ICE and CBP Constitutional Accountability Act

This bill establishes a civil remedy for individuals whose fundamental rights are violated by officers or agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It addresses congressional findings that these agencies have undermined constitutional protections, including due process, freedom from unreasonable searches, and privacy, sometimes through racial profiling, leading to injuries, deaths, and public distrust. The legislation amends the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) to make the U.S. Government directly liable when ICE or CBP officers, acting under color of law, deprive individuals of their constitutional or legal rights. A crucial aspect is that this liability applies regardless of whether the violation was caused by an official policy or custom of the Department of Homeland Security, or if the officer was acting consistent with such a policy. This bill explicitly allows plaintiffs to seek punitive damages and includes a clear waiver of sovereign immunity for these specific claims, removing significant barriers to litigation against the government and streamlining the process by exempting these cases from the administrative claim requirement of the FTCA.