H.R. 355 — Justice for Jocelyn Act

This section limits participation in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program by prohibiting the release of any alien unless (1) all detention beds available to the Secretary [of Homeland Security] are filled, (2) no other detention options exist, and (3) the Secretary has exhausted all reasonable efforts to detain aliens. (As background, the ATD program supervises certain non-detained aliens pending immigration proceedings through measures such as electronic monitoring and case management.)

This section requires each alien on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) nondetained docket (i.e., aliens released pending immigration proceedings) to enroll in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program and imposes two mandates: (1) continuous GPS monitoring for the duration of all applicable immigration proceedings, including any appeal, and until removal if ordered removed; and (2) a curfew requiring the alien to remain at their ATD-compliant home address from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. (Thus, the provision mandates ATD—typically including electronic monitoring, case management, and check-ins—for all nondetained aliens, expanding beyond ICE’s prior discretionary use.)

This section requires an immigration judge to order an alien removed in absentia if an immigration officer submits an affidavit stating that the alien failed to comply with a condition of release under INA §236(a) (i.e., bond, parole, or other conditional release pending removal proceedings). (Thus, this adds a new basis for in absentia removal orders beyond existing failures to appear.)

This section provides a severability clause stating that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional by a federal court, the remainder of the Act and the application of its provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.