[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 505 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 505
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the
adjustment of status of certain unaccompanied alien children and the
establishment of a panel of advisors to assist unaccompanied alien
children in immigration proceedings.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 7, 2001
Mr. Hastings of Florida introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the
adjustment of status of certain unaccompanied alien children and the
establishment of a panel of advisors to assist unaccompanied alien
children in immigration proceedings.
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 ``Alien Unaccompanied Minor Adjustment
and Protection Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT TO PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS OF CERTAIN
UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN.
Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m)(1) The Attorney General may, in the Attorney General's
discretion, adjust the status of an alien under 18 years of age who has
no lawful immigration status in the United States to that of an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence if--
``(A)(i) the alien (or a parent or legal guardian acting on
the alien's behalf) has applied for the status; and
``(ii) the alien has resided in the United States for a
period of 5 consecutive years; or
``(B)(i) no parent or legal guardian requests the alien's
return to the country of the parent's or guardian's domicile,
or with respect to whom the Attorney General finds that
returning the child to his or her country of origin would
subject the child to mental or physical abuse; and
``(ii) the Attorney General determines that it is in the
best interests of the alien to remain in the United States
notwithstanding the fact that the alien is not eligible for
asylum protection under section 208 or protection under section
101(a)(27)(J).
``(2) The Attorney General shall make a determination under
paragraph (1)(B)(ii) based on input from a person or entity that is not
employed by or a part of the Service and that is qualified to evaluate
children and opine as to what is in their best interest in a given
situation.
``(3) Upon the approval of adjustment of status of an alien under
paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall record the alien's lawful
admission for permanent residence as of the date of such approval, but
the Secretary of State shall not reduce the number of visas authorized
to be issued under sections 201 and 203 as a result of such action.''.
SEC. 3. PANEL OF ADVISORS FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.
(a) Establishment of Panel of Advisors for Unaccompanied Alien
Children.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall provide for the
establishment outside the Immigration and Naturalization
Service of a panel of independent advisors whose responsibility
is to serve as guardians ad litem for covered unaccompanied
alien children who are in proceedings before such Service under
this section. No such individual shall be an employee of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service.
(2) Composition.--The Attorney General shall provide for
the preliminary designation of at least 200 such advisors, or
such greater number as may required to carry out this section.
Such advisors shall be individuals who are skilled in social
services, psychology, education, and other fields relevant to
serving as such guardians.
(3) Distribution.--The advisors shall be designated in a
manner that assures that children in all parts of the United
States are adequately served.
(b) Assignment.--Whenever a covered unaccompanied alien child is a
party to an immigration proceeding, the Attorney General shall assign
such child an individual from the panel established under subsection
(a) to serve as guardian ad litem under this section.
(c) Responsibilities.--The guardian shall provide advocacy,
independent advice, and support to child in connection with the
immigration proceedings, including any legal proceedings relating to
the immigration proceedings.
(d) Requirements on the Attorney General.--The Attorney General
shall serve notice of all matters affecting a covered unaccompanied
alien child's immigration status (including all papers filed in an
immigration proceeding) on the child's guardian assigned under this
section.
(e) Definition.--In this section, the term ``covered unaccompanied
alien child'' means an alien--
(1) who is under 18 years of age;
(2) who has no lawful immigration status in the United
States and is not within the physical custody of a parent or
legal guardian; and
(3) whom no parent or legal guardian requests the person's
return to the country of the parent's or guardian's domicile or
with respect to whom the Attorney General finds that returning
the child to his or her country of origin would subject the
child to physical or mental abuse.
(f) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed as
affecting or superseding the appointment of guardians ad litem under
other provisions of law.
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