Fundamental Immigration Fairness Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 7456 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7456 To limit the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to detain aliens of good moral character, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 9, 2026 Mrs. Watson Coleman (for herself, Mr. Pocan, and Ms. Norton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To limit the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security to detain aliens of good moral character, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Fundamental Immigration Fairness Act''. SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON DETENTION OF ALIENS OF GOOD MORAL CHARACTER. (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary of Homeland Security may not take into custody an alien, prior to the entry of an order of removal against the alien, who is arriving at or departing from-- (1) any field office of the Department of Homeland Security; or (2) any facility of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. (b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply in the case of an alien who is not of good moral character, as determined by an immigration judge, in accordance with section 101(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(f)). (c) Clarification.--Section 101(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by adding at the end the following: ``A determination that an alien is not of good moral character may not be based solely on the alien's unlawful presence in or unlawful entry into the United States.''. (d) Definitions.--In this section, the terms have the meanings given such terms in