S. 3996

119 S3996 IS: DHS Hiring Review Act
 U.S. Senate
 2026-03-04
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  S. 3996  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   March 4, 2026   Mr. Luján  introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs    A BILL
To improve the hiring and training processes at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   DHS Hiring Review Act  .
2.
Definitions
In this Act:
(1)
Appropriate congressional committees
The term  appropriate congressional committees  means—
(A)
the  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate ;
(B)
the  Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate ;
(C)
the  Committee on Appropriations of the Senate ;
(D)
the  Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives ;
(E)
the  Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives ; and
(F)
the  Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives .
(2)
CBP
The term  CBP  means U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(3)
ICE
The term  ICE  means U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(4)
Under secretary
The term  Under Secretary  means the Under Secretary for Management at the Department of Homeland Security.
3.
Hiring audit at ICE and CBP
The Under Secretary, in coordination with the Office of Personnel Management, shall conduct an audit of the hiring records for any employees hired by ICE or CBP after the date of the enactment of  Public Law 119–21  to certify all hiring requirements with respect to such employees, including background checks, were complete and remained consistent with applicable Office of Personnel Management hiring standards.
4.
Requirement to check State and local systems
The Under Secretary shall cross-reference all new employees hired for positions at ICE or CBP since January 20, 2025, with State-level misconduct files, including police records and employment records of law enforcement agencies, to determine whether information contained in such files was taken into consideration during the evaluation of such new employees prior to being hired.
5.
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers certification of training
(a)
Certifications
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers shall certify that every agent or officer of ICE and CBP has successfully completed the required training for their respective positions within ICE or CBP, including—
(1)
the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Academy;
(2)
U.S. Border Patrol agent basic training; and
(3)
the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations Academy.
(b)
Length of training
The certifications required under subsection (a) should indicate the length of training that each officer and agent completed for their respective positions.
6.
Government Accountability Office study and report
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes—
(1)
the findings from the audit conducted pursuant to section 3;
(2)
a description of the Under Secretary's determination of the use of State-level misconduct files during the evaluation of potential new ICE and CBP employees; and
(3)
an audit of pass and fail rates for training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers for ICE and CBP agents and officers.