This bill expands the types of international agreements the Secretary of State must report to Congress and sets a deadline for the Comptroller General's post-audit reports.
William Keating
Representative
MA-9
This bill expands transparency requirements under the Case-Zablocki Act by mandating the reporting of all international agreements, written or oral, where a foreign country accepts non-citizen individuals ordered removed from the U.S. It also sets a new 30-day deadline for the Comptroller General to submit post-audit reports to Congress.
New Transparency Rules Require Written Records for International Deportation Deals and 30-Day Audit Deadlines.
This bill tightens the leash on how the U.S. government handles sensitive international handshakes. Specifically, it amends the Case-Zablocki Act to ensure that any agreement with a foreign country regarding the acceptance of non-citizens who have been ordered out of the U.S. is fully disclosed to Congress. Under Section 1, this applies whether the deal was formally signed on fancy letterhead or just agreed upon orally over a phone call. If it’s an oral agreement, the Secretary of State is now legally required to get it down in writing and transmit it to Capitol Hill. It’s essentially a 'get it in writing' rule for international diplomacy involving removal orders.
Putting Handshakes on Paper
In the world of international relations, sometimes deals are made with a nod and a wink rather than a formal treaty. This legislation targets a very specific type of deal: when a third-party country agrees to take in people who aren't their own citizens but are being removed from the U.S. By requiring these agreements to be documented and shared with Congress under Section 112b(k)(5), the bill ensures there’s a paper trail for where people are being sent and what the U.S. might have promised in return. For someone working a 9-to-5 or running a shop, this is about basic government receipts—making sure the Executive Branch can’t cut side deals regarding immigration and border policy without the legislative branch seeing the fine print.
Clocking the Auditors
The second half of the bill, found in Section 2, shifts focus to the government’s own internal watchdogs. It amends Section 112b(h)(3) to put the Comptroller General on a strict clock. Once an audit is finished, the post-audit report must be submitted to Congress within 30 days. Currently, bureaucratic delays can mean that by the time an audit reaches lawmakers, the information is about as fresh as last month’s milk. By mandating a one-month turnaround, the bill aims to give Congress more relevant, timely data to make decisions on how tax dollars are being spent and whether agencies are following the law. It’s a move toward 'real-time' oversight rather than looking in the rearview mirror months after the fact.