Senate bill would require data collection for all immigration law stops, searches

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be required to establish a formal record-keeping process to document stops and searches under a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act, S. 2832, would require CBP, ICE, or state and local officers enforcing federal immigration laws to collect data on patrol stops, secondary inspections or any searches occurring at non-international ports of entry checkpoints. The data would be compiled into a public report and submitted to Congress.

There is currently no formal record-keeping process for stops and searches within 100 miles of U.S. land or coastal borders unless arrests are made or officers use force. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the bill’s sponsor, said “keeping the country safe cannot come at a cost to basic human rights.”

“When border patrol agents stop and question people in New York and in many places across the country, they aren’t keeping data about why they targeted a particular person or what happened during their encounter,” Gillibrand said. “Congress has a responsibility to make sure our border patrol agencies are transparent and accountable, just like every law enforcement agency in our country should be. I am proud to introduce the Department of Homeland Security Accountability and Transparency Act, which would require that our border patrol agencies start collecting detailed records about every stop they make, so we can ensure that our agents are serving the public as effectively as possible and that no one’s rights are being violated.”

Under the bill, officers enforcement federal immigration laws would be required to record identifying characteristics of individuals, the date, time and location of the stop, the duration of the stop, the basis for the stop, whether a search was conducted or force was used, and the badge number of any law enforcement officer present.

“Border patrol agents have a duty to protect our borders without trampling on our constitutional rights,” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a cosponsor of the bill, said. “Without critical data to track stops and searches, Congress and the public cannot fully monitor and hold agents accountable when they cross the line. I’m glad to join Sen. Gillibrand in improving the integrity of immigration enforcement along our borders.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the New York Immigration Coalition, the Southern Border Communities Coalition, and the Asian American Federation are among groups that support of the bill.

“Immigration enforcement excesses captured on video — like Border Patrol bus and train boardings and the brutal assault on Jessica Cooke — cast light on how behind DHS is compared to other law enforcement agencies in adopting fundamental oversight mechanisms like data collection,” Chris Rickerd, policy counsel of the ACLU’s National Policy Advocacy Department, said. “The DATA Act is a welcome and important measure to increase DHS transparency and improve accountability for vast enforcement resources. The DATA Act’s statistical reports are urgently needed to inform whether ICE and CBP agents adhere to legal constraints on their authority, including prohibitions of racial profiling, invasive checkpoints and excessive force. It will help protect individual rights and promote non-discriminatory policing.”

Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, said ICE and border patrol’s “frequent dragnets at bus stops and train stations have chilled the free movement of our immigration communities.” He said immigration enforcement offices should be held to the same standard as other public law enforcement agencies.

Andrea Guerrero, co-chair of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, said border patrol checkpoints and roving patrols far from the border have “infringed on the quality of life of border residents and subjected them to abuse and racial profiling.” She said comprehensive data collection would be “an important tool to bring great accountability and transparency” to CBP.