[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 24 (Friday, February 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1496. Mr. TUBERVILLE submitted an amendment intended to be 
submitted by him to the bill H.R. 815, to amend title 38, United States 
Code, to make certain improvements relating to the eligibility of 
veterans to receive reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished 
through the Veterans Community Care program, and for other purposes; 
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. __. CLARIFICATION OF STANDARDS FOR FAMILY DETENTION.

       (a) Amendment.--
       (1) In general.--Section 235 of the William Wilberforce 
     Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 
     U.S.C. 1232) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(j) Construction.--
       ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, judicial determination, consent decree, or settlement 
     agreement, the detention of any alien child who is not an 
     unaccompanied alien child shall be governed by sections 217, 
     235, 236, and 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1187, 1225, 1226, and 1231). There is no presumption 
     that an alien child who is not an unaccompanied alien child 
     should not be detained.
       ``(2) Family detention.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
     shall--
       ``(A) maintain the care and custody of an alien, during the 
     period during which the charges described in clause (i) are 
     pending, who--
       ``(i) is charged only with a misdemeanor offense under 
     section 275(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1325(a)); and
       ``(ii) entered the United States with the alien's child who 
     has not attained 18 years of age; and
       ``(B) detain the alien with the alien's child.''.
       (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
     shall--
       (A) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; 
     and
       (B) apply to all actions that occur before, on, or after 
     such date.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the amendment made by subsection (a)(1) are intended to 
     satisfy the requirements of the Settlement Agreement in 
     Flores v. Meese, No. 85-4544 (C.D. Cal), as approved by the 
     court on January 28, 1997, with respect to its interpretation 
     in Flores v. Johnson, 212 F. Supp. 3d 864 (C.D. Cal. 2015), 
     that the agreement applies to accompanied minors.
       (c) Preemption of State Licensing Requirements.--
     Notwithstanding any other provision of law, judicial 
     determination, consent decree, or settlement agreement, no 
     State may require that an immigration detention facility used 
     to detain children who are younger than 18 years of age, or 
     families consisting of 1 or more of such children and the 
     parents or legal guardians of such childr6en, that is located 
     in that State, be licensed by the State or by any political 
     subdivision of such State.
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