Congress mandates mass GPS surveillance of immigrants awaiting hearings.
H.R. 355 — Justice for Jocelyn Act · Filed by Troy Nehls (R-TX) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 13, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill mandates GPS monitoring and overnight curfews (10 p.m.–5 a.m.) for all immigrants awaiting immigration court hearings who are not detained. It restricts release from detention unless all detention beds are full and all alternatives exhausted. It also allows immigration judges to order removal in absentia if an immigrant violates release conditions, without a hearing.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a mandatory detention-first policy coupled with universal GPS monitoring and curfews for non-detained immigrants, plus removal without a hearing for release violations. It is functionally an enforcement escalation, not a public-safety measure with proportionate safeguards.
What the text implies
- In-absentia removal (Section 4) strips immigrants of the right to be present at their own removal hearing—a fundamental due-process protection. An immigration officer's affidavit alone, without judicial finding of willful violation, triggers removal.
- GPS monitoring and curfew apply to ALL non-detained immigrants, including those with strong community ties, employment, or family. No individualized assessment or proportionality review is required.
- The bill's title references 'Jocelyn'—likely Jocelyn Nungaray, a Texas child killed by an immigrant in 2024. Using a crime victim's name to brand enforcement legislation may conflate immigration status with criminality and bypass scrutiny of the policy's actual scope and fairness.
- Mandatory enrollment in Alternatives to Detention (ATD) with GPS + curfew may paradoxically make ATD more punitive than detention for some immigrants, undermining the program's original purpose as a humane alternative.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Immigrants awaiting hearings face continuous surveillance, severe movement restrictions, and loss of due-process rights (removal without a hearing if they violate curfew). The bill prioritizes detention over release and removes judicial discretion to balance individual circumstances. Ordinary immigrants—including those with family, employment, or community ties—bear concrete costs in liberty and procedural fairness.
Who stands to gain
- GPS monitoring technology vendors
- detention facility operators (private and public)
Named in the bill
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program, immigration judges, Section 240(b)(5) INA, Section 236(a) INA
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 7 Republicans.
- Jan 13, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 13, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,736 characters) on Aug 18, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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