The Families Deserve to Know Act mandates that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implement strict, timely, and compassionate notification procedures to inform families and legal representatives of any deaths, serious illnesses, or injuries occurring while an individual is in custody.
Ritchie Torres
Representative
NY-15
The Families Deserve to Know Act mandates that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implement strict, compassionate, and timely notification procedures for families when an individual in custody suffers a serious injury, illness, or death. The bill establishes standardized protocols for collecting emergency contact information, requires transparent reporting to Congress and the public, and creates a legal framework for accountability through civil penalties and lawsuits. By ensuring families are promptly informed and involved, this legislation aims to increase transparency and oversight within the immigration detention system.
Families Deserve to Know Act Mandates 12-Hour ICE Death Notification and $100K Daily Penalties for Lapses
When someone is in government custody, their family shouldn't have to find out about a tragedy through the grapevine or days after the fact. The Families Deserve to Know Act sets a hard line on communication, requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to establish strict emergency contact procedures. Within 180 days of this becoming law, ICE must implement a system where they collect emergency contacts, medical proxies, and even faith leader preferences the moment someone enters custody. Crucially, they have to check back every 90 days to make sure that phone number or email address hasn't changed, ensuring the paper trail stays current.
The Clock Starts Now
This bill doesn't leave much room for bureaucratic foot-dragging. If an individual in custody passes away, ICE has a strict 12-hour window to notify the family after the death is declared. These calls have to happen between 6:00 a.m. and midnight to avoid middle-of-the-night shocks, unless it’s a serious injury or illness, in which case the notification must happen as soon as possible. For those working in these facilities, the definition of "serious" is spelled out clearly: it covers everything from heart attacks and emergency surgeries to any condition a doctor says carries a risk of permanent impairment. The notification isn't just a heads-up, either; it must include the cause of the event, the hospital location, and even the name of the ICE official in charge.
Accountability With Teeth
For the private companies that often run these detention centers, the stakes are high. If a contractor fails to make a required notification, they face a civil penalty of $100,000 for every single day the family is left in the dark. If a facility messes this up twice in a year, their contract is terminated, and they are barred from the business for three years. This isn't just a suggestion; the Secretary of Homeland Security is explicitly forbidden from waiving or reducing these fines. These penalties go into a new "Family Notification Fund" used to pay out damages to families who sue over violations.
Legal Recourse and Oversight
The bill opens the door for families and individuals to hold the government and private contractors accountable in court. If the rules are broken, a person in custody or their next of kin can sue for at least $100,000 in statutory damages per violation. To keep things transparent, the DHS Inspector General will audit these processes every two years, and a new complaint mechanism will be created so families have a direct line to report when they’ve been ignored. While there is a small loophole allowing a 72-hour delay for "public safety threats," it requires a written sign-off from the Secretary, making it a high bar to clear. For families waiting on news of a loved one, this bill aims to replace silence with a standardized, compassionate, and legally mandated response.