Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act · Introduced in Senate (2025-03-10) · Congress.wiki

S. 916

119th CONGRESS 1st Session

To safeguard the humane treatment of pregnant and postpartum women by ensuring the presumption of release and prohibiting shackling, restraining, and other inhumane treatment, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES · March 10, 2025 · Sponsor: Mrs. Murray · Committee: Committee on the Judiciary

S. 916

SEC. 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act.

SEC. 2. Definitions

In this Act:
- The term appropriate committees of Congress means—
- The term Commissioner means the Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
- The term includes any adult or juvenile individual detained by any Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency (including under contract or agreement with such agency) under the Immigration and Nationality Act (). detained noncitizen 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.
- The term detention officer means an individual who—
- The term Director means the Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- The term facility means a Federal, State, or local government facility, or a privately owned and operated facility, that is used, in whole or in part, to hold individuals under the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security, including a facility that—
- The term facility administrator means the official responsible for oversight of a facility, or the designee of such official.
- The term postpartum means during the 1-year period, or longer, as determined by the licensed health care provider of the individual concerned, following delivery, including the entire period during which the individual is in a medical facility, birthing center, or infirmary after birth.
- The term — restraint
- The term Secretary means the Secretary of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. Limitation on detention of pregnant women and mothers of newborns

(a) Access to pregnancy testing
- The Secretary shall provide every individual being processed into custody access to pregnancy testing during the initial medical screening.
(b) Presumption of release
- (1) In general
  - Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary—
    - may not detain, arrest, or take into custody an individual under any provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act () who is known to be pregnant, lactating, or postpartum, pending a decision with respect to whether the noncitizen is to be removed from the United States; and 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.
    - shall immediately release any detained noncitizen found to be pregnant.
- (2) Exceptions
  - The Secretary, pursuant to chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (), may detain an individual who is known to be pregnant, lactating, or postpartum— 8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.
    - under extraordinary circumstances in which the Secretary makes an individualized determination that credible, reasonable grounds exist to believe that—
      - (i) such individual poses an immediate and serious risk of physical harm to others; and
      - (ii) enrollment in an alternative to detention program cannot mitigate public safety threats associated with such individual; and
    - if such detention is the only means available to mitigate such threats.
- (3) Removal
  - If detention is the only means of effectuating the removal from the United States of a pregnant individual subject to a final order of deportation or removal, the Secretary, solely for the purpose of such deportation or removal, may detain the pregnant individual in temporary housing in accordance with applicable temporary housing standards for a period equal to the shorter of—
    - the shortest possible period immediately preceding the deportation or removal of the individual from the United States; and
    - 5 days.
(c) Weekly review
- (1) In general
  - The Secretary shall conduct an individualized review of each noncitizen detained pursuant to subsection (b)(2) not less frequently than weekly to determine whether such noncitizen continues to be subject to detention under such subsection. Each such review shall be completed within 72 hours after being initiated.
- (2) Release
  - Not later than 24 hours after the Secretary determines pursuant to paragraph (1) that a pregnant noncitizen is no longer subject to detention under subsection (b)(2), the noncitizen shall be released from the facility in which the noncitizen had been detained in accordance with safe release standards. In carrying out such release, an officer at such facility shall—
    - prepare the noncitizen’s complete medical records, medications, and any supplies required to maintain the noncitizen's state of health until the noncitizen can be seen by a community health professional; and

SEC. 4. Humane treatment of pregnant detained noncitizens while in detention and custody

(a) Prohibition on restraint of pregnant detained noncitizens
- (1) Prohibition
  - Except as provided in paragraph (2), restraints may not be used on a noncitizen who is in the physical custody of the Department of Homeland Security, including during transport, if the noncitizen is known to be—
    - pregnant, including during labor and delivery;
    - lactating; or
    - postpartum.
- (2) Exceptions
  - (A) In general
    - Notwithstanding paragraph (1), and subject to subparagraph (B), use of a restraint on a detained noncitizen described in paragraph (1) may be permitted only in an extraordinary circumstance, except in the case of a medical contraindication, in which the facility administrator has ordered the use of the restraint after making an individualized determination that—
      - (i) credible, reasonable grounds exist to believe the detained noncitizen poses an immediate and serious risk of physical harm to others; or
      - (ii) reasonable grounds exist to believe the detained noncitizen presents an immediate and credible risk of escape that cannot be reasonably minimized through any other method.
  - (B) Requirement for least restrictive restraints
    - In the rare event of an extraordinary circumstance described in subparagraph (A), only the least restrictive restraint necessary shall be used, except that—
      - (i) if a doctor, nurse, or other health professional treating a detained noncitizen requests that a restraint not be used, the detention officer accompanying the detained noncitizen shall immediately remove any restraint; and
      - (ii) under no circumstance shall—
      - a leg, waist, or 4-point restraint be used;
      - a wrist restraint be used to bind the hands of such a detained noncitizen behind the back of the detained noncitizen or to another individual;
      - a detained noncitizen be restrained in a face-down position or on their back; or
      - any restraint be used on any detained noncitizen who is in labor or delivering.
- (3) Record of extraordinary circumstances
  - (A) Requirements
    - If a restraint is used on a detained noncitizen pursuant to paragraph (2)(A), not later than 5 days after the date on which the restraint was used, the facility administrator shall—
      - (i) record in writing the finding that describes the medical purpose or extraordinary circumstance that dictated the use of the restraint; and
      - (ii) submit the finding to the Director.
  - (B) Retention
    - (i) With respect to a written finding under subparagraph (A)(i), the facility administrator shall—
    - keep the finding on file at the applicable facility for not less than 5 years after the date on which the restraint was used; and

SEC. 5. Notice of rights and training

(a) Notice of detained noncitizen rights
- The Secretary shall provide to each detained noncitizen, in a language or manner that such noncitizen can understand, notice of the detained noncitizen’s rights under this Act.
(b) Training for Department of Homeland Security employees
- At the time of hiring, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall provide training regarding the requirements under this Act to each employee of the Department of Homeland Security who is involved in the detention or care of a pregnant detained noncitizen or a postpartum parent of a newborn who is being detained pursuant to chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (). 8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.

SEC. 6. Reports; rulemaking

(a) Reports
- (1) Reports by facility administrators
  - Not later than 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, the facility administrator of each detention facility in which 1 or more pregnant noncitizens were detained during such quarter shall submit a written report to the Secretary that includes, with respect to the facility during such quarter—
    - an account of every instance of the use of a restraint on a pregnant detained noncitizen during pregnancy, labor, or postpartum recovery, including—
      - (i) the type of restraint;
      - (ii) the justification for the use of such restraint; and
      - (iii) the name of the facility administrator who made the individualized determination pursuant to section 4(a)(2)(A);
    - the number of pregnant noncitizens held at such facility;
    - the number of released pregnant noncitizens who were held at such facility;
    - the average length of detention of pregnant noncitizens;
    - the number of pregnant noncitizens who were detained for between 15 and 30 days;
    - the number of pregnant noncitizens who were detained longer than 30 days; and
    - the number of pregnant noncitizens who gave birth while detained and a description of the outcomes of any pregnancies that ended in custody, including any pregnancy that resulted in a live birth, a stillbirth, a miscarriage, an abortion, an ectopic pregnancy, maternal morbidity, maternal death, neonatal death, or preterm birth.
- (2) Audit and reports by Secretary
  - Not later than 90 days after the last day of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall—
    - complete an audit of the information described in subparagraphs (B) through (E) of paragraph (1) contained in reports covering such fiscal year;
    - submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that includes a summary of the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (1), disaggregated by facility; and
    - issue regulations in accordance with relevant national standards that set minimum standards for facilities providing medical care to pregnant noncitizens.
- (3) Privacy
  - None of the reports submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) may contain the individually identifying information of any detained noncitizen or the noncitizen's health care provider.
- (4) Public inspection
  - (A) In general
    - Except as provided in subparagraph (B), each report submitted under this subsection shall be made available on a publicly accessible website of the relevant agency.
  - (B) Facility administrator
    - None of the reports submitted under paragraph (1) or (2) that is posted on a publicly accessible website may contain the name of the facility administrator referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(iii).