[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5389 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5389
To require the Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to
develop and disseminate guidance for handling the personal property of
individuals who are under arrest, restrained, or confined by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 21, 2024
Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Durbin, and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to
develop and disseminate guidance for handling the personal property of
individuals who are under arrest, restrained, or confined by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, 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 ``CBP Guidance on Personal Belongings
Act''.
SEC. 2. U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION GUIDANCE FOR HANDLING
PERSONAL PROPERTY.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House
of Representatives.
(2) CBP.--The term ``CBP'' means U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
(3) Essential medical property.--The term ``essential
medical property'' means any medical item that has been
validated by a qualified medical professional as being--
(A) in working order;
(B) medically necessary; and
(C)(i) prescription eyewear, including glasses and
contacts;
(ii) a prosthetic device or durable medical
equipment; or
(iii) dentures (whether full or partial) or an
orthodontic device.
(4) Personal property.--The term ``personal property''
means the belongings (not including contraband) found on or
carried by an individual who is under arrest, restrained, or
confined by CBP.
(b) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commissioner for CBP shall--
(1) develop guidance for the handling of the personal
property of individuals who are under arrest, restrained, or
confined by CBP; and
(2) disseminate such guidance to--
(A) the appropriate congressional committees; and
(B) all CBP personnel who come into contact with
individuals referred to in paragraph (1).
(c) Consultation Required.--The Commissioner for CBP shall consult
with nongovernmental organizations and the Immigration Detention
Ombudsman of the Department of Homeland Security to inform the
development and dissemination of the guidance under subsection (b).
(d) Contents.--The guidance developed under subsection (b) shall--
(1) allow individuals to keep as much of their personal
property as CBP's physical capacity, safety considerations,
transportation limitations, and personnel availability permit;
(2) ensure that CBP, to the greatest extent operationally
feasible, returns all personal property stored by CBP on behalf
of an individual who is under arrest, restrained, or confined
by CBP directly to such individual immediately upon release
from CBP custody;
(3) describe the types of personal property considered
essential that shall remain in an individual detainee's
possession (or be otherwise stored by CBP in accordance with
paragraph (4)) to the greatest extent operationally feasible,
including, at a minimum--
(A) religious articles;
(B) personal contact information of family members
and loved ones; and
(C) essential medical property that does not pose a
threat or hazard to CBP personnel, detainees, or other
personnel inside a CBP facility;
(4) describe the types of essential personal property that
CBP is required to store if it does not pose a threat or hazard
to CBP personnel, detainees, or other personnel inside a CBP
facility, including, at a minimum--
(A) legal and identification documents that are not
determined to be fraudulent or counterfeit;
(B) cell phones and electronic devices;
(C) health-related documents; and
(D) currency;
(5) describe the reasons and circumstances under which the
amount of property described in paragraph (4) could be
restricted;
(6) include specific procedures for managing essential
personal property described in paragraphs (3) and (4), which
shall--
(A) comply with Federal law and all applicable CBP
policies; and
(B) require that individuals who are arrested,
restrained, or confined by CBP are provided a written
receipt of any stored personal property;
(7) describe the circumstances which would necessitate
discarding the personal property of an individual who is
arrested, restrained, or confined by CBP, including the
circumstances under which collecting, transporting or storing
such property would not be operationally feasible;
(8) describe the circumstances under which the personal
property of an individual who has been arrested, restrained, or
confined by CBP may be considered a hazard or threat;
(9) include a protocol for CBP personnel to manage the
transfer of personal property when an individual who has been
arrested, restrained, or confined by CBP is transferred into
the custody of another agency;
(10) include a protocol for providing written instructions
to each individual released from CBP custody that explain how
such individual may retrieve any personal property remaining in
CBP facilities;
(11) include a protocol for handling medical property that
directs CBP personnel to ensure detainees' medications remain
available to such detainees unless--
(A) a specific safety concern is identified; or
(B) a non-United States prescribed medication has
been replaced with a United States equivalent
medication; and
(12) describe the mechanism for monitoring the compliance
of CBP personnel with the guidance described in this
subsection.
(e) Monitoring.--At the time of the dissemination of the guidance
developed under subsection (b), the Commissioner for CBP shall
implement the mechanism referred to in subsection (d)(12) to monitor
the extent to which CBP personnel comply with such guidance.
(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the
guidance developed under subsection (b) is disseminated, and annually
thereafter for the following 5 years, the Commissioner for CBP shall
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees and to the
Comptroller General of the United States that--
(1) describes the development and implementation of such
guidance; and
(2) includes information regarding the discarded essential
personal property of individuals who were arrested, restrained,
or confined by CBP during the reporting period, including--
(A) the number of times, and an identification of
the locations at which, CBP officers discarded
essential personal property, including such property
disposed of outside of CBP facilities;
(B) the reasons for discarding such property; and
(C) the efforts of CBP to reduce such instances.
(g) Comptroller General Review and Report.--Not later than 1 year
after receipt of each report required under subsection (f), the
Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) conduct a review of the guidance developed by the
Commissioner for CBP; and
(2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report that includes the results of such review, including--
(A) the effectiveness with which such guidance was
implemented;
(B) the effects of such guidance on CBP operations;
and
(C) the level of compliance of CBP personnel with
such guidance.
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