Bill · S. 3995· Senate(119-S-3995)
LOCATE Act
- Introduced
- 3/4/2026
- Last activity
- 3/4/2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Sponsored by
- Ben Luján
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The LOCATE Act requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide timely updates to the Online Detainee Locator System. It mandates specific timeframes for updating the system after custody events like intake, transfers, or deaths. The bill also requires the sharing of biographical and custodial information during transfers between agencies. Additionally, it mandates that reasonable efforts be made to notify family or legal representatives of custody events. Finally, it establishes annual audits by the Inspector General to ensure compliance with these new rules.
Yes
Would immigrants be better off under this?+6
The bill benefits immigrants by providing much faster and more accurate information regarding their custody status and location.
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+5
The bill increases transparency by requiring timely updates to the detainee locator system and mandatory oversight audits.
Does this protect the right to fair treatment by the courts?+4
The bill enhances due process by ensuring faster notification of custody changes to families and legal representatives.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Increased Transparency and Accuracy: The bill requires the Online Detainee Locator System to include specific details such as full name, date of birth, current facility address, and contact information for officials (Section 3(c)). This ensures that the information available to the public or interested parties is complete and accurate.
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Timely Information Updates: By requiring updates within 6 hours for CBP or 12 hours for ICE following a custody event, the system will more accurately reflect a person's current status or location (Section 3(a)).
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Family and Legal Notification: The bill requires that reasonable efforts be made to notify close family members or legal representatives of a custody event within 12 hours, if they are known (Section 4(b)).
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Accountability through Oversight: The Inspector General is required to conduct annual audits and submit reports to congressional committees to evaluate how well the Department of Homeland Security is complying with these requirements (Section 4(a)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+5Improves Due Process+4
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Immigrants+6
- 3/4/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Introduced in Senate