S. 72 — Justice for Jocelyn Act

This section limits participation in Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs—under which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) supervises certain non-detained aliens through measures such as electronic monitoring—by prohibiting the release of any alien into such a program unless (1) all detention beds available to the DHS Secretary are filled, (2) no other option exists to hold the alien in detention, and (3) the Secretary has exhausted all reasonable efforts to detain the alien.

This section requires each alien on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) nondetained docket (i.e., aliens released from custody pending immigration proceedings) to (1) enroll in an Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program; (2) be continuously subject to GPS monitoring for the duration of all applicable immigration proceedings, including any appeal, and until removal if ordered removed; and (3) remain at their ATD-compliant home address between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.

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., release on bond, recognizance, or conditional parole pending a detention or removal decision). (Thus, this adds noncompliance with release conditions—such as reporting requirements—as a new trigger for in absentia removal orders under removal proceedings.)

This section includes a severability clause providing 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.