Sponsors (23)
Strengthens and restructures DHS's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties with new duties, investigatory powers, timelines, reporting rules, and a GAO review requirement.
Official title: To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make certain improvements in the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 2, 2026 by Al Green · Last progress July 2, 2026
The bill strengthens DHS civil-rights enforcement, complaint handling, language access, and public oversight — improving protections for immigrants and marginalized communities — but does so at added taxpayer cost and with risks of investigatory delays, privacy exposure, and bureaucratic overlap.
Immigrants, racial-ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities will face stronger DHS civil-rights enforcement because an empowered Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (OCRCL) will have explicit investigatory authorities (oaths, access) and a duty to review abuses and profiling.
Immigrants, racial-ethnic minorities, and other complainants will have clearer, faster complaint processes and better language access — complainants receive notice within 30 days, are informed of determinations, and the Officer must lead DHS language access and community engagement efforts.
Taxpayers and the public will gain more transparency and congressional oversight through required public posting of contact info, summaries of investigations and accepted recommendations, expanded annual reports, and a GAO report on community engagement implementation.
Taxpayers and federal employees may bear higher costs because DHS components must consult with and provide resources to the Office, increasing administrative burdens and staffing expenses.
Complainants (including immigrants) could face slower remedies because mandated referrals to the Inspector General and a seven-day IG decision window can delay OCRCL investigations.
Complainants and people with disabilities risk disclosure of sensitive personal information if public posting of investigation summaries and materials lacks sufficiently strong redaction protections.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Rewrites and expands the statutory structure, duties, and authorities of the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (OCRCL). It gives the OCRCL and its chief officer clearer investigatory powers, defined review and reporting duties, new transparency and complaint-handling rules, community engagement and language-access requirements, and directs a Comptroller General review of implementation. The bill requires DHS components to provide information, staffing, access, and consultations to the Officer; creates timelines for referrals to the Inspector General and responses from component heads; mandates public reporting of accepted recommendations and an expanded annual report to Congress; and adds a GAO review of community engagement implementation within two years.