[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5346 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5346
To require investigations and reports regarding individuals who died in
the custody of certain Federal authorities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 6, 2019
Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself and Ms. Jayapal) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary,
and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to
be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require investigations and reports regarding individuals who died in
the custody of certain Federal authorities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Jakelin Caal Death in Custody
Reporting Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION AND REPORTING OF INDIVIDUALS WHO DIED IN THE
CUSTODY OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
(a) Investigation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the death of
an alien in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security,
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall conduct an
investigation into such death, which shall include a root cause
analysis that identifies any changes to policies, practices,
training curricula, staffing, or potential system-wide errors
that could reduce the probability of such an event in the
future. Such root cause analysis shall include consultation
with and input from appropriately qualified personnel, who, at
a minimum, shall consist of a medical professional qualified in
any field germane to such death, and shall be performed in
accordance with professional medical standards for
investigating sentinel events in medical care facilities,
including the Sentinel Event Policy promulgated by The Joint
Commission.
(2) Public availability.--Not later than 30 days after the
conclusion of the investigation required under paragraph (1),
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make publicly
available on the website of the Department of Homeland Security
a report describing the results of such investigation,
including the root cause analysis described in such paragraph.
(b) Reporting.--
(1) In general.--The Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol and
Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees and post on
a publicly available website of the Department of Homeland
Security not later than 24 hours after the death of any
individual in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol or U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as the case may be, in the
temporary custody of other law enforcement agencies on behalf
of such agencies, or after the use of force by an agent or
officer of such agencies a report relating to each such death.
(2) Elements.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall
include information that, at minimum, includes the following
with respect to each death that is the subject of each such
report:
(A) The name, gender, race, ethnicity, and age of
the deceased.
(B) The date, time, and location of such death.
(C) A description of the circumstances surrounding
such death.
(3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means the Committee on the Judiciary
and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary and the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the
Senate.
SEC. 3. INVESTIGATION AND REPORTING OF INDIVIDUALS WHO DIED IN THE
CUSTODY OF THE OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT.
(a) Investigation.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the death of
an alien in the custody of the Department of Health and Human
Services, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
conduct an investigation into such death, which shall include a
root cause analysis that identifies any changes to policies,
practices, training curricula, staffing, or potential system-
wide errors that could reduce the probability of such an event
in the future. Such root cause analysis shall include
consultation with and input from appropriately qualified
personnel, who, at a minimum, shall consist of a medical
professional qualified in any field germane to such death, and
shall be performed in accordance with professional medical
standards for investigating sentinel events in medical care
facilities, including the Sentinel Event Policy promulgated by
The Joint Commission.
(2) Public availability.--Not later than 30 days after the
conclusion of the investigation required under paragraph (1),
the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make publicly
available on the website of the Department of Health and Human
Services a report describing the results of such investigation,
including the root cause analysis described in such paragraph.
(b) Reporting.--
(1) In general.--The Director of the Office of Refugee
Resettlement of the Department of Health and Human Services
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and
post on a publicly available website of the Department not
later than 24 hours after the death of any individual in the
custody of such Office a report relating to each such death.
(2) Elements.--Each report under paragraph (1) shall
include information that, at minimum, includes the following
with respect to each death that is the subject of each such
report:
(A) The name, gender, race, ethnicity, and age of
the deceased.
(B) The date, time, and location of death.
(C) A description of the circumstances surrounding
the death.
(3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means the Committee on the Judiciary
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate.
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