June 2, 2026
Mr. Kennedy of New York (for himself, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Meng, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Walkinshaw, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Nadler, and Mr. Espaillat) 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 require the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify a designated point of contact of release of a detained individual, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the DHS Release Transparency Act
.
Sec. 2. Notification of release of a detained individual
(a) Point of contact
At the time at which an individual is taken into custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide the individual with the option to—
(1)
designate a point of contact to receive updates with respect to that individual; and
(2)
provide the name and contact information of such point of contact.
(b) Notification
(1) In general
Prior to the release of any individual from the custody of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, other than those who have only been held at a port of entry for less than 12 hours, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify the point of contact designated under subsection (a), if a point of contact is so designated, of such release.
(2) Attempts to notify
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall attempt to notify a designated point of contact at least twice.
(c) Translation and interpretation services
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide translation and interpretation services to—
(1)
the detainee, in such language as the detainee may choose, when requesting the optional designation of a point of contact under subsection (a); and
(2)
if applicable, the point of contact, in such language as the point of contact may choose, when making the notification required under subsection (b).
(d) Limitation
No information collected under this section may be used for enforcement purposes.