S.Amdt. 4045

SA 4045. Ms. DUCKWORTH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by her to the bill H.R. 4016, making appropriations for the Department
of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. _____. CITIZENS ARE AS IMPORTANT AS SENATORS.

(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Citizens Are as Important as Senators Act''.
(b) Private Cause of Action.--
(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``covered
individual'' means a citizen or national of the United States
(as defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))) who was--
(A) arrested or detained in the course of a Federal law
enforcement operation--
(i) in Illinois under Operation Midway Blitz;
(ii) in North Carolina under Operation Charlotte's Web; or
(iii) in connection with any Department of Homeland
Security enforcement operation involving the deployment of a
large number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers or agents to a
specific metropolitan area; and
(B) later released without charges and never formally
accused of wrongdoing.
(2) Private cause of action.--
(A) Cause of action.--Any covered individual may bring a
civil action against the United States if the violation was
committed by an officer, employee, or agent of the United
States or of any Federal department or agency.
(B) Relief.--
(i) In general.--If a covered individual prevails on a
claim under this paragraph, the court shall award--

(I) the greater of statutory damages of $500,000 or the
amount of actual damages;
(II) reasonable attorney's fees and costs of litigation;
and
(III) such injunctive or declaratory relief as may be
appropriate.

(ii) Preliminary relief.--Upon motion by a covered
individual, a court may award such preliminary injunctive
relief as the court determines appropriate with respect to a
claim under this paragraph.
(C) Limitations and immunity.--
(i) Period of limitations.--A civil action under this
paragraph may not be commenced later than 5 years after the
covered individual first obtains actual notice of the
violation of this subsection.
(ii) No immunity defense.--No officer, employee, or agent
of the United States or of any Federal department or agency
shall be entitled to assert any form of absolute or qualified
immunity as a defense to liability under this paragraph.
(D) Waiver of sovereign immunity.--The United States
expressly waives sovereign immunity with respect to actions
brought under this paragraph.
(E) Affirmative defense for target investigations.--It
shall be an affirmative defense to an action under this
paragraph if the United States establishes that--
(i) the individual had an outstanding Federal warrant for
their arrest; or
(ii) the individual was arrested or detained in relation to
an investigation other than an investigation described in
paragraph (1)(A).
(3) Limited retroactive applicability.--This section shall
apply to any arrest or detention described in paragraph
(1)(A)--
(A) in the case of Operation Midway Blitz, occurring on or
after September 8, 2025;
(B) in the case of Operation Charlotte's Web, occurring on
or after November 15, 2025; and
(C) in the case of an investigation described in clause
(iii) of that paragraph, occurring on or after January 20,
2025.
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