any renegotiation, modification, or renewal of an existing contract or agreement, including fee negotiations, executed with detention facilities.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall secure a modification incorporating these terms for any existing contracts or agreements that will not be renegotiated, renewed, or otherwise modified. Unless the Secretary provides a reasonable extension to a specific detention facility that is negotiating in good faith, contracts or agreements with detention facilities that are not modified within 1 year of the date of the enactment of this Act shall be canceled.
In making modifications under this paragraph, the Secretary shall require that detention facilities regularly provide the Secretary with all contracts, memoranda of agreement, evaluations, and reviews regarding the facility. The Secretary shall make such materials available to the public. Subject to subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall impose meaningful financial penalties upon facilities that fail to comply with applicable detention standards established by the Secretary and other applicable regulations.
Financial penalties shall be imposed under subparagraph
(A)immediately after a facility fails to achieve an adequate or the equivalent median score in any performance evaluation. The requirements under subparagraph
(A)may be waived if the facility corrects the noted deficiencies and receives an adequate score during the 90-day period beginning on the date on which the facility failed to achieve an adequate score in a performance evaluation. If a facility persistently and substantially fails to comply with applicable detention standards, including scoring less than adequate or the equivalent median score in 2 consecutive inspections— the Secretary shall terminate all contracts or agreements with such facility not later than 60 days after such failure; or if the facility is operated by the Secretary, the Secretary shall close such facility not later than 90 days after such failure. Not later than June 30 of each year, the Secretary shall prepare and submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that describes the inspection and oversight activities of detention facilities. Each report submitted under paragraph
(1)shall include— a description of each detention facility found to be in noncompliance with applicable detention standards issued by the Department or other applicable regulations; a description of the actions taken by the Department to remedy any findings of noncompliance or other identified problems, including financial penalties, contract or agreement termination, or facility closure; and information regarding whether the actions described in subparagraph
(B)resulted in compliance with applicable detention standards and regulations. Solitary confinement, shackling, and strip searches of detainees— may not be used unless such techniques are necessitated by extraordinary circumstances in which the safety of other persons is at imminent risk; and may not be used for the purpose of humiliating detainees within or outside the detention facility. Solitary confinement, shackling, and strip searches may not be used on pregnant women, nursing mothers, women in labor or delivery, or children who are younger than 18 years of age. Strip searches may not be conducted in the presence of children who are younger than 21 years of age. Detention facilities shall— adopt written policies pertaining to the use of force and restraints; and train all staff on the proper use of such techniques and devices.
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Sec. 8
Conditions of detention
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