Sponsors (4)
Introduced January 15, 2026 by Mark Edward Kelly · Last progress January 15, 2026
The bill increases transparency, training, and national limits on federal immigration use of force to reduce misconduct and improve accountability, but it raises privacy and cost concerns, may constrain some operational tactics and federal enforcement capacity, and could leave accountability dependent on legal interpretation and implementation.
Immigrants, officers, and the public will see more transparent records of encounters because federal immigration enforcement personnel must wear default‑on body and vehicle cameras and the law creates semiannual reports plus a public, searchable use‑of‑force database.
People subject to federal immigration enforcement (and the officers who interact with them) gain stronger protections because the bill sets clearer national limits on use of force, requires de‑escalation and proportionality, mandates intervention/reporting/medical aid for excessive force, and requires annual training (including civil‑rights and de‑escalation) to reduce misconduct.
State and local police, and the jurisdictions they answer to, retain the choice not to participate in federal immigration enforcement, protecting local autonomy and limiting compelled cooperation.
Individuals photographed or recorded during immigration encounters — and bystanders — face greater privacy risks because expanded retention and searchable access to body‑camera footage increases who can view and retain images and records.
Taxpayers and agencies will face higher costs because new equipment, default‑on recording, database systems, and required annual training impose compliance and operational expenses on federal immigration enforcement.
Accountability could be weakened because legal language that measures reasonableness from the perspective of a 'reasonable officer on the scene' and provisions allowing actions 'necessary' for safety could be interpreted to justify aggressive tactics or make civil liability harder to establish.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Sets national use-of-force limits and reporting, identification, intervention, and de‑escalation duties for federal immigration enforcement personnel.
Establishes federal use-of-force standards and operational rules for federal immigration enforcement personnel, limiting when non‑deadly and deadly force may be used, requiring de‑escalation, proportionality, and minimization of third‑party risk, and adopting the Department of Justice standard for deadly force. Creates affirmative duties to intervene, report excessive or unlawful force, and provide or request medical aid; sets identification, uniform, equipment, and limited mask/face‑covering rules; and clarifies that it does not expand authority to use excessive force or compel state/local agencies to assist federal immigration enforcement.