February 26, 2026
Ms. Pingree 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
To provide for a limitation on the obligation of funds for certain immigration enforcement purposes until a report on the use of databases by immigration officers is submitted.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Stop ICE Intimidation Act of 2026
.
Sec. 2. Limitation on obligation of funds
(a) In general
Beginning not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and until the date a report is submitted under subsection (b) the Secretary of Homeland Security may not obligate any amounts made available in any Act for—
(1)
the operation of biometric or other surveillance system, including the Intelligence Records System of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
(2)
the entry into or continuation of any contract for the operation of any such system; or
(3)
the hiring of additional officers, agents, or employees at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(b) Report described
A report under this section shall comply with the following:
(1)
Such report shall be submitted to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and of the Senate, the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
(2)
Such report shall set forth a policy of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement governing use of biometric or other surveillance systems, including the Intelligence Records System, in enforcement or removal operations under the immigration laws (as such term is defined under section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) that—
(A)
prohibits that the use of such a system to access or store information pertaining to person that was collected because that person was exercising any right or privilege protected by the Constitution of the United States; and
(B)
rules for—
(i)
the use of such information;
(ii)
identification of persons are permitted to access such information;
(iii)
storage of such information and what protections are in place to prevent unauthorized access to such information and the misuse of such information by any person who gains such unauthorized access;
(iv)
how long such information will be retained and how it will be removed from the system thereafter;
(v)
providing notice to any person whose information is included in the system and an opportunity to review, contest, or remove such information if it is determined that such information was collected while such person was exercising any right or privilege protected by the Constitution of the United States;
(vi)
how activities protected under the First Amendment will not be identified as credible threat activity
;
(vii)
identification of what activities may be lawfully identified as having made a credible threat against ICE personnel or facilities
(as such term is referred to in subclause 13 under the heading Categories of Individuals Covered by the System
of the System of Records Notice published in the Federal Register on July 21, 2025 (90 Fed. Reg. 34282));
(viii)
detailed information on the costs of such databases and the contracts related to the use, creation, and maintenance of such databases;
(ix)
how officers and employees of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are complying with local law providing for privacy protections; and
(x)
what training such officers and employees receive regarding compliance with the law in jurisdictions where facial recognition software is prohibited.
(c) Compliance
All information collected by an immigration officer (as such term is defined in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) for use or inclusion in or derived from a biometric or other surveillance system, including the Intelligence Records System of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, during the period beginning January 1, 2026, and ending on date of enactment of this Act, shall be deleted and removed from such system not later than the date that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act unless the Secretary, by rule (including as an interim final rulemaking), establishes the policy described in section 2(b)(2).
Sec. 3. Limitation on use of funds
No funds made available to the Secretary of Homeland Security under any provision of law may be used to restrict the ability of an individual to record or document enforcement or removal operations under the immigration laws (as such term is defined under section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) to the extent that such actions do not interfere or obstruct such operations.