118 HR 9217 IH: Destination Reception Assistance Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2024-07-30
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EN
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I
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9217
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. Velázquez, 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.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Destination Reception Assistance Act”.
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.”.