Congress moves to end detention disappearances—families get 24-hour notice
H.R. 5073 — INFORM Act of 2025 · Filed by Luz Rivas (D-CA) · 33 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 29, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to notify the immediate family of detained immigrants within 24 hours whenever that person is transferred to a different detention facility. The notification must include the reason for transfer and the new facility's name, address, phone number, and a contact person. This gives families the ability to track where their detained relatives are being held.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a procedural transparency requirement—mandating notice to families of detained immigrants. It does not change detention authority, release criteria, or substantive immigration law; it only ensures families know where their relatives are held.
What the text implies
- Creates a paper trail and accountability mechanism for detention transfers, potentially exposing patterns of facility overcrowding, inappropriate transfers, or conditions that prompt frequent relocations.
- May increase legal representation by enabling families to locate detained relatives and connect them with counsel, indirectly strengthening due-process outcomes.
- Requires DHS to maintain and communicate facility contact information, which may expose gaps in detention infrastructure or coordination between facilities.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Detained immigrants and their families gain a concrete right to timely information about detention location and transfer reasons, reducing the risk of disappearance into the system and enabling legal representation and family contact. The burden on DHS is administrative notification, not a substantive change to detention authority.
Named in the bill
Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Nationality Act, detention facilities
Where it stands
33 cosponsors: 33 Democrats.
- Aug 29, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Aug 29, 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 (1,188 characters) on Sep 25, 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.
“Congress moves to end detention disappearances—families get 24-hour notice” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr5073 Report an error
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