H.R. 7284 — ICE OUT Act

This section amends 42 U.S.C. 1983, which authorizes civil suits against persons acting under color of state or territorial law for depriving individuals of constitutional rights, by (1) redesignating the existing provisions as subsection (a) and expanding its scope to explicitly include actions under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage "of the United States or" of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia; and (2) adding subsections (b) and (c) that modify qualified immunity standards for suits under this section or other federal law against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers or agents engaged in law enforcement. Under new subsection (b), no immunity defense applies if the facts alleged constitute excessive force violating the Fourth Amendment, and in all other cases immunity applies only if the defendant acted consistent with clearly established constitutional rights at the time of the conduct. New subsection (c) requires courts, in applying subsection (b)(2), to first determine whether the alleged facts constitute a constitutional violation before assessing whether any such rights were clearly established. (Thus, these changes lower the immunity threshold for ICE and CBP law enforcement personnel in civil rights suits, particularly for excessive force claims.)