H.R.9271 Cosponsored — To authorize sitting Governors to conduct health and safety oversight inspections of immigration detention facilities located within their states, and to establish a reporting mechanism to Congress on conditions found therein.
Authorize sitting governors to conduct health and safety oversight inspections of immigration detention facilities within their states and require reporting to Congress on conditions found.
Occurrences
Evidence
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Section 527 bars DHS funds from being used to prevent a Member of Congress or designated House/Senate employee from entering DHS facilities used to detain or house aliens for oversight, and says Members of Congress need not provide prior notice.
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Congress.gov lists H.R.5383 as introduced by Rep. Jesus G. Garcia on 12/10/2019, referred to the House Judiciary Committee, with latest action on 01/30/2020 referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. CRS summary says the bill would make immigration-enforcement changes including ending mandatory detention in certain cases and barring DHS contracts with public or private for-profit entities to detain aliens.
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Congress.gov lists Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] as an original cosponsor of H.R.5383 on 12/10/2019.
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The Washington Post reported that Rep. LaMonica McIver, with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Robert Menendez Jr., planned to introduce a bill to strengthen congressional oversight protections for immigration detention visits, requiring DHS and contractors to grant Members of Congress immediate access and train facility staff.
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Sec. 524 addresses public posting of reports required by House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Sec. 527 addresses facility-entry oversight by Members of Congress and designated congressional employees only.
Assessments
The specific promised outcome was not enacted: federal law provided congressional access to DHS immigration detention facilities, but not sitting-governor inspection authority or a governor-to-Congress reporting requirement. Watson Coleman did take related legislative action on immigration detention reform and oversight, including cosponsoring broader detention-reform legislation and supporting later congressional-access oversight proposals, so the failed effort merits an effort badge rather than no-credit silence.