Protecting Our Communities Act

This Act may be cited as the Protecting Our Communities Act.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop and disseminate a Department-wide directive requiring the use of—

(A) body-worn cameras by all Federal immigration enforcement personnel; and

(B) dashboard cameras for all vehicles being used in Federal immigration enforcement operations and associated recording protocols.

A body camera required under paragraph (1) shall—

(A) have a field of view at least as broad as the officer’s vision; and

(B) be worn in a manner that maximizes the camera’s ability to capture video footage of the officer’s activities.

Both the video and audio recording functions of the body camera shall be activated whenever a Federal immigration enforcement personnel is participating in a Federal immigration enforcement operation, except that when an immediate threat to the person’s life or safety makes activating the camera impossible or dangerous the Federal immigration enforcement personnel shall activate the camera at the first reasonable opportunity to do so.

The body camera shall not be deactivated until the Federal immigration enforcement operation ceases and the Federal immigration enforcement personnel leaves the scene.

Body cameras shall not be used to gather intelligence information based on First Amendment protected speech, associations, or religion, or to record activity that is unrelated to a Federal immigration enforcement operation, and shall not be equipped with or employ any facial recognition technologies.

Body camera and dashboard camera video footage shall be retained by the Department of Homeland Security for one year after the date on which it was recorded, after which time such footage shall be permanently deleted.

During the one year retention period described in paragraph (1), the following persons shall have the right to inspect the body camera footage:

(i) Any person who is a subject of body camera video footage, and their designated legal counsel.

(ii) A parent or legal guardian of a minor subject of body camera video footage, and their designated legal counsel.

(iii) The spouse, next of kin, or legally authorized designee of a deceased subject of body camera video footage, and their designated legal counsel.

(iv) A Federal immigration enforcement personnel whose body camera recorded the video footage, and their designated legal counsel, subject to the limitations and restrictions in this Act.

(v) The superior officer of a Federal immigration enforcement personnel whose body camera recorded the video footage, subject to the limitations and restrictions in this Act.

(vi) Any defense counsel who claims, pursuant to a written affidavit, to have a reasonable basis for believing a video may contain evidence that exculpates a client.

In preparing the directive required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall include the following:

(A) Benchmarks for implementation of the use of body-worn cameras by Federal immigration enforcement personnel and dashboard cameras for vehicles being used for Federal immigration enforcement to conform with a standard that cameras are on by default and may only be turned off in certain circumstances.

(B) Training requirements, procedures, and best practices for the use of body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras.

(C) Plans to publicize the directive and the requirements set forth in this section to ensure Federal immigration enforcement personnel and other impacted individuals are notified of new policies.

Title VII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

If a law enforcement officer or agent of the Department detains or arrests an individual in connection with a border security or immigration enforcement function of such officer or agent, during such detention or arrest, as the case may be, such officer or agent—

(A) shall—

(i) provide such individual with an identification of the component of the Department that employs such officer or agent; and

(ii) display or wear the official insignia or uniform of such officer or agent in a manner that is visible to individuals other than such officer or agent; and

(B) may not wear a face covering or any other item that conceals the face of such officer or agent.

Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit or prohibit the use of tactical gear by law enforcement officers and agents consistent with the policies and procedures of the Department.

Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the policies and procedures of the Department regarding the use of tactical gear by law enforcement officers and agents of the Department.

If the Secretary modifies the policies or procedures of the Department regarding the use of tactical gear by law enforcement officers or agents of the Department, not later than 30 days after any such modification, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report relating thereto.

The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, and in coordination with the heads of components of the Department that employ law enforcement officers or agents, shall carry out research and development of technology to maximize the visibility of the official insignia or uniform of such an officer or agent to be utilized during detentions or arrests, including technology to maximize such visibility in response to certain factors in connection with such detentions or arrests, including the following:

(1) Location.

(2) Time of day.

(3) Weather.

In this section:

The term law enforcement officer or agent means a law enforcement officer or agent of the Department, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The term official insignia or uniform has the meaning given such term in section 716 of title 18, United States Code.

The table of contents for such Act is amended by inserting after the item pertaining to section 713 the following:

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop training curricula or identify effective existing training curricula for Federal immigration enforcement personnel regarding—

(1) deescalation tactics; and

(2) alternatives to use of force.

The training curricula developed or identified under subsection (a) shall include—

(1) scenario-based exercises;

(2) pretraining and posttraining tests to assess relevant knowledge and skills covered in the training curricula; and

(3) followup evaluative assessments to determine the degree to which participants in the training apply, in their jobs, the knowledge and skills gained in the training.

The Secretary of Homeland Security shall develop and identify training curricula under this section in consultation with relevant law enforcement agencies of States and units of local government, immigrant organizations, associations that represent individuals with mental or behavioral health diagnoses or individuals with disabilities, labor organizations, professional law enforcement organizations, local law enforcement labor and representative organizations, law enforcement trade associations, mental health and suicide prevention organizations, family advocacy organizations, and civil rights and civil liberties groups.