The CBP Guidance on Personal Belongings Act requires the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner to develop detailed written guidance within 180 days on how CBP personnel should handle the personal belongings of arrested, restrained, or confined individuals. The guidance must address what items people can keep, how essential items like medications, legal documents, phones, and religious articles are stored and returned, procedures for transferring belongings when detainees move to other agencies, and circumstances for discarding property when necessary. CBP must consult with nongovernmental organizations and the Immigration Detention Ombudsman during development, implement monitoring systems to track compliance, and submit annual reports to Congress for five years detailing how often and why essential property was discarded, along with efforts to reduce such instances. The Government Accountability Office will also review the guidance's implementation within one year of the first report to assess its effects on CBP operations and staff compliance.
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