[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3422-S3423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 353. Ms. HARRIS (for herself and Mr. Wyden) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1790, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
Subtitle __Protecting Unaccompanied Alien Children
SEC. __1. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Families, Not
Facilities Act of 2019''.
SEC. __2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On May 13, 2018, a Memorandum of Agreement between U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border
Patrol of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office
of Refugee Resettlement of the Department of Health and Human
Services went into effect to allow for intergovernmental
sharing of personal information about unaccompanied alien
children, their prospective sponsors, and adult members of
sponsor households.
(2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is using
information obtained under the Memorandum of Agreement to
conduct civil immigration enforcement actions against
individuals residing in the homes of prospective sponsors of
unaccompanied alien children.
(3) These civil immigration enforcement actions have
discouraged prospective sponsors of unaccompanied alien
children, including family members, from coming forward to
resettle children in the community as they pursue lawful
claims for humanitarian protection.
(4) As a result of the lack of qualified sponsors,
unprecedented numbers of unaccompanied alien children
(approximately 14,600 in December 2018) are being held in
shelters overseen by the Office of Refugee Resettlement as of
the date of enactment of this Act.
(5) The Office of Refugee Resettlement is struggling to
accommodate the growing number of unaccompanied alien
children in its shelter network, resorting to placing
children in temporary ``emergency influx'' shelters. The
Office contracted with BCFS to care for more than 6,200
children between June 2018 and January 2019 in a temporary
shelter at the Tornillo-Guadalupe Land Port of Entry in
Texas, a facility that the New York Times and other media
sources described as a ``tent city'', and announced plans in
January 2019 to nearly double the number of children held in
a previously closed temporary shelter in Homestead, Florida.
(6) Temporary shelters are inappropriate locations to hold
unaccompanied alien children because such shelters--
(A) have reduced standards of care, including insufficient
educational services;
(B) offer limited access to clinical and legal services;
and
(C) are not cost-effective, resulting in the expenditure of
more than $750 per day in taxpayer funds for each child
housed in Tornillo shelter, for example.
(7) Facilities operated under a contract with the Office of
Refugee Resettlement have faced unacceptable allegations of
abuse and neglect of unaccompanied alien children that merit
additional investigation and oversight.
(8) The Office of Refugee Resettlement is legally required
to place children in the least restrictive setting that is in
the best interest of the child.
(9) Services offered at facilities funded by the Office of
Refugee Resettlement are required to include classroom
education, mental and medical health services, case
management, socialization and recreation activities, and
family reunification services that facilitate the safe and
timely release of unaccompanied alien children to family
members or other sponsors that can care for them.
(10) Providing legal and case management services to all
children while they are housed in a facility funded by the
Office of Refugee Resettlement and after their release from
such a facility is a cost-effective and humane way of
ensuring that the Office of Refugee Resettlement meets its
statutory obligation to place children in least restrictive
settings.
SEC. __3. USE OF SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION.
(a) In General.--Section 235(c)(3) of the William
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(c)(3)) is amended--
[[Page S3423]]
(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``In making such a
determination, the Secretary may not consider the immigration
status of the proposed custodian.'' after ``well-being.'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) Prohibiting use of certain information.--The
Secretary of Homeland Security may not use information
provided by an unaccompanied alien child or information
initially obtained by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services to make a suitability determination under
subparagraph (A), a home study determination under
subparagraph (B), or a secure facility determination under
paragraph (2)(A) for the purpose of apprehending, detaining,
or removing from the United States--
``(i) the unaccompanied alien child;
``(ii) the proposed custodian or current custodian;
``(iii) a resident of the home in which the proposed
custodian or current custodian resides;
``(iv) the proposed sponsor or current sponsor; or
``(v) a resident of the home in which the proposed sponsor
or current sponsor resides.''.
(b) Rules of Construction.--
(1) Flores settlement agreement.--The amendments made by
subsection (a) may not be construed to supersede the terms of
the stipulated settlement agreement filed on January 17,
1997, in the United States District Court for the Central
District of California in Flores v. Reno, CV 85-4544-RJK,
(commonly known as the ``Flores settlement agreement'').
(2) Child welfare.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
may not be construed to prevent the Secretary of Homeland
Security from using information obtained by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to investigate or report to the
appropriate law enforcement agency or child welfare agency
instances of trafficking, abuse, or neglect.
SEC. __4. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR ENFORCEMENT,
DETENTION, AND REMOVAL OPERATIONS.
No Federal funds may be used by U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement for any enforcement, detention, or
removal activity that violates section 235(c)(3) of the
William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2008, as amended by section __3(a).
SEC. __5. TRANSFER OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS
ENFORCEMENT FUNDING.
Of the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2019 to U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement for enforcement and
removal operations--
(1) $30,000,000 shall be transferred to the Department of
Justice to expand the efforts of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's Violent Crimes Against Children program to
investigate criminal networks involved in child trafficking;
(2) $180,000,000 shall be transferred to the Office of
Refugee Resettlement to provide the post-release legal, case
management, and child advocate services described in section
__6; and
(3) $10,000,000 shall be transferred to the Administration
for Children and Families to bolster the efforts of the Task
Force to Prevent and End Human Trafficking.
SEC. __6. ENSURING THE SAFETY OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN
CHILDREN.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``post-release
case management services'' means services that--
(1) are provided by a social worker, employed by a
nonprofit entity, who meets with the child individually and
with the family to develop an individualized service plan;
and
(2) allow children to successfully transition into their
communities by--
(A) assisting with school enrollment and acculturation;
(B) locating medical and therapeutic services;
(C) making referrals to area legal services; and
(D) navigating new family settings and other individual
needs.
(b) Required Services.--The Office of Refugee Resettlement
shall--
(1) provide post-release case management to all children
upon release or as the need arises for the duration of their
immigration proceedings; and
(2) facilitate efforts to connect every unaccompanied
child, including each child with a sponsor, with legal
representation for his or her immigration proceedings.
(c) The Office of Refugee Resettlement Advisory Committee
on Shelters for Unaccompanied Alien Children.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App.), shall immediately establish the Advisory
Committee on Shelters for Unaccompanied Alien Children
(referred to in this subsection as the ``Advisory
Committee'') to advise the Office of Refugee Resettlement on
matters regarding shelters and placements for unaccompanied
alien children relating to education, immigration law,
physical and mental health, trauma-informed social work
services, youth shelter management, and immigration detention
reform.
(2) Composition and term.--
(A) Appointment.--The Secretary shall appoint 14
individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee for 2-year
terms.
(B) Prerequisites.--
(i) In general.--Each member of the Advisory Committee
shall be employed by a nonprofit entities in the field of--
(I) education;
(II) immigration law;
(III) physical and mental health of children and youth;
(IV) trauma-informed child welfare social work services;
(V) youth shelter management;
(VI) cultural competency; or
(VII) immigration detention reform.
(ii) Representation.--At least 2 members of the Advisory
Committee shall represent each of the fields set forth in
clause (i).
(3) Investigative authority.--
(A) Inspections.--Members of the Advisory Committee may
conduct unannounced inspections of all shelters contracted
with the Office of Refugee Resettlement to hold unaccompanied
alien children.
(B) Information sharing.--The Office of Refugee
Resettlement shall provide the Advisory Committee with access
to such materials as may be necessary to effectively advocate
for the best interest of children in the custody of the
Office of Refugee Resettlement, subject to applicable
statutes and regulations.
(4) Consultations.--The Advisory Committee shall consult
with, and receive recommendations from--
(A) the American Medical Association;
(B) the American Academy of Pediatrics;
(C) the National Association of Social Workers;
(D) the American Bar Association Center on Children and the
Law;
(E) the American Immigration Lawyers Association; and
(F) other medical, child welfare, and legal experts.
(5) Reports.--
(A) Interim report.--Not later than 6 months after the
establishment of the Advisory Committee under paragraph (1),
the Advisory Committee shall release to the public an interim
report outlining the Advisory Committee's investigations and
recommendations regarding Office of Refugee Resettlement
shelters for unaccompanied alien children and submit such
report to--
(i) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(ii) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate;
(iii) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(iv) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(v) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives;
(vi) the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of
Representatives; and
(vii) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(B) Final report.--Not later than 1 year after the
establishment of the Advisory Committee under paragraph (1),
the Advisory Committee shall release to the public, and
submit to the recipients of the interim report under
subparagraph (A), a final report that outlines the Advisory
Committee's investigations and recommendations regarding
Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters for unaccompanied
alien children.
(6) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection may be
construed to preempt any Federal agency from investigating
allegations of mistreatment and abuse of unaccompanied alien
children in facilities overseen by the Department of Health
and Human Services.
______