(WASHINGTON STATE, UNITED STATES) — Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, reintroduced legislation in early December that would roll back mandatory immigration detention, phase out private detention and curb cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement.
Jayapal, who represents Washington’s 7th District, introduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act with Representative Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat who represents the state’s 9th District, backed by 123 House Democratic colleagues.
Sponsors’ statements and timeline
“Under the Trump Administration, we have seen a shocking surge in the detention of people who have committed no crimes being locked up in increasingly horrifying conditions. We must pass this legislation to protect dignity and civil rights in America,” Jayapal said December 3, 2025.
“We are witnessing appalling conditions for immigration detention and a clear disregard for basic human rights. This legislation establishes the oversight and guardrails needed to end these abuses,” Smith said December 3, 2025.
Department of Homeland Security response
Department of Homeland Security officials pushed back, defending current detention policies as necessary for public safety and national security and rejecting claims made by Democrats about overcrowding, mistreatment and deaths in custody.
- Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs, called the bill’s claims of overcrowding and mistreatment “false” in a statement to Fox News Digital on December 5, 2025, saying,
“ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.” - McLaughlin added that it is a “longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody.”
A DHS spokesperson responded on X on December 22, 2025, to assertions from Democratic lawmakers about an uptick in custody deaths, writing:
“Yet again, the [Senate Democrats] are trying to twist data to smear ICE law enforcement. There has been NO spike in deaths.”
What the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act would do
The bill is aimed at reshaping how the federal government decides who is held in immigration custody. Sponsors frame it as a civil-rights measure; the administration frames it as a threat to enforcement.
Key provisions include:
- Repeal of mandatory detention requirements and a move to individualized custody determinations based on a risk-based approach.
- Establish a presumption of release unless a person poses a flight risk or a threat to public safety.
- Raise the burden of proof for detaining vulnerable populations, including:
- Primary caregivers
- Pregnant women
- Survivors of torture
- Phase out the use of private, for-profit detention facilities and county jails for immigration purposes over a three-year period (aiming for completion by approximately 2029).
- Require DHS to establish strict civil detention standards and permit unannounced inspections by Members of Congress, placing oversight requirements into statute.
Oversight dispute and court action
That oversight dispute escalated in federal court after Democrats challenged an administration policy barring Members of Congress from making unannounced visits to detention facilities.
- On December 17, 2025, a federal court temporarily blocked the administration’s policy, following a lawsuit led by Ranking Member Jamie Raskin and other Democrats.
- The court order coincided with Democrats tying their push for the bill to broader concerns about detention conditions and transparency.
- The administration argued it needed latitude to manage facilities and enforcement operations.
Context: prior bill number, related legislation, and claims
- In previous sessions the bill was numbered H.R. 2760, and it was reintroduced for the 119th Congress; a legislative tracker is available at: Congress.gov – Legislative Tracker (H.R. 2760 / 119th Congress).
- Supporters say the measure challenges the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1) and what they describe as the Trump-Vance administration’s mass enforcement strategy.
- Democrats say DHS and the administration expanded the role of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as a law enforcement agency during 2025, including the deployment of “Homeland Defenders” in December 2025 to investigate and refer immigration violators for prosecution.
Data and allegations about detention levels and deaths
Congressional proponents of the bill have pointed to detention numbers they say have grown sharply and that the system is holding large numbers of people without criminal convictions.
- As of December 2025, approximately 66,000 individuals are currently in ICE custody, which supporters described as a record high.
- Supporters claim nearly 73% of those detained have no criminal convictions.
- Reports from advocacy groups and Democratic offices indicate at least 30 deaths in ICE custody during calendar year 2025, which those reports described as the highest since 2004.
DHS has disputed the premise of a spike. In its X statement on December 22, 2025, the agency wrote:
“There has been NO spike in deaths.”
Family impacts and local enforcement cooperation
Backers of the bill argue detention has intensified family disruption and that the presumption of release for primary caregivers is meant to reduce family separation tied to long-term detention of non-criminal parents.
The legislation also seeks to end what sponsors describe as a “prison-to-deportation pipeline,” including provisions intended to prohibit local law enforcement from participating in certain federal immigration enforcement programs.
- These programs are often referred to as 287(g) agreements in related “New Way Forward” legislation, according to supporters.
- Sponsors argue limiting those partnerships would narrow the ways local arrests and jail bookings can lead to immigration detention and removal proceedings.
- The administration and DHS portray such cooperation as part of their enforcement posture.
Political alignment and related documents
- Republicans were not listed among the bill’s sponsors in the information provided; supporters framed the effort as part of a broader Democratic effort to constrain detention and enforcement amid heightened political conflict over immigration.
- The bill’s rollout also occurs as Democrats describe USCIS as taking on a more explicitly enforcement-facing posture, reflected by the “Homeland Defenders” deployment in December 2025.
Related public materials and statements:
- USCIS Newsroom – 2025 End-of-Year Review (Dec 22, 2025)
- DHS Press Office – Statement on Law Enforcement Directives (Jan 21, 2025)
- U.S. House of Representatives Press Release – Rep. Jayapal (Dec 3, 2025)
Stakes and framing
For Democrats backing the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, the fight centers on:
- Who should be detained,
- Where they should be held,
- How much access lawmakers and the public should have to information about conditions inside facilities.
For DHS and the administration, public pushback has focused on defending detention practices and rejecting claims that overcrowding, mistreatment and deaths in custody reflect a system out of control.
“Yet again, the [Senate Democrats] are trying to twist data to smear ICE law enforcement. There has been NO spike in deaths,” the DHS spokesperson wrote on December 22, 2025.
Democratic lawmakers have reintroduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act to end mandatory detention and phase out private facilities by 2029. The bill emphasizes civil rights, proposing a presumption of release for vulnerable populations and unannounced congressional inspections. While proponents cite record detention levels and rising custody deaths, DHS officials strongly dispute these allegations, defending current ICE standards and the necessity of detention for national security.
