[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2235 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2235

To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable unaccompanied alien 
                     children and female detainees.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 16, 2011

Ms. Roybal-Allard introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
  the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable unaccompanied alien 
                     children and female detainees.

    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 ``Child Trafficking Victims Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS FOR VULNERABLE UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN 
              CHILDREN AND FEMALE DETAINEES.

    (a) Mandatory Training.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Department 
of Health and Human Services and independent child welfare experts, 
shall mandate live training of all personnel who come into contact with 
unaccompanied alien children (as defined in section 462 of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279)) in all relevant legal authorities, 
policies, and procedures pertaining to this vulnerable population.
    (b) Care and Transportation.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that all 
unaccompanied children who will undergo any immigration proceedings 
before the Department of Homeland Security and the Executive Office for 
Immigration Review are duly transported and placed in the care and 
legal and physical custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement within 
a maximum of 72 hours of their apprehension absent narrowly defined 
exceptional circumstances, including a natural disaster or comparable 
emergency beyond the control of the Secretary of Homeland Security or 
the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall ensure that female officers are responsible and at all times 
present during the transfer and transport of female detainees who are 
in the custody of the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    (c) Qualified Resources.--For purposes of this section, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide adequately trained and 
qualified staff resources at each major port of entry (as defined by 
the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station assigned to that port 
having in its custody over the past two fiscal years an average per 
year of 50 or more unaccompanied alien children (as defined in section 
462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279))), including 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents charged primarily with the 
safe, swift, and humane transportation of unaccompanied alien children 
to Office of Refugee Resettlement custody and independent licensed 
social workers dedicated to ensuring the proper temporary care for the 
children while in Department of Homeland Security custody prior to 
their transfer to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, who will ensure 
that each child--
            (1) receives emergency medical care;
            (2) receives mental health care in case of trauma and has 
        access to psychosocial health services;
            (3) is provided with a pillow, linens, and sufficient 
        blankets to rest at a comfortable temperature, a bed, and a 
        mattress placed in an area specifically designated for 
        residential use;
            (4) receives adequate nutrition;
            (5) enjoys a safe and sanitary living environment;
            (6) receives educational materials; and
            (7) has access to at least three hours per day of indoor 
        and outdoor recreational programs and activities.
    (d) Notification.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
immediately notify the Office of Refugee Resettlement of an 
unaccompanied alien child in the custody of the Department of Homeland 
Security to effectively and efficiently coordinate the child's transfer 
to and placement with the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
    (e) Notice of Rights and Access to Counsel.--The Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall ensure that an independent licensed social 
worker, as described in subsection (c), provides all unaccompanied 
alien children upon apprehension with both a video orientation and oral 
and written notice of their rights under the Immigration and 
Nationality Act including their rights to relief from removal and their 
rights to confer with counsel (as guaranteed under section 292 of such 
Act), family, or friends while in the Department of Homeland Security's 
temporary custody and relevant complaint mechanisms to report any abuse 
or misconduct they may have experienced. The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall ensure that the video orientation and written notice of 
rights is available in English and in the five most common native 
languages spoken by the unaccompanied children held in custody at that 
location during the preceding fiscal year, and that the oral notice of 
rights is available in English and in the most common native language 
spoken by the unaccompanied children held in custody at that location 
during the preceding fiscal year.
    (f) Confidentiality.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall maintain the privacy and confidentiality of all information 
gathered in the course of providing care, custody, placement and 
follow-up services to unaccompanied alien children, consistent with the 
best interest of the unaccompanied alien child, by not disclosing such 
information to other government agencies or nonparental third parties. 
The Secretary may share information when authorized to do so by the 
child and when consistent with the child's best interest. The Secretary 
may provide information to a duly recognized law enforcement entity, if 
such disclosure would prevent imminent and serious harm to another 
individual. All disclosures shall be duly recorded in writing and 
placed in the child's files.
    (g) Other Policies and Procedures.--The Secretary shall further 
adopt fundamental child protection policies and procedures--
            (1) for reliable age determinations of children which 
        exclude the use of fallible forensic testing of children's bone 
        and teeth developed in consultation with medical and child 
        welfare experts;
            (2) to ensure the safe and secure repatriation and 
        reintegration of unaccompanied alien children to their home 
        countries through specialized programs developed in close 
        consultation with the Secretary of State, the Office of the 
        Refugee Resettlement and reputable independent child welfare 
        experts including placement of children with their families or 
        nongovernmental agencies to provide food, shelter and 
        vocational training and microfinance opportunities;
            (3) to utilize all legal authorities to defer the child's 
        removal if the child faces a risk of life-threatening harm upon 
        return including due to the child's mental health or medical 
        condition; and
            (4) to ensure that unaccompanied alien children (as defined 
        in section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
        279)) are physically separated from any adult who is not an 
        immediate family member and are separated by sight and sound 
        from immigration detainees and inmates with criminal 
        convictions, pretrial inmates facing criminal prosecution, 
        children who have been adjudicated delinquents or convicted of 
        adult offenses or are pending delinquency or criminal 
        proceedings, and those inmates exhibiting violent behavior 
        while in detention as is consistent with the Juvenile Justice 
        and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et 
        seq.).
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