[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9217 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9217

 To establish, in the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Destination 
Reception Services Program New Arrival Services Board and to authorize 
   a grant program for providing funding for medium-term services to 
eligible arrivals in destination States and localities to promote their 
self-sufficiency, reduce costs of extended emergency service provision, 
    maximize benefit to new arrivals and host communities, provide 
 diversion from homelessness, and promote the effective navigation and 
                 compliance of the immigration process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2024

  Ms. Meng (for herself, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
Pressley, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Carson, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, 
  Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Vargas, Ms. DelBene, Mr. McGovern, Ms. 
    Stansbury, Ms. Bush, Ms. Velazquez, and Ms. Chu) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish, in the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Destination 
Reception Services Program New Arrival Services Board and to authorize 
   a grant program for providing funding for medium-term services to 
eligible arrivals in destination States and localities to promote their 
self-sufficiency, reduce costs of extended emergency service provision, 
    maximize benefit to new arrivals and host communities, provide 
 diversion from homelessness, and promote the effective navigation and 
                 compliance of the immigration process.

    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 ``Destination Reception Assistance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF DESTINATION RECEPTION SERVICES PROGRAM.

    Section 412 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Destination Reception Services Program.--
            ``(1) Defined term.--In this subsection, the term `eligible 
        arrival' means an individual who--
                    ``(A) has been granted parole;
                    ``(B) have been placed in removal proceedings; or
                    ``(C) has a pending application for asylum.
            ``(2) Establishment.--There is established, in the Office, 
        the Destination Reception Services Program (referred to in this 
        subsection as the `Program'), which shall carry out the 
        provisions of this subsection under the direction of the New 
        Arrival Services Board (referred to in this subsection as the 
        `Board'). The Program shall coordinate with the Unaccompanied 
        Children Program and the Refugee Program to ensure that 
        eligible arrivals receive all of the services for which they 
        are eligible.
            ``(3) New arrival services board.--
                    ``(A) Appointments.--Not later than 30 days after 
                the date of the enactment of the Destination Reception 
                Assistance Act, the Director, who shall act as 
                chairperson of the Board, shall appoint 8 additional 
                members to the Board who represent nongovernmental 
                organizations with experience providing, evaluating, 
                and offering technical assistance on eligible services 
                provided through the Program, including organizations 
                representing individuals with lived experience of 
                forced migration.
                    ``(B) Functions.--The Board shall--
                            ``(i) identify communities in which 
                        concentrations of eligible arrivals in need of 
                        assistance reside; and
                            ``(ii) recommend the amount of funding to 
                        be allocated to such communities in accordance 
                        with formulas, policies, procedures, and 
                        guidelines established by the Office.
                    ``(C) Criteria for allocating funding.--In 
                determining the allocation of Federal funding to 
                communities under this subsection, the Board shall 
                prioritize funding for communities with--
                            ``(i) a higher ratio of eligible arrivals 
                        compared to other communities;
                            ``(ii) higher housing and transportation 
                        costs; or
                            ``(iii) the most significant medium-term 
                        reception needs (in per capita or absolute 
                        terms) in which the level of direct services 
                        provided by nonprofit, faith-based, or 
                        governmental organizations to families and 
                        individuals released by the Department of 
                        Homeland Security is most acute.
            ``(4) Program structure.--
                    ``(A) Framework.--The framework of the Program 
                shall be similar to the framework of the Emergency Food 
                and Shelter Program of the Federal Emergency Management 
                Agency to facilitate the timely delivery of Federal 
                funding in support of eligible arrivals.
                    ``(B) Distinction from alternatives to detention.--
                The Program is not an alternatives to detention 
                program. Prior participation in an alternatives to 
                detention program is not an eligibility requirement for 
                eligible arrivals to receive Program services, nor is 
                participating in monitoring or surveillance practices a 
                condition while receiving Program services.
                    ``(C) Recipient organizations.--The Program shall 
                provide funding to local government entities and 
                private nonprofit organizations to provide medium-term 
                services to eligible arrivals who have been processed 
                and released into the United States by the Department 
                of Homeland Security, including--
                            ``(i) housing transition, rental, and 
                        utility assistance programs;
                            ``(ii) medical and mental health care or 
                        insurance for such care;
                            ``(iii) child care, child care assistance 
                        programs, and out-of-school programming;
                            ``(iv) workforce development, job training, 
                        English language training, paid 
                        apprenticeships, work study, and loan programs;
                            ``(v) local public transportation support;
                            ``(vi) interpretation and translation 
                        services;
                            ``(vii) legal services, particularly 
                        services supporting applications for work 
                        authorization, asylum, and other types of 
                        humanitarian relief;
                            ``(viii) programs, including case 
                        management and social work services, to provide 
                        support to individuals accessing and navigating 
                        available assistance and services;
                            ``(ix) voluntary, coordinated relocation 
                        service; and
                            ``(x) other eligible services, as 
                        determined by the Director.
            ``(5) Local new arrival services boards.--
                    ``(A) Community identification.--The Board shall 
                identify, in accordance with criteria to be established 
                by the Board, communities throughout the United States 
                where eligible arrivals are residing.
                    ``(B) Establishment; designation.--Each community 
                designated pursuant to subparagraph (A) desiring a 
                grant under paragraph (7) shall--
                            ``(i) establish a local new arrival 
                        services board (referred to in this paragraph 
                        as a `local board'); or
                            ``(ii) at the discretion of the Board, 
                        appoint an existing substantially similar board 
                        to carry out the functions of a local board.
                    ``(C) Membership.--Each local board shall consist 
                of--
                            ``(i) the head of a unit of local 
                        government within such community, or of a 
                        relevant department of such local government;
                            ``(ii) to the extent practicable, 
                        representatives of the organizations that are 
                        represented on the Board;
                            ``(iii) representatives of other local, 
                        private nonprofit organizations, as 
                        appropriate;
                            ``(iv) representatives of ethnic and 
                        community-based organizations; and
                            ``(v) an asylum seeker or parolee being 
                        served by the Program.
                    ``(D) Chairperson.--Each local board established 
                pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall elect a chairperson 
                from among its members.
                    ``(E) Responsibilities.--Each local board 
                established pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall--
                            ``(i) determine which local government 
                        entities or private nonprofit organizations are 
                        eligible to receive grants to provide the 
                        services referred to in paragraph (4)(C);
                            ``(ii) allocate available Federal funding 
                        among the entities and organizations referred 
                        to in clause (i);
                            ``(iii) monitor recipient service providers 
                        for Program compliance;
                            ``(iv) reallocate Federal funding among 
                        service providers whenever a particular service 
                        provider fails to substantially comply with 
                        Program requirements;
                            ``(v) ensure proper reporting to the Board; 
                        and
                            ``(vi) coordinate with other Federal, 
                        State, and local government assistance programs 
                        available in the community.
            ``(6) Eligible services.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director, in consultation 
                with the Board, shall annually establish guidelines 
                specifying which services for eligible arrivals may be 
                funded under the Program, which may include--
                            ``(i) noncustodial housing services, 
                        including rental and utility assistance;
                            ``(ii) cultural orientation training;
                            ``(iii) culturally competent interpretation 
                        and translation services;
                            ``(iv) workforce development services, 
                        including education, employment, and training 
                        services, work study, loan programs, and 
                        childcare support;
                            ``(v) immigration-related legal services, 
                        including preparation and practice;
                            ``(vi) referral and case management 
                        services;
                            ``(vii) medical and mental health services 
                        or insurance for such services;
                            ``(viii) local public transportation 
                        support;
                            ``(ix) voluntary, coordinated relocation 
                        services; and
                            ``(x) other eligible services, as 
                        determined by the Director.
                    ``(B) Publication.--The Director shall annually 
                publish the guidelines established pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A) in the Federal Register before the 
                first day of the fiscal year during which they will 
                take effect.
            ``(7) Grants authorized.--
                    ``(A) Competitive grants.--The Director, working 
                through the Board, may award competitive grants to 
                communities identified pursuant to paragraph (5)(A) 
                which have established a local new arrival services 
                board to provide services to eligible arrivals who are 
                residing in such communities. The allocation of 
                available Federal funding among such communities shall 
                be based on a formula developed by the Office. Grant 
                funds allocated to a community pursuant to this 
                subparagraph shall be disbursed to government human 
                services agencies and local nonprofit organizations 
                that have successfully provided human and social 
                services in accordance with Federal, State, and local 
                requirements, as applicable.
                    ``(B) Federal block grants.--A portion of the 
                Federal funding made available to carry out this 
                subsection shall be reserved for Federal block grants 
                to communities. Communities receiving funding under 
                this subparagraph shall match every $1 of Federal 
                funding with $1 of non-Federal funding.
                    ``(C) Purpose of grants.--The primary purpose of 
                the grants awarded pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) 
                shall be to increase the capacity of grant recipients 
                to provide medium-term services and other service 
                navigation assistance to new arrivals to attain self-
                sufficiency.
                    ``(D) Eligible entities.--An entity is eligible to 
                receive a grant under this subsection if the entity 
                is--
                            ``(i) a local government, an Indian Tribe, 
                        or a nonprofit organization (as such terms are 
                        defined in section 200.1 of title 2, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations);
                            ``(ii) a State of the United States, the 
                        District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of 
                        Puerto Rico;
                            ``(iii) any agency or instrumentality of a 
                        governmental entity listed in clause (ii) 
                        (excluding local governments); or
                            ``(iv) physically located in a State, the 
                        District of Columbia, or a territory of the 
                        United States.
            ``(8) Administrative procedures act.--When issuing 
        guidelines to carry out this subsection, including setting 
        eligibility requirements and making program changes, the 
        Director shall not be subject to the procedural rulemaking 
        requirements set forth in subchapter II of chapter 5, and 
        chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as 
        the `Administrative Procedures Act').
            ``(9) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 2025 through 
        2028, $3,000,000,000 to carry out the Program established by 
        this subsection.''.
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