To end detention and electronic monitoring, and redirect funding to community-based wrap-around services.
Congress Proposes Abolishing Immigration Detention and Ending Electronic Monitoring Nationwide
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to release everyone currently held in immigration detention centers within six months. It would also permanently remove the government's legal authority to lock people up for most immigration-related reasons.
- The government would be required to stop using electronic tracking devices, such as ankle monitors, on immigrants. All current monitors would have to be removed within six months, and federal funding for these tracking programs would be banned.
- The plan would stop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from using its budget for arrests, deportations, or civil enforcement. Instead, that money would be redirected to a new grant program that provides social services like housing, healthcare, and legal aid.
- The bill would end programs where local police share information with federal immigration officials to identify or target noncitizens. It also requires the government to cancel all contracts with private companies that run detention centers or monitoring programs within two years.
- New community-based services, such as English classes and job training, would be run by non-profit groups that have no connection to law enforcement. These services would be voluntary, and the groups providing them would be prohibited from sharing personal information with the federal government.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Life & Work
ICE officers and other federal employees involved in civil immigration enforcement would see their roles fundamentally changed or eliminated. The bill bans ICE Operations and Support funds from being used for arrests, detention, removal, or processing of immigration charges. This would effectively defund the enforcement side of ICE, potentially leading to large-scale layoffs or reassignments for thousands of federal immigration enforcement employees.
Programs
Disabilities
Broader Impacts
Milestones
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.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
2 articlesProgressives push 'Melt ICE Act' as Trump expands detention
Rep. Delia Ramirez and other progressive House members introduced the 'Melt ICE Act' (H.R. 7190) to end immigration detention and electronic monitoring, redirecting enforcement funding toward community social services like housing and healthcare.
Booker Announces Legislation Cracking Down ICE Detention Facilities & Practices Following Tour of Delaney Hall
Senator Cory Booker reintroduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act to end private detention and mandatory detention. The bill seeks to phase out for-profit facilities and invest in community-based alternatives to ensure due process.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
To end detention and electronic monitoring, and redirect funding to community-based wrap-around services.
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(13)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.