WASHINGTON, D.C. —U.S. Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ) is backing two bills to improve accountability, ensure safety and prevent excessive overreach in federal immigration enforcement–the Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act and the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act.
“Federal immigration agents must be held to the same constitutional standards as every other law enforcement officer. These common-sense bills allow for effective enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws, while taking concrete steps to end abuse, overreach, and chaos,” said Stanton.
H.R. 5973, the Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act, would restrict federal immigration enforcement agents’ use of crowd munitions like tear gas, align immigration enforcement with the current Department of Justice (DOJ) standards on use of force, and require the use of body cameras and strictly limit the use of masks.
Specifically, H.R. 5973:
- Prevents enforcement personnel from being equipped with tear gas, pepper balls, and flash bangs, wearing masks, and using non-identifying uniforms–with limited exceptions for operations targeting national security and public safety threats.
- Aligns immigration enforcement with current DOJ standards on force, allowing it to be used only when “no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative appears to exist.”
- Implements additional requirements that personnel exercise force “proportionally,” use deescalation techniques, and minimize risk to third persons.
- Requires mandatory use of body and vehicle cameras for immigration enforcement.
- Reinforces protections against force while engaging lawfully in protected First Amendment activities, such as protesting, reporting, and assembling.
- Supports local law enforcement by requiring that they are pre-notified of immigration operations in their jurisdiction and prohibiting Federal immigration enforcement from wearing uniforms with the word “police” to limit public confusion.
- Creates training requirements for de-escalation and abiding by constitutional protections.
On January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration rescinded long-standing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy that prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials from entering certain locations, such as, schools, hospitals, food pantries, churches, domestic violence shelters, to conduct arrests.
H.R. 1061, the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, reinstates previous policy preventing arrests in sensitive locations and expands the protected locations to include courthouses and additional health care, educational, and religious facilities.
As Co-Chair of the moderate New Democrat Coalition’s Immigration and Border Security Working Group, Stanton has worked to deliver commonsense immigration solutions for the American people. The Immigration and Border Security Framework released in August of 2025 is a blueprint to invest in smart border security, fix the outdated and broken immigration system to ensure fast, fair, and final enforcement, use commonsense reforms to grow the economy by growing the labor force, and expand legal avenues to citizenship for long-time residents living in legal limbo.