Sponsors
The bill strengthens immigrants' privacy, notification, and public-recording protections and increases fiscal transparency around biometric systems, but does so by pausing ICE biometric operations and hiring and imposing data-deletion and procedural requirements that could disrupt enforcement, investigations, contractor revenues, and operational flexibility.
Immigrants and people photographed/recorded during protests or public activities gain stronger privacy and due-process protections: ICE is limited in using biometric or surveillance data collected while individuals exercised constitutional rights, and people must be notified and given a chance to review, contest, or remove information about them.
Taxpayers and the public gain greater transparency and potential oversight: DHS must disclose detailed costs and contracts for biometric databases, and members of the public are explicitly allowed to record immigration enforcement (so long as they do not interfere), increasing accountability of enforcement actions.
Immigrants and the public get a temporary pause on operating or expanding ICE biometric systems and on ICE hiring, giving Congress time to craft privacy safeguards before further investment or expansion of these capabilities.
Law-enforcement operations could be constrained near-term because the bill bars operating certain surveillance systems and pauses ICE hiring, which may slow investigations or reduce enforcement capacity.
Ongoing investigations and national-security efforts risk losing relevant records because mandatory deletion of biometric/surveillance data collected since Jan 1, 2026 could remove evidence unless an exception is implemented by the Secretary.
Limits on DHS using funds to restrict recordings may hinder sensitive operations and reduce the agency's ability to protect operational security or victims' privacy in certain circumstances.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Stops DHS spending on biometric/surveillance systems and new ICE hires until DHS issues a detailed use/privacy policy, requires recent biometric data deletion, and protects public recording of enforcement.
Introduced February 26, 2026 by Chellie Pingree · Last progress February 26, 2026
Bars the Department of Homeland Security from spending on most biometric or surveillance systems and from hiring additional ICE personnel until DHS issues a detailed policy governing use of such systems for immigration enforcement. Requires deletion of biometric/surveillance data collected between January 1, 2026 and enactment unless DHS issues the required policy by rule, and forbids DHS from using funds to stop members of the public from recording immigration enforcement activities so long as the recording does not interfere with operations.