[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1117-S1118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2008. Mrs. MURRAY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by her to the bill H.R. 2579, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to allow the premium tax credit with respect to unsubsidized COBRA
continuation coverage; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. PROHIBITION ON SHACKLING, CHAINING, AND RESTRAINING
PREGNANT WOMEN IN DETENTION.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; and
(B) Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) Detainee.--The term ``detainee'' includes any adult or
juvenile person detained by any Federal, State, or local law
enforcement agency (including under contract or agreement
with such agency) under the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
(3) Detention facility.--The term ``detention 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
Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including
facilities that hold such individuals under a contract or
agreement with the Director or Commissioner, or that is used,
in whole or in part, to hold individuals pursuant to an
immigration detainer.
(4) Facility administrator.--The term ``facility
administrator'' means the official that is responsible for
oversight of a detention facility or the designee of such
official.
(5) Postpartum recovery.--The term ``postpartum recovery''
means the 6-week period, or longer as determined by her
health care provider, following delivery, including the
entire period a woman is in the hospital or infirmary after
birth.
(6) Restraint.--The term ``restraint'' means any physical
restraint or mechanical device used to control the movement
of a detainee's body or limbs, including flex cuffs, soft
restraints, hard metal handcuffs, a black box, Chubb cuffs,
leg irons, belly chains, a security (tether) chain, or a
convex shield.
(b) Prohibition on Restraint of Pregnant Detainees.--
(1) Prohibition.--A detention facility shall not use
restraints on a detainee known to be pregnant, including
during labor, transport to a medical facility or birthing
center, delivery, and postpartum recovery, unless the
facility administrator makes an individualized determination
that the detainee presents an extraordinary circumstance as
described in paragraph (2).
(2) Extraordinary circumstance.--Restraints for an
extraordinary circumstance are only permitted if a lead
medical staff who is a licensed health care provider has
directed the use of restraints for medical reasons or if the
facility administrator makes an individualized determination
that--
(A) credible, reasonable grounds exist to believe the
detainee presents an immediate and serious threat of hurting
herself, staff or others; or
(B) reasonable grounds exist to believe the detainee
presents an immediate and credible risk of escape that cannot
be reasonably minimized through any other method.
(3) Requirement for least restrictive restraints.--In the
rare event that one of the extraordinary circumstances in
paragraph (2) applies, only the least restrictive restraints
necessary shall be used, except that--
(A) if a doctor, nurse, or other health professional
treating the detainee requests that restraints not be used,
the detention officer accompanying the detainee shall
immediately remove all restraints;
(B) under no circumstance shall leg, waist, or four point
restraints be used;
(C) under no circumstance shall wrist restraints be used to
bind the detainee's hands behind her back or to another
person; and
(D) under no circumstances shall any restraints be used on
any detainee in labor or delivery.
(4) Record of extraordinary circumstances.--
(A) Requirement.--If restraints are used on a detainee
pursuant to paragraph (2), the facility administrator shall
make a written finding within 10 days as to the extraordinary
circumstance that dictated the use of the restraints.
(B) Retention.--A written finding made under subparagraph
(A) shall be kept on file by the detention facility for at
least 5 years and be made available for public inspection,
except that no individually identifying information of any
detainee shall be made public without the detainee's prior
written consent.
(c) Prohibition on Presence of Detention Officers.--Upon a
detainee's admission to a
[[Page S1118]]
medical facility or birthing center, no detention officer
shall be present in the room during a pelvic exam, labor,
delivery, or treatment of other symptoms related to
pregnancy, unless specifically requested by medical
personnel. If a detention officer's presence is requested by
medical personnel, the detention officer shall be female, if
practicable, and remain near the detainee's head to protect
her privacy. If restraints are used on a detainee pursuant to
subsection (b)(2), a detention officer shall remain
immediately outside the room at all times so that the officer
may promptly remove the restraints if requested by medical
personnel, as required by subsection (b)(3)(A).
(d) Treatment of Pregnant Women.--With regard to pregnant
detainees:
(1) Presumption of release.--Absent extraordinary
circumstances of the pregnant woman being a threat to herself
or others or subject to mandatory detention, the United
States Government shall not detain pregnant women.
(2) Mandated review.--For any pregnant detainee held in
detention who satisfies the requirements of paragraph (1),
the United States Government shall conduct a review, not less
than weekly, to determine if the pregnant detainee continues
to be a threat to herself or others or subject to mandatory
detention, and release any such pregnant detainee that does
not satisfy these conditions.
(3) Access to services.--A pregnant detainee in custody
shall have access to health care services, including services
related to reproductive health care and pregnancy such as
routine or specialized prenatal care, pregnancy testing,
comprehensive counseling and assistance, postpartum follow-
up, and lactation services.
(e) Annual Reports.--
(1) Reports by facility administrators.--Not later than 30
days after the end of each fiscal year, the facility
administrator of each detention facility that detained a
pregnant detainee shall submit to the Secretary a written
report that includes, with respect to the previous fiscal
year, the following:
(A) An account of every instance of the use of restraints
on pregnant detainees, including the justification for such
restraint and the name of the facility administrator who made
the individualized determination under subsection (b)(1).
(B) The number of pregnant detainees.
(C) The average length of detention of pregnant detainee.
(D) The number of pregnant detainees detained longer than
15 days.
(E) The number of pregnant detainees detained longer than
30 days.
(2) Audit and reports by secretary.--Not later than 90 days
after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall--
(A) complete an audit of the information submitted under
subparagraphs (B) through (F) of paragraph (1); and
(B) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report that includes all of the information submitted to the
Secretary under paragraph (1), disaggregated by facility.
(3) Privacy.--No report submitted under this subsection may
contain any individually identifying information of any
detainee. No report submitted under this subsection that is
made available for public inspection may contain the name of
the facility administrator otherwise included under paragraph
(1)(A).
(4) Public inspection.--Except as provided in paragraph
(3), each report submitted under this subsection shall be
made available for public inspection.
(f) Rulemaking.--The Secretary shall adopt regulations or
policies to carry out this section at every detention
facility.
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