H.R. 1678 — Homeland Security Improvement Act

This section establishes an independent Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Commission, composed of 30 members appointed by congressional leaders in consultation with the President and possessing expertise in migration, local crime, civil and human rights, community relations, cross-border trade, or quality of life indicators. The Commission includes a northern border subcommittee (13 members) and a southern border subcommittee (17 members), with required representation as follows: (1) northern—2 elected local officials, 2 local law enforcement, 2 civil rights advocates, 1 business representative, 1 higher education representative, 1 faith community representative, 2 U.S. Border Patrol officers or agents (including at least 1 from the National Border Patrol Council), and 2 tribal officials; (2) southern—3 each of elected local officials, local law enforcement, and civil rights advocates, 2 business representatives, 1 higher education representative, 1 faith community representative, 2 U.S. Border Patrol officers or agents (including at least 1 from the National Border Patrol Council), and 2 tribal officials. Members elect a Chair and Vice Chair by majority vote of at least 16 members, all serving 4-year terms, with initial appointments due within 180 days of enactment; the Commission meets semiannually and subcommittees quarterly. The Commission and subcommittees must (1) develop recommendations for border enforcement policies, strategies, and programs considering impacts on border communities; (2) evaluate federal agency policies along U.S. northern and southern borders to protect due process, civil and human rights of residents and visitors, private property rights, reduce migrant deaths, and improve safety for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel; (3) recommend improvements for agent and officer field safety; and (4) evaluate and establish training on management, leadership, workforce development, and post-Federal Law Enforcement Training Center training. Subcommittees submit annual public reports to the Commission Chair and Vice Chair, which the Commission considers; Commission members receive no federal pay; and the Commission may hold hearings, take testimony, and administer oaths.

This section establishes within the Department of Homeland Security an Office of the Ombudsman for Border and Immigration-Related Concerns, to be headed by an appointee with a background in immigration or civil liberties law or law enforcement who reports directly to the Secretary, with measures to ensure organizational independence and sufficient staffing. The Ombudsman must (1) establish a confidential process to receive, investigate, and resolve complaints from individuals, associations, and employers regarding DHS border security and immigration activities, including providing immigration relief or monetary damages; (2) conduct inspections of facilities used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS); (3) assist victims of crimes by noncitizens or violence near the border and those impacted by DHS use of force; (4) identify and propose changes to administrative practices to address concerns; (5) review and make recommendations on DHS enforcement activities; (6) create a uniform complaint process against CBP and ICE personnel for professional conduct violations that requires independent review and investigation within one year of receipt, written confirmation to complainants within 60 days, and a written outcome summary within 30 days thereafter (including findings, recommended action, and redress), with centralized multilingual online filing options posted at ports of entry and checkpoints, referral procedures, a public complaint-tracking database, and preserved public records (while protecting complainant identities); and (7) establish an online detainee locator system for individuals in CBP custody. Additionally, the Ombudsman must monitor local offices (including appointing local ombudsmen), evaluate and take personnel actions regarding office employees, recommend disciplinary actions against contractors, refer employee violations to the DHS Inspector General, and provide complainants with outcome summaries; any interested party, including legal representatives, may file complaints.

This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish policies and guidelines ensuring all U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officers receive (1) minimum initial training of 19 weeks for Office of Field Operations employees or 23 weeks for U.S. Border Patrol employees—aligned with Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) curriculum and focused on agency missions—and (2) 8 hours of annual continuing education thereafter, all conducted by Department of Homeland Security Office of General Counsel attorneys experienced in the Fourth Amendment and use of force. The section further directs FLETC training for CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and officers on border awareness, accountability, and oversight, including courses on (1) community relations (e.g., policing best practices, grievance referral); (2) interdiction (e.g., command language, use of force, non-lethal training, urban/rural safety); (3) vulnerable populations (e.g., children, trafficking victims); (4) cultural issues (e.g., immigrant diversity, asylum ethics, privacy); and (5) professional conduct standards (e.g., de-escalation, civil rights). Additionally, this section requires (1) supervisory training for CBP and ICE managers on leadership, use of force refreshers, and issue mitigation; (2) annual evaluations of port supervisors and managers on their conduct and staff development; and (3) annual continuing education for all relevant personnel on federal legal rulings and policies, emphasizing civil/constitutional rights protection, evidence practices, and enforcement authority scope.

This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, not later than 180 days after enactment, to submit to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Homeland Security a report assessing standards and guidelines for managing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ports of entry, including (1) staffing levels and additional staffing needs; (2) rules governing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations officers; (3) average transit delays at land ports of entry; (4) border security efforts and technologies and their impacts on trade facilitation and civil rights, private property rights, privacy rights, and civil liberties; (5) economic impacts of CBP agricultural specialists and Office of Field Operations personnel policies; (6) physical infrastructure and technological needs; (7) a plan to increase CBP Office of Field Operations officers certified as emergency medical technicians and medical professionals at land ports of entry; and (8) a plan to increase access for asylum seekers, trafficking victims, unaccompanied children, and other vulnerable populations. Based on the report, the section directs the Secretary to establish updated guidelines and standards addressing identified needs, including if applicable (1) increasing CBP agricultural specialists at ports where delays hinder local or national economies; (2) updating or increasing technology at ports with average delays exceeding two hours (per prior fiscal year CBP data); (3) publishing rules on document handling; (4) standards of conduct for interactions with border crossing card holders and vulnerable populations (e.g., children, trafficking victims, trauma victims, acutely ill); and (5) training on management and leadership for port supervisors and managers.

This section establishes definitions for terms related to border enforcement, including "border security," "checkpoint," "law enforcement official" (i.e., CBP agents/officers or state/local officers under specified agreements such as 287(g)), "patrol stop," "primary inspection," and "secondary inspection. It further requires (1) law enforcement officials conducting patrol stops or detentions beyond a brief primary checkpoint inspection to record data on the contact's date, time, location, subject's perceived race/gender/ethnicity/age, items seized, outcomes (e.g., arrest), immigration status if obtained routinely, language used, body-worn camera use, and authority basis for state/local officials; (2) the CBP Commissioner to collect data on checkpoints' number, locations, temporary use dates, and resources (e.g., canines, license plate readers); (3) the DHS Secretary to issue implementing regulations within 180 days of enactment, after consulting stakeholders including civil/human rights organizations; (4) DHS and other agencies to compile data, including complaint tracking; (5) DHS to use compiled data for policy/program decisions; and (6) the GAO to audit compliance and report to Congress within one year after regulations take effect.

This section requires the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to submit to specified congressional committees, not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter, a report assessing for each Border Patrol sector (1) optimal means of defending U.S. land borders, including needed intelligence, technology, equipment, personnel, and training; (2) staffing needs for border security functions, accounting for asylum seekers, trafficking victims, unaccompanied children, and other vulnerable populations; (3) roles of federal, state, regional, Tribal, and local authorities and recommendations to improve coordination; (4) ways to maintain free flow of travel and commerce; and (5) impacts of inadequate CBP staffing at land ports of entry on trade and commerce. This section further requires the CBP Commissioner and ICE Director to jointly submit to the Comptroller General and specified committees, not later than 180 days after enactment and annually thereafter, a report on migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border that includes numbers and locations of deaths, causes, contributions from border technology, barriers, and enforcement, and descriptions of programs to reduce deaths (including assessments of water supply sites and rescue beacons); the Comptroller General must review each report within 90 days to assess statistical validity, adoption of low-cost measures, effectiveness measurement, and data-sharing cooperation among CBP, ICE, state/local law enforcement, foreign posts, and NGOs for identification, notification, and missing persons registries. This section also requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study, not later than one year after enactment, examining CBP and ICE use-of-force policies and submit a report to Congress on related training implementation, alternative weapons and equipment, review and reform efforts, stakeholder engagement frameworks, and metrics for tracking training effectiveness and justifying reported uses of force.

This section prohibits an agent or officer of a designated law enforcement agency from removing a child from the child's parent or legal guardian solely to deter migration to the United States or promote compliance with immigration laws. It authorizes such removal at or near a port of entry or within 100 miles of a U.S. border if (1) a state court terminates parental rights, determines removal is in the child's best interests under state law or the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, or makes a similar determination; or (2) a state or county child welfare agency determines the child is in danger of abuse or neglect or poses a danger to self or others. Following removal, the Secretary of Homeland Security must obtain, within 48 hours, a determination from a qualified child welfare expert (i.e., a state- or county-licensed expert independent of U.S. Customs and Border Protection) that the removal was permissible; otherwise, the child must be reunited with the parent or guardian. The section further establishes a private cause of action for injunctive relief against the Secretary for violations, imposes fines of up to $10,000 per knowing violation, and requires documentation of the reasons and evidence for permissible removals.

This section states that nothing in the Act limits rights of any parent, legal guardian, or child under existing law, including the settlement agreement in *Ms. L. v. ICE*, No. 18-cv-00428 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 11, 2023), or tort remedies available under the Federal Tort Claims Act or other laws.