KIDS Act

Key Points

• The bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from detaining children, people with cognitive disabilities, or their primary caregivers in most immigration enforcement situations. If detention does happen under the criminal warrant exception, the government must notify a parent or guardian and report it to Congress within 24 hours.
• The bill creates broad "sensitive locations" where immigration officers cannot carry out enforcement actions without a criminal warrant from a judge. These protected zones include hospitals, schools, churches, courthouses, libraries, playgrounds, disaster relief sites, and many other community spaces, with a 1,000-foot buffer zone around each one.
• The protections cover people who are traveling to or from sensitive locations, not just those already there. This means immigration enforcement could not target someone on their way to a doctor's appointment, school bus stop, or court hearing.
• If officers violate the sensitive-location rules, any evidence they gathered cannot be used in deportation cases. People wrongfully detained must be released, and the government bears the burden of proving they should not be freed.
• The bill defines "cognitive disability" broadly, covering mental impairments that limit learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, or neurological function, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act.