S.Amdt. 2013Senate115th Congress (2017-2019)
S.Amdt. 2013
Sponsored by
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Submitted February 14, 2018
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Senate amendment submitted
February 14, 2018
Text
Submitted
SA 2013. Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. Udall) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2579, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the premium tax credit with respect to unsubsidized COBRA continuation coverage; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the following: SEC. __. STANDARDS FOR SHORT-TERM CUSTODY BY U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION. (a) Report.-- (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to Congress a report on the status of the Transport, Escort, Detention and Search (TEDS) policy for short-term custody of individuals by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall include the following elements. (A) An assessment of whether Border Patrol and the Office of Field Operations have adopted and are implementing more detailed, component-specific standards to supplement the TEDS policy in accordance with subsection (b) and the status of implementation of the TEDS policy among the various components of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (B) A description of the frequency and findings of U.S. Customs and Border Protection audits and investigations into compliance with the TEDS policy and supplemental policies. (b) Standards of Care.-- (1) In general.--The TEDS policy and additional standards created by Border Patrol and the Office of Field Operations must ensure basic minimum levels of care at all facilities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection that hold individuals in custody, including Border Patrol stations, ports of entry, checkpoints, forward operating bases, secondary inspection areas, and short-term custody facilities. Such care shall include standards with respect to-- (A) limits on detention space capacity by facility and also by holding room or individual cell; (B) the availability of potable water and nutritionally and culturally appropriate food; (C) access to bathroom facilities and hygiene items, including soap, feminine hygiene products, toothpaste, toothbrushes and towels, and showers for those held for 24 hours or longer; (D) adequate climate control and provision of adequate clothing; (E) reasonable sleeping arrangements for all detainees held for longer than 12 hours, including access to beds and adequate bedding; (F) access to telephones; (G) access to lawyers, consular officials, family members, and nongovernmental organizations; (H) language-appropriate forms and materials that include information regarding legal rights, including contact information for the United Nations Refugee Agency and the National Trafficking Hotline, as well as the consequences of signing such forms, in a language the detainee is known to understand; (I) protocols for communicating the information on those forms and materials orally to detainees in a language they are known to understand; (J) appropriate care for pregnant women and individuals with medical needs, including a prohibition on shackling or restraint of pregnant women absent truly extraordinary circumstances (and never during active labor or delivery); (K) appropriate medical screening and care for all detainees, overseen by a trained medical professional, including access to emergency medical care and prescribed medications whenever medically appropriate; (L) reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); (M) reasonable access to facilities and visitation policies for nongovernmental organizations; (N) a transparent, independent, and responsive grievance system widely publicized within facilities in multiple languages, including access to the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties' toll-free number and the complaints number described in the above section; (O) protocols for identifying asylum-seekers who require credible fear screenings and for video recording of those screenings; (P) safely transferring detainees to facilities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with attention paid to ensuring regular meals, medication doses, and rest for detainees; (Q) returning all money and nonperishable personal property (other than prohibited contraband) to former detainees prior to transfer, repatriation, or release, in coordination with other State and Federal agencies as necessary; (R) compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (34 U.S.C. 30301 et seq.), including by requiring regular independent PREA audits, ensuring that all detainees are able to make prompt, confidential sexual abuse complaints to a staffed telephone hotline in multiple languages, and requiring formal, comprehensive PREA compliance training of all U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff with detention- related responsibilities; and (S) compliance with the Victims of Child Abuse Act (42 U.S.C. 1303) and implementing regulations, to ensure that officials are aware of their obligations to report all allegations of child abuse and of the criminal penalties for failure to do so in accordance with section 2258 of title 18, United States Code. (c) Monitoring and Oversight.-- (1) Interim oversight.--Until the TEDS policy and supplemental policies have been implemented and are being adhered to in accordance with subsection (b), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall direct oversight [[Page S1126]] of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities that provide short-term custody to ensure that humane standards of care addressing all of the requirements set forth in such subsection are made publicly available and are being implemented throughout the agency. (2) Access for lop providers and counsel.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to allow Legal Orientation Program (LOP) providers and counsel access to migrants held in U.S. Customs and Border Protection short-term custody facilities. (3) Site visits.--The Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General shall conduct site visits to all short-term detention facilities at least every six months and issue annual inspection reports assessing each facility's compliance with the requirements set forth in subsection (b), along with recommendations for improvement as needed, and promptly make those reports publicly available. ______