New Bill Mandates 200 Free Monthly Phone Minutes for Detainees to Contact Family and Lawyers

The new Restoring Access for Detainees Act is straightforward: it requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), specifically U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to provide free communication services—including phone calls, email, and video—to everyone in their custody. This isn’t a suggestion; it’s a mandate that must be provided at no cost to the detained individual, using funds already appropriated to ICE (Sec. 1).

This bill restores and formalizes a service similar to one that existed during the COVID-19 emergency but was later cut. The core purpose is to ensure people in civil immigration detention can access legal counsel and maintain contact with their families, recognizing that current communication options are often insufficient, especially for those who can’t afford expensive facility call rates (Sec. 2).

The Communication Minimums

For anyone in ICE custody—which the bill defines broadly to include physical and legal custody, regardless of whether it’s a federal, state, or private contractor facility (Sec. 3)—the law sets clear minimum standards for communication (Sec. 4). Think of it as a guaranteed minimum data plan, but for phone calls and legal access.

First, upon being taken into custody or arriving at a new facility, the individual must get at least one 10-minute call within five hours to notify an immediate family member of their location. If they can’t reach family, the facility has to keep trying. This is a crucial provision for families who often lose track of loved ones during transfers.

Second, every person gets at least 200 free minutes each month for outgoing calls to anyone. This is the baseline. On top of that, the bill mandates unlimited free minutes for calls to specific groups crucial for their legal case, including legal counsel, potential lawyers, courts (immigration and otherwise), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and internal oversight offices like the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (Sec. 4).

Confidentiality and the Fine Print

One of the most important elements of this bill is the protection of legal communication. Calls with lawyers, courts, and oversight officials may not be monitored or recorded and must take place in a private space (Sec. 4). This is essential for maintaining attorney-client privilege and ensuring people feel safe reporting potential abuses to oversight bodies. The only way around this is if a government official obtains a lawful court warrant.

However, facilities still have some control. The bill authorizes them to set “consistent policies regulating the time, place, and manner” of the free outgoing communication. While they can’t restrict the number or duration of legal calls, this language could still be used to create restrictions on the 200 general minutes—for example, only allowing calls during certain hours or days. The bill tries to counter this by requiring facilities to apply these policies consistently, provide them to every individual upon arrival, and make them publicly available.

Who Pays and Who Benefits?

The immediate beneficiaries are the detained individuals and their families. For a detainee who is indigent, 200 free minutes is a lifeline that allows them to maintain social ties and, more importantly, organize their defense without facing exorbitant phone charges that can easily run into hundreds of dollars a month. For legal aid organizations, this guarantees confidential access to clients, which is foundational to due process.

For DHS and ICE, this means increased operational costs and administrative complexity. They are directed to use existing funds, but if those funds are insufficient, the taxpayer will ultimately bear the cost, either through new appropriations or by diverting money from other operational areas. The upside for the government is potentially smoother legal processes and fewer legal challenges based on lack of access to counsel. The bill also includes a savings provision, ensuring that this new law doesn’t interfere with any existing legal settlements regarding communication access (Sec. 5).