text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Immigration Enforcement Review 
  Commission Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. CREATION OF IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT REVIEW COMMISSION.
  
      There is established the Immigration Enforcement Review Commission 
  (hereinafter referred to as the ``Review Commission''). The Review 
  Commission shall be comprised of a Board of Commissioners, an 
  Investigations Office, and a Community Outreach Office. In the 
  execution of its duties, the Review Commission shall comply with the 
  requirements established in this Act. The Immigration and 
  Naturalization Service and the Customs Service (hereinafter referred to 
  as ``the Services'') shall cooperate fully with the Review Commission 
  and its employees in carrying out the duties of the Review Commission 
  under this Act, and shall provide to the Commission such records as the 
  Commission considers appropriate.
  
  SEC. 3. DUTIES OF REVIEW COMMISSION.
  
      The Review Commission shall be responsible for investigating 
  complaints of civil rights abuses against the Services, employees of 
  the Services, their divisions, or any facilities where detainees are 
  held in Service custody. Based upon its findings, the Review Commission 
  shall make recommendations to the Services to discipline Service 
  employees responsible for committing abuses. The Review Commission 
  shall also make policy recommendations to the Services as appropriate.
  
  SEC. 4. REVIEW COMMISSION.
  
      (a) Composition of the Board of Commissioners.--The Board of 
  Commissioners (hereinafter referred to as the ``Board'') shall be 
  composed of 7 members who shall be appointed by the President by and 
  with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall 
  designate one member to serve as Director of the Board of 
  Commissioners. Not more than 4 members may be of the same political 
  party. The members of the Board shall be full-time employees.
      (b) Appointments and Terms of Office.--
              (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the term of each 
          Commissioner shall be 6 years.
              (2) Of the members first appointed, 4 shall be appointed to 
          terms of 3 years. Not more than 2 members appointed under this 
          paragraph may be of the same political party.
              (3) A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before 
          the expiration of the term for which that member's predecessor 
          was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of that 
          term.
              (4) No person shall serve as a member of the Board for more 
          than 2 terms.
      (c) Compensation.--Each member of the Board shall receive 
  compensation at the annual rate of basic pay in effect for level V of 
  the Executive Schedule.
      (d) Eligibility.--A member of the Board may not have been employed 
  by the Services within the period beginning 5 years before appointment, 
  or employed by any law enforcement agency within the period beginning 1 
  year before appointment.
  
  SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
  
      (a) Investigations Office.--The Review Commission shall employ such 
  investigative personnel as the Board considers advisable, in accordance 
  with the civil service and classification laws. Investigators shall be 
  charged with the responsibility of investigating all complaints brought 
  to the Review Commission's attention.
      (b) Community Outreach Office.--The Board shall appoint a Director 
  of Community Outreach. The Director of Community Outreach shall 
  establish local community task forces to improve the working 
  relationship between the Services and local community groups and 
  organizations.
      (c) Review Commission Facilities.--The Review Commission shall 
  establish a headquarters and 3 regional offices. The Review Commission 
  may not maintain offices in a facility under the control or operation 
  of the Services, or any facility in which either of the Services 
  occupies space.
      (d) Personnel Limitation.--An employee of the Review Commission may 
  not have been employed by the Services within the period beginning 5 
  years before appointment or employed by any law enforcement agency 
  within the period beginning 1 year before appointment.
      (e) Regulations.--The Review Commission is authorized to promulgate 
  such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act 
  including procedures for the filing, investigation, and resolution of 
  complaints.
  
  SEC. 6. OPERATIONS OF REVIEW COMMISSION.
  
      (a) Complaint Forms.--
              (1) Complaint forms shall be made available at all Service 
          facilities and shall be available upon request from the Review 
          Commission.
              (2) The complaint forms shall be written in languages 
          reflecting the languages of the immigrant population.
      (b) Filing of Complaints.--
              (1) Complaints may be filed in person, by mail, by 
          telephone, by facsimile, or by any other reasonable means. 
          Complaints may be filed by any person, including anonymously, 
          and may be filed on behalf of third parties. Complaints need 
          not be filed on the official complaint forms.
              (2) The Review Commission shall establish and operate a 
          multilingual, 24-hour, toll-free hotline to receive complaints.
              (3) Whenever possible, upon receipt of a complaint, the 
          Review Commission shall provide to the complainant information 
          which describes the review procedures of the Review Commission. 
          Such information shall be available in languages reflecting the 
          languages of the immigrant population.
      (c) Public Outreach.--
              (1) The Review Commission shall educate members of the 
          public about its functions and shall receive and actively seek 
          out suggestions from the public to improve the functioning of 
          the Review Commission.
              (2) The Review Commission shall develop outreach materials, 
          which shall include, a description of the Review Commission, 
          its duties, and complaint procedures. Such materials shall be 
          made available to the public in languages reflecting the 
          languages of the immigrant population.
              (3) The Review Commission shall oversee the display and 
          dissemination of outreach materials at all Service facilities.
      (d) Service Employees' Duty To Inform Commission.--
              (1) When a complaint of agent misconduct is brought to the 
          attention of any Service employee, the employee shall promptly 
          inform the complainant of proper procedures for filing a 
          complaint.
              (2) A Service employee who witnesses or otherwise obtains 
          actual knowledge of the use of force, that is unreasonable in 
          light of the facts and circumstances and involves another 
          Service employee, shall report such incident to the Review 
          Commission within 24 hours of the acquisition of knowledge of 
          such incident.
              (3) The Review Commission may promulgate regulations 
          requiring Service employees to report to the Commission other 
          violations of the Services' operating procedures.
      (e) Investigation of Complaints.--Each complaint shall be 
  investigated by an investigator who shall complete and submit a written 
  report to the Board of Commissioners within 60 days of the assignment, 
  unless the Board authorizes an extension. The Services shall grant 
  investigators access to information, documents, or other items relevant 
  to the matter under investigation. The Board may issue subpoenas. 
  Service employees shall cooperate fully with Review Commission 
  investigations, subject to the protections afforded by the 
  Constitution. Service employees shall be advised of their 
  constitutional rights and the procedural rights afforded under this 
  Act.
      (f) Disposition of Complaints.--
              (1) When the Board receives a written report on a complaint 
          from an investigator, the Board shall designate a panel of 3 of 
          its members (hereinafter referred to as the ``Panel'') to 
          review the report.
              (2) The Panel shall conduct hearings on the complaint if--
                      (A) the alleged abuse is of a serious nature, as 
                  defined by the regulations prescribed under authority 
                  of this Act; or
                      (B) the Panel, by majority vote, decides to hold a 
                  hearing.
              (3) The Panel shall issue a written finding on the 
          complaint based on the report alone or on the report and a 
          hearing, if one is held.
              (4) The Panel shall forward its finding to both the 
          complainant and the Service employee. The complainant and the 
          Service employee shall have 30 days in which to review the 
          Panel's official finding. During the 30-day period, either the 
          complainant or the Service employee may take one of the 
          following actions:
                      (A) If no hearing was held, request that the Panel 
                  conduct a hearing. A hearing shall be held if one 
                  member of the Panel votes to hold a hearing.
                      (B) Regardless of whether a hearing was held, 
                  request an en banc review of the Panel's decision. An 
                  en banc review will be granted if a majority of the 
                  Board votes to conduct such review.
              (5) If neither party makes a request pursuant to 
          subparagraphs (A) or (B) of paragraph (4), or if such a request 
          is denied, then the Board, promptly, shall report its finding 
          to the appropriate Service.
              (6) All findings made by the Board of Commissioners sitting 
          en banc shall be reported directly to the appropriate Service 
          with copies to the complainant and the Service employee.
      (g) Hearings.--
              (1) Both the complainant and the subject Service employee 
          shall have the right to be represented by counsel or other 
          representative at Board hearings, to present witnesses, and to 
          cross-examine witnesses.
              (2) Any finding of a violation on the part of a Service 
          employee by the Board must be established by a preponderance of 
          the evidence.
              (3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), hearings 
          shall be open to the public and transcripts of hearings shall 
          be available to the public.
              (B) For good cause the Board of Commissioners may close to 
          the public all or any part of a hearing and may seal all or any 
          part of the transcript of a hearing.
              (4) Unless mandated by unusual circumstances, a hearing 
          shall be conducted in one location within the United States 
          that is generally convenient to the complainant and any 
          potential witnesses.
      (h) Disciplinary Recommendations.--
              (1) When a finding of a violation may constitute a criminal 
          offense, the Board of Commissioners shall inform the 
          appropriate Federal or State authorities so that appropriate 
          prosecutorial action may be considered. Prosecutorial action 
          shall not relieve the Board of its duties under this Act.
              (2) When a complaint has been substantiated, the Board 
          shall recommend disciplinary action against the subject Service 
          employee. The Board's recommendations shall be based on a 
          schedule of sanctions determined by the Commission. If the 
          Services do not adopt the recommendations of the Board, they 
          shall provide a written explanation of the grounds for refusal 
          to do so within 30 days of the Board's recommendation. The 
          Commission's recommendations and the Service's explanation 
          shall be made public.
              (3) Nothing in this Act shall affect the Services' 
          authority to discipline their employees.
      (i) Early Warning Program.--The Review Commission shall conduct a 
  periodic review of all complaints in order to determine whether 
  particular Service employees have been the subject of repeated 
  complaints or have otherwise demonstrated they may be having difficulty 
  dealing appropriately with members of the public. The results of this 
  review shall be presented to the Services. The Review Commission shall 
  make recommendations to the Services with respect to so identified 
  Service employees including, but not limited to, recommendations of 
  training or counseling.
      (j) Records of Complaints and Statistical Summaries.--The Review 
  Commission shall maintain records of complaints, including a summary of 
  reports made pursuant to the Early Warning Program under subsection 
  (i). The Review Commission shall compile and publish, at least 
  annually, a statistical summary of all complaints received and the 
  dispositions of such complaints.
  
  SEC. 7. RETALIATION.
  
      (a) Retaliation Prohibited.--Retaliation is prohibited and shall 
  constitute the basis for a complaint to the Commission.
      (b) Definition.--For the purposes of this Act, the term 
  ``retaliation'' means any action or threat of action against a person, 
  including a Service employee, because such person filed a complaint, 
  testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation 
  or hearing related to the complaint procedures established by this Act.
  
  SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON USE OF TESTIMONY.
  
      No testimony or other information gathered as part of a complaint, 
  investigation, or hearing under this Act may be used in any proceeding 
  under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
  
  SEC. 9. FUNDING.
  
      Funds authorized to be appropriated for the Offices of Inspector 
  General of the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury 
  are authorized to be available to carry out this Act.
target: Immigration Enforcement Review Commission Act - Establishes the Immigration Enforcement Review Commission, composed of a Board of Commissioners, an Investigations Office, and a Community Outreach Office. 
  States that the Commission shall:  (1) investigate civil rights abuse complaints against the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Customs Service or their employees; and (2) make policy recommendations as appropriate.
feat_title: Immigration Enforcement Review Commission Act