H.R. 10803: Reimagining Safety Act

Reimagining Safety Act

The Reimagining Safety Act, introduced by Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), abolishes the Department of Homeland Security, replaces it with a new Department of Community Safety, and effectively ends federal immigration enforcement. The legislation releases all detained aliens, eliminates core statutory detention and arrest authorities, blocks deportations unless approved by an act of Congress, and redirects all unobligated immigration enforcement funding toward taxpayer-funded legal counsel, cash stipends, and social welfare programs for illegal aliens.

This bill :

• Abolishes DHS: Abolishes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and repeals the Homeland Security Act of 2002;

• Creates a Department of Community Safety and redistributes DHS agencies: Establishes a new Cabinet-level Department of Community Safety (DCS), transferring the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to DCS, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Coast Guard to the Department of Transportation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) customs functions to the Department of the Treasury, and immigration enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) functions to the Department of Justice (DOJ);

• Replaces border enforcement with social services: Establishes a civilian, community-led program within DCS for social workers, medical professionals, and interpreters to receive aliens seeking asylum at U.S. borders, converts CBP field offices into community assistance centers for aliens, and deploys frontline public health workers ("promotoras") to assist aliens with public benefit enrollment;

• Requires top DOJ and congressional approval for every deportation: Prohibits the initiation of removal or inadmissibility proceedings against an alien unless personally authorized by the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, or their acting equivalents, requires the Attorney General to submit a report to Congress upon making a preliminary determination that an alien is inadmissible or deportable, and prohibits the Attorney General from executing the removal of any alien unless Congress enacts a joint resolution approving that specific alien's removal;

• Halts border wall construction and surveillance programs: Terminates CBP's Integrated Surveillance Tower program, requires the termination of all active contracts for border wall construction and military-grade border surveillance technology within 60 days, and prohibits federal funding for a border wall or fusion centers starting in FY 2027;

• Releases all detained aliens and ends detention and monitoring: Requires the Attorney General to release all detained aliens on their own recognizance within six months of enactment and connect them with DCS-funded services, requires the removal of all ankle monitors from aliens within six months, prohibits the use of federal funds for ankle monitoring programs after six months, and terminates all immigration detention and monitoring contracts and funding within two years;

• Repeals core INA detention and arrest authorities: Repeals core statutory detention and enforcement authorities under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), including mandatory detention for inadmissible arriving aliens and criminal aliens, detention during removal proceedings under INA Section 236, post-removal-order detention under INA Section 241(a), and general immigration officer warrantless interrogation, border search, and felony arrest powers under INA Section 287(a);

• Terminates 287(g) agreements and legalizes sanctuary policies: Repeals INA Section 287(g) authority for state and local law enforcement immigration agreements, immediately terminates all existing 287(g) agreements, mandates the immediate release of any alien detained pursuant to such agreements, and repeals statutory bars against sanctuary policies (8 U.S.C. 1373 and 8 U.S.C. 1644) as well as state and local authority to arrest and detain previously deported criminal illegal aliens (8 U.S.C. 1252c);

• Eliminates deportability for public charges and unlawful voters: Repeals the deportability grounds under INA Section 237(a) for aliens who become a public charge or who unlawfully vote in U.S. elections;

• Repeals terrorism inadmissibility bars and closes Guantanamo Bay: Repeals terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds under INA Section 212(a)(3)(B), sunsets the Secretary of State's authority to designate Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) under INA Section 219 one year after enactment, terminates all existing FTO designations after one year, closes the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within 60 days while allowing uncharged detainees to choose resettlement inside the United States, and prohibits the Department of Defense from constructing or modifying facilities in the United States to detain anyone other than U.S. military personnel;

• Replaces "alien" with "noncitizen" in federal law: Replaces the statutory term "alien" with "noncitizen" in INA Section 101(a)(3) and deems all references to "alien" across federal law, regulations, and executive instruments to refer to "noncitizen";

• Redirects enforcement funding to welfare and taxpayer-funded counsel for aliens: Permanently rescinds all unobligated DHS immigration enforcement funds and authorizes their appropriation for social welfare programs, including universal guaranteed legal counsel for aliens in immigration proceedings, Medicare for All, free public higher education, and universal basic income;

• Provides cash grants and housing to households of detained or deported aliens: Establishes a Community Recovery and Support Fund to provide direct financial assistance, income-replacement grants, legal fees, travel expenses, and emergency housing to households and communities impacted by DHS enforcement actions, detention, or deportation; and

• Studies making USCIS and immigration courts independent: Directs the Secretary of Community Safety to appoint stakeholder panels within one year to study establishing USCIS as an independent agency and abolishing the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to create an independent immigration court system.