# Plain Language Summary of the REACT Act

The REACT Act requires that anyone who enters the United States without permission and is then released from immigration custody must first test negative for COVID-19. This applies to people who are released from Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within 30 days of entering the country, as well as those placed in alternative programs instead of being detained in a facility. In other words, before someone in this situation can be released into the community, they need to have a COVID-19 test done, and it has to come back negative.

The practical effect of this bill is that it adds a health screening requirement to the immigration enforcement process. The Department of Homeland Security would be responsible for administering these tests. The bill essentially says that if immigration authorities are going to let someone go rather than keep them in custody, that person first needs to prove they don't have COVID-19. This was introduced in 2021 when COVID-19 was a major public health concern, and the sponsors were concerned about people potentially spreading the virus after being released from immigration custody.

For people working in immigration enforcement, this means an additional step and cost in the release process. For immigrants being released, it means a testing requirement before they can leave custody. The bill doesn't specify what happens if someone tests positive—whether they'd be kept in custody longer, transferred to a medical facility, or handled some other way—so those details would need to be worked out in implementation.

REACT Act

Miller-Meeks, Mariannette

Requiring Every Alien Receive a COVID-19 Test Act or the REACT Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to administer a COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) test and receive a negative result before releasing an alien in certain instances. Specifically, DHS must receive a negative test result before an inadmissible alien may be released from custody or placed in an alternative to detention program, if that release or placement takes place within 30 days of that alien's entry into the United States.