Justice for Jocelyn Act

Justice for Jocelyn Act

This bill limits Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) Alternatives to Detention program, which supervises non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) subject to removal who are released from the custody of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Specifically, releases under this program are prohibited unless all detention beds are filled and DHS found no alternatives after exercising and exhausting all reasonable options.

The bill requires all individuals on ICE’s nondetained docket to be enrolled in the program and be subject to continuous GPS monitoring and curfew.

Further, the bill requires a non-U.S. national who was arrested and released to be removed in absentia if an immigration officer submits an affidavit to an immigration judge stating that the individual failed to comply with a condition of release.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 355 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 355

To remove aliens who fail to comply with a release order, to enroll all 
    aliens on the nondetained docket of an immigration court in the 
 Alternatives to Detention program with continuous GPS monitoring, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 13, 2025

Mr. Nehls (for himself, Mr. Hunt, and Mr. Biggs of Arizona) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To remove aliens who fail to comply with a release order, to enroll all 
    aliens on the nondetained docket of an immigration court in the 
 Alternatives to Detention program with continuous GPS monitoring, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Justice for Jocelyn Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON PARTICIPATION IN ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION.

    No alien may be released as part of any program under the 
Alternatives to Detention program unless--
            (1) all detention beds available to the Secretary have been 
        filled;
            (2) there exists no available option to hold aliens in 
        detention; and
            (3) the Secretary exercised and exhausted all reasonable 
        efforts to hold aliens in detention.

SEC. 3. GPS TRACKING AND CURFEW REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN ALIENS.

    Each alien on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's nondetained 
docket shall be enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program and--
            (1) shall be continuously subject to GPS monitoring--
                    (A) for the duration of all applicable immigration 
                proceedings, including any appeal; and
                    (B) in the case of an alien who is ordered removed 
                from the United States, until removal; and
            (2) shall be required to stay in their Alternatives to 
        Detention-compliant home address between the hours of 10 p.m. 
        to 5 a.m.

SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF ALIENS WHO FAIL TO COMPLY WITH RELEASE ORDER.

    Section 240(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1229a(b)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) Failure to comply with release order.--In the 
                case that an immigration officer submits an affidavit 
                to an immigration judge stating that an alien failed to 
                comply with a condition of release under section 
                236(a), such alien shall be ordered removed in 
                absentia.''.

SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision 
to any person or circumstance is held by a Federal court to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application of such 
provisions to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.
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