HB1401: HB1401 Public Health, Department of; third-party audits of detention facilities that house federal immigration detainees; provide

Georgia currently has no state process for checking on conditions inside detention facilities that hold people under federal immigration authority. This bill would add one. It directs the Department of Public Health to set audit criteria by October 1, 2026 covering things like medical care, sanitation, use of force, access to legal counsel, and grievance procedures, all based on 2025 federal detention standards published by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The department would hire an independent nonprofit or accredited body to audit each facility every year. Detention facilities would have to let the auditor in. Reports would go to the Governor, House Speaker, Senate President, and Attorney General, and summaries would be posted online. If a facility shows serious, ongoing noncompliance that endangers detainees, the state could withhold state funding, licenses, or permits, or limit local law enforcement cooperation with federal detention efforts, though it could not withhold anything under exclusive federal control.

• Requires the Department of Public Health to create audit criteria for detention facilities holding federal immigration detainees by October 1, 2026.
• Requires the department to select an independent third-party auditor, such as an accredited nonprofit, to audit each detention facility annually.
• Requires annual audit reports and corrective-action recommendations to be sent to the Governor, House Speaker, Senate President, and Attorney General.
• Requires audit summaries and statewide compliance trend data to be published on the department's website while protecting detainees' identities.
• Allows the state to withhold funding, licenses, or permits, or limit local cooperation with federal immigration detention, if a facility shows serious ongoing noncompliance that endangers detainees.
• Requires detention facilities to give auditors sufficient access to the facility to complete the audit.

Detention facilities in Georgia that hold people under federal immigration authority, the detainees held there, the Department of Public Health, third-party auditing organizations, local law enforcement agencies that may cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and state officials who receive the audit reports.

People held in immigration detention in Georgia would gain an outside check on their medical care, safety, and treatment, with public reporting on compliance. Facilities found seriously out of line with federal standards could lose state funding, licenses, or local law enforcement cooperation, changing the practical costs of noncompliance.

• Section 1 states legislative findings that detainees must be treated humanely and that the state can monitor detention conditions without taking over federal immigration authority.
• Section 3 adds Code Section 31-2A-14, defining 'detainee,' 'detention facility,' 'federal detention standards' (2025 ICE national detention standards), and 'third-party auditor.'
• Subsection (b) requires the department to set audit criteria by October 1, 2026 covering medical care, sanitation, use of force, legal access, communication access, and grievance procedures, and to select an auditor for each facility.
• Subsection (c) requires annual written audit reports with compliance findings and corrective-action recommendations, distribution to top state officials, and public posting of summaries and compliance trend data.
• Subsection (d) requires detention facilities to give auditors sufficient access to conduct the audit.
• Subsection (e) authorizes the state to withhold funding, licenses, permits, or limit local law enforcement agreements if a facility shows substantial, ongoing noncompliance posing a health or safety risk, based on the department's written findings.
• Subsection (f) clarifies the law does not require state or local law enforcement to assist the federal government beyond enforcing detention standards.
• Subsection (g) directs the department to issue rules and regulations needed to carry out the Code section.

1. 2026-02-24House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-20House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-19House Hopper (House)

• Eric Gisler (D, HD-121)Primary sponsor
• Long Tran (D, HD-080)
• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)

• immigration detention
• detention facility oversight
• public health department
• detainee treatment
• state audits