Walkinshaw Bill Would Require DHS To Report Deaths, Serious Injuries To Congress

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Rep. James R. Walkinshaw, who represents Virginia’s 11th District and serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security, introduced legislation that would require the Department of Homeland Security to notify Congress within 72 hours of any serious bodily injury or death involving people in federal custody or caused by DHS personnel.

The DHS Accountability Act of 2026 would also require an independent investigation into each incident and a report to Congress, according to Walkinshaw’s office.

The legislation applies to incidents involving DHS personnel, including agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Walkinshaw’s office said the bill was prompted by the death of Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in January 2026. According to Walkinshaw’s office, the House Committee on Homeland Security did not receive a death-in-custody notification because Good was not considered physically in ICE custody at the moment she was killed.

Walkinshaw’s office also said Good was falsely labeled a “domestic terrorist” by Trump administration officials after the shooting.

“Renee Good’s killing was captured on video. The public saw an ICE agent pull the trigger, but under current law, even that was not enough to require DHS to formally notify Congress,” Walkinshaw said in a statement. “What happens to the cases no camera captures? What happens when there is no viral video, no public outrage, and no immediate pressure on DHS to provide answers? Congress should not have to learn about deaths or serious injuries of their constituents involving federal agents from the news, grieving families, or bystander footage.”

The bill would require the secretary of Homeland Security to notify the appropriate congressional committees and members of Congress after a serious bodily injury. The notification would include the location of the incident, whether medical assistance was sought, a description of the use of force and de-escalation tactics, whether a firearm was discharged and other information, according to Walkinshaw’s office.

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The bill would also require investigations to be conducted outside the chain of command of officers implicated in an incident, require video evidence to be preserved for five years and require findings to be reported to Congress within seven days of an investigation’s completion.

U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the legislation would help ensure deaths and serious injuries involving DHS law enforcement are independently investigated.

“When anyone is killed or seriously injured by DHS law enforcement, it is imperative for there to be a full accounting and Congress is quickly notified so a proper — and independent — investigation can take place and nothing can be swept under the rug,” Thompson said in a statement.

The legislation comes as immigration enforcement policies have drawn protests in Northern Virginia.

Patch reported last week that about 15 protesters gathered outside the Fairfax County Courthouse to criticize federal immigration enforcement policies and call attention to deaths connected to ICE custody. The protest, organized by members of Defend Democracy Indivisible NOVA, came days after Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a law requiring law enforcement officers in Virginia to display identifying badges and limiting the use of face coverings during most public interactions.

At the Fairfax protest, demonstrators displayed tombstone-style signs bearing the names of people who died in ICE custody or during encounters involving immigration enforcement officers.

Diane Dresdner, one of the group’s organizers, told Patch the group had been protesting outside the courthouse on the fourth Wednesday of each month since December 2025, except during icy weather in January.

“We’re going to continue to do this as long as ICE is here,” Dresdner told Patch.

The DHS Accountability Act of 2026 has been referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Cosponsors include Thompson, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Dan Goldman, J. Luis Correa, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Troy A. Carter Sr., Timothy M. Kennedy, LaMonica McIver, Suhas Subramanyam, Shri Thanedar, Al Green and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández.