he urged the FBI and DOJ to encourage local and state law enforcement to collect arrestees’ immigration status, national origin and ethnicity by reforming the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), in which most agencies participate. Currently, the NIBRS only includes ethnicity as an optional element, and it does not require law enforcement to collect an arrestee’s immigration status or national origin.
I will work to reform the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) so that local and state law enforcement are required to collect arrestees’ immigration status, national origin, and ethnicity.
Occurrences
Evidence
The letter calls for the FBI to ask local law enforcement to report the immigration status and national origin of arrestees in its National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). ... NIBRS does not require law enforcement to collect an arrestee’s immigration status or national origin, and only includes ethnicity as an optional element. Most states and localities participate in NIBRS, so requiring information about an arrestee’s immigration status, national origin, and ethnicity would encourage local jurisdictions to collect it.
Data Element 50-Ethnicity of Arrestee ... Mandatory: Optional ... Data Values: H = Hispanic or Latino, N = Not Hispanic or Latino, U = Unknown. Data Element 51-Resident Status of Arrestee ... Mandatory: Optional ... Data Values: R = Resident, N = Nonresident, U = Unknown. The document contains no data element for immigration status or national origin.
NIBRS captures details on each single crime incident ... including information on victims, known offenders, relationships between victims and offenders, arrestees, and property involved in crimes. NIBRS collects data for 71 offenses, plus 10 additional offenses for which only arrests are reported. The page highlights demographic details but does not identify immigration status or national origin as collected arrestee fields.
Banks asked DOJ and the FBI to have NIBRS require local law enforcement to report arrestees' immigration status and national origin; the letter says ethnicity is currently optional.
The FBI's 2025.0 NIBRS specification includes ethnicity of arrestee and resident status as optional fields, and it does not add immigration status or national origin as arrestee fields.
The FBI's current NIBRS documentation page still points users to the 2025.0 NIBRS Technical Specification and 2025.0 NIBRS User Manual as the current materials.
Assessments
Banks appears to have made a concrete later-term effort by urging DOJ and the FBI in October 2025 to change NIBRS so local agencies would report arrestees' immigration status, national origin, and ethnicity. But the official FBI 2025.0 NIBRS specification still does not require those fields: ethnicity remains optional, resident status is optional, and there is no arrestee field for immigration status or national origin. Because the promised reform was not implemented, the outcome is not delivered; because he did make a serious attempt, it earns effort credit.
Banks made a concrete federal effort after entering the Senate by urging the FBI and DOJ to change NIBRS so agencies would report arrestees' immigration status, national origin, and ethnicity. However, the evidence shows the promised outcome was not implemented: current NIBRS materials still do not include immigration status or national origin as required arrestee fields, and ethnicity remains optional. Because the promise was to reform NIBRS so collection would be required, the outcome was not delivered, but the serious official attempt merits an effort badge.