DHS Hiring Review Act

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.