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This bill — the Homeland Security Improvement Act — would provide additional oversight of the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) on border and immigration issues and ban family separation, except in very limited circumstances. It would establish a commission at DHS to develop policy recommendations, evaluate policies, and improve agent and officer safety. The commission would be made up of border state representatives.

In addition to the commission, this bill would also establish an Office of the Ombudsman for Border and Immigration Related Concerns at DHS. The ombudsman would be responsible for responding to grievances against DHS; conducting DHS facility inspections; proposing changes to administrative practices to mitigate problems with CBP, ICE and USCIS; and perform other accountability functions within DHS.

This bill would also require ICE and CBP officers to attend education and training on topics such as community policing practices, lawful use of force, de-escalation tactics and the history and ethics of asylum law.

DHS would also be required to perform an assessment of ports of entry and report its findings. The report would cover: 1) staffing levels and additional need at such ports, 2) average delays, and 3) the feasibility of implementing body cameras at such ports.

CBP and ICE would be required to deliver annual reports on:

Their staffing needs;
Their work’s impact(s) on trade and commerce; and
Assessments of border security strategy.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) would be required to report regarding use of force policies at CBP & ICE and the potential implementation of body cameras for the agencies’ agents. It would also be required to develop a separate report on the feasibility of establishing an independent immigration court. That report would assess: 1) the impact such a change would have on the immigration case backlog; 2) barriers to such a court’s creation; and 3) a recommendation to Congress on whether to implement the court.

The DHS and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretaries would be required to create a tracking system interface for separated families.

Family separation could only occur if either 1) a state court terminates a parent’s or legal guardian’s rights and declares that it’d be in the child’s best interests to be removed or 2) an official from the state or county child welfare agency with expertise in child trauma and development makes a best interests determination that it’d be best for the child to re removed from the parent, legal guardian or family member because the child is in danger.

In general, a designated agency would be prohibited from removing a child from a parent, legal guardian or family member solely for the policy goal of deterring migration to the U.S. or promoting compliance with civil immigration laws. A person who knowingly separates a child from their parent could be fined up to $10,000.

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Debra

Should Homeland Security Ban the Separation of Children From Families in Migrant Detention Facilities?