Sponsors
The bill strengthens border and national security by mandating watchlist checks and detention for listed aliens, but does so at the cost of increased risk of wrongful or prolonged detention, greater government surveillance, and higher custodial expenses.
Immigrants on the terrorist screening database will be held until cleared, reducing the chance that individuals with alleged terror ties are released into U.S. communities.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other custody officers must run watchlist checks before release, standardizing security screening at the point of custody and making procedures more consistent for front‑line personnel.
The bill clarifies the definition of 'terrorist screening database,' aligning detention authority with DHS watchlist terminology and reducing legal ambiguity for enforcement agencies.
People identified on the watchlist (often immigrants) can be detained without individualized judicial review, raising the risk of prolonged detention without case‑by‑case court oversight.
Relying on the terrorist screening database can perpetuate errors or misidentifications, causing wrongful detention for people mistakenly placed on the list.
Expanding mandatory detention and mandatory checks increases custodial burdens and costs for federal agencies and taxpayers due to more detained individuals awaiting checks or proceedings.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires CBP to detain any noncitizen listed on the federal terrorist screening database until a watchlist check returns a result.
Introduced March 11, 2025 by Roger Williams · Last progress March 11, 2025
Adds a new categorical basis for mandatory detention at the border by directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to take and hold noncitizens who are on the federal terrorist screening database until a watchlist check is completed. Inclusion on the terrorist screening database becomes an express trigger for detention under the immigration detention statute, and CBP must await and obtain the watchlist result before releasing custody. The change creates a procedural duty for CBP at initial border encounters, may increase short-term detention of migrants and asylum seekers flagged by watchlists, and does not include dedicated funding or timelines for implementation.