[Senate Report 118-17]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 45
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-17
======================================================================
IMPACTT HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACT
__________
R E P O R T
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
TO ACCOMPANY
S. 670
TO IMPROVE SERVICES FOR TRAFFICKING VICTIMS
BY ESTABLISHING, IN HOMELAND SECURITY
INVESTIGATIONS, THE INVESTIGATORS MAINTAIN
PURPOSEFUL AWARENESS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING
TRAUMA PROGRAM AND THE VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
May 4, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada MITT ROMNEY, Utah
ALEX PADILLA, California RICK SCOTT, Florida
JON OSSOFF, Georgia JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
Christopher J. Mulkins, Director of Homeland Security
Katie A. Conley, Professional Staff Member
William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
Kendal B. Tigner, Minority Professional Staff Member
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 45
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-17
======================================================================
IMPACTT HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACT
_______
May 4, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 670]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 670) to improve
services for trafficking victims by establishing, in Homeland
Security Investigations, the Investigators Maintain Purposeful
Awareness to Combat Trafficking Trauma Program and the Victim
Assistance Program, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................4
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................6
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................6
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............7
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 670, the IMPACTT Human Trafficking Act, would enhance
the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI) efforts to combat human trafficking by
codifying and expanding the HSI Victim Assistance Program (VAP)
to provide services for trafficking victims. The bill would
also establish a program to safeguard HSI employees and
partners who are exposed to repeated stress and associated
trauma in working with victims of human trafficking.\1\
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\1\On August 3, 2022, the Committee approved S. 4611, to improve
services for trafficking victims by establishing, in Homeland Security
Investigations, the Investigators Maintain Purposeful Awareness to
Combat Trafficking Trauma Program and the Victim Assistance Program,
with an amendment to include a short title. That bill is substantially
similar to S. 670. Accordingly, this committee report is, in many
respects, similar to the committee report for S. 4611. See S. Rept.
117-327.
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II. Background and the Need for Legislation
Human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry
in the world, falling shortly behind the drug trade.\2\ This
crime is a violation of human rights and involves either
commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor.\3\ Human
trafficking involves profiting from the exploitation of a human
being and that exploitation may be repeated for a continued
period of time. According to the U.S. National Human
Trafficking Hotline, there were 16,658 victims of human
trafficking identified through the hotline in 2020 alone.\4\
Human trafficking victims can be of any gender, age, race,
ethnicity, nationality, religion, and socio-economic class.
This increasingly prevalent crime is estimated to yield global
profits of $150 billion every year.\5\
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\2\U.S. Agency for International Development, Countering
Trafficking in Persons (www.usaid.gov/trafficking) (accessed Nov. 30,
2022).
\3\Department of Homeland Security, Blue Campaign, Human
Trafficking 101 (Apr. 2020) (https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/
publications/ht_101_one-pager_.pdf).
\4\Polaris Project, Human Trafficking Trends in 2020, An analysis
of data from the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline (Jan. 2022)
(polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Human-Trafficking-
Trends-in-2020-by-Polaris.pdf).
\5\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Countering Human
Trafficking: Year in Review (October 2020 to September 2021 (Jan. 2022)
(www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/CCHT%20Annual%20Report.pdf).
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Since the creation of DHS in 2003, HSI has played a leading
role in identifying victims of human trafficking and child
exploitation, as well as bringing violators to justice.\6\ HSI
pursues a victim-centered approach to human trafficking,
seeking to minimize additional trauma, mitigate undue
penalization, and stabilize and support victims.\7\ This
approach encourages survivors to participate actively in
investigations, enabling law enforcement to better detect,
investigate, and prosecute perpetrators.\8\ It also requires
significant efforts from the agents and specialists involved,
who work tirelessly to bring perpetrators to justice in a way
that ensures victims have sufficient support.
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\6\U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Investigations, Human
Trafficking: Leading the Global Fight Against Human Trafficking
(www.ice.gov/investigations/human-trafficking) (accessed April 28,
2023).
\7\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS Center for Countering
Human Trafficking (www.dhs.gov/dhs-center-countering-human-trafficking)
(accessed Aug. 18, 2022).
\8\Id.
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This bill codifies and enhances the VAP through which
victim assistance professionals serve victims identified
through HSI investigations. This bill would create additional
Victim Assistance Specialist (VAS) positions to ensure every
office participating in a human trafficking or child
exploitation task force will have a dedicated VAS. Currently,
there are only enough VASs to serve the largest field offices
within HSI, leaving the majority of offices to rely on agents
who are not professional VASs to provide victim assistance as a
secondary responsibility alongside their criminal investigative
work.\9\ The VAP and its expansion is essential to carrying out
HSI's victim-centered approach. VASs provide victim support and
referral to services throughout the investigative and
prosecutorial process.\10\ Through this program, VASs also
provide training and outreach to HSI employees, law enforcement
and victim service partners, private sector stakeholders, and
community organizations to increase identification of victims
and referrals for human trafficking investigations.\11\ This
bill would ensure that there are additional VASs to provide
required trainings on victims' rights, victim-related policies,
roles of forensic interviewers and VASs, and approaches that
are victim-centered, trauma informed, and linguistically
appropriate.
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\9\DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, Homeland Security
Investigations, Briefing with Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Staff (June 14, 2022).
\10\U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Victims Assistance
Program (www.ice.gov/partnerships-centers/vap) (accessed Apr. 28,
2023).
\11\Id.
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The VAP provides forensic interview support that is crucial
for successful investigations and aims to ensure victims are
not retraumatized.\12\ It also provides training and technical
assistance to agents and other law enforcement partners to
ensure victims have access to the rights and services to which
they are entitled. This bill would allow funds to be available,
through the VAP, for emergency expenditures for items related
to basic needs upon recovery of a victim, such as food,
clothing, hygiene products, transportation, and temporary
shelter. By making these funds immediately accessible, victims
would receive these items in a more expeditious manner.
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\12\Id.
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Trauma experienced by human trafficking victims can be
devastating and often involves extreme psychological and
physical abuse at the hands of traffickers. Vicarious and other
secondary trauma exposure occurs when those working with
victims, including law enforcement officers, witness the
initial recovery and observe first-hand the cruelty and
violence the victim has endured; listen to victims recount
vivid details of their victimization; are exposed to videos and
images of severe exploitation; and witness the long road to
recovery, which often includes regressive setbacks.\13\ This
trauma can significantly affect the physical and emotional
well-being of the law enforcement, forensic interviewers,
service providers, and other professionals who are working with
victims.\14\ According to the Department of Justice's Office of
Victims of Crime, some of the common negative reactions of
vicarious and other associated trauma include difficulty
managing emotions; physical problems or complaints, including
decreased resistance to illness; loss of a sense of meaning in
life; relationship problems; aggressive or violent outbursts
and behavior; destructive coping or addictive behaviors; and a
combination of symptoms that comprise a diagnosis of
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), among other
reactions.\15\
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\13\U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime, What is
Vicarious Trauma? (ovc.ojp.gov/program/vtt/what-is-vicarious-trauma)
(accessed Apr. 28, 2023).
\14\Id.
\15\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This bill would codify a program initiated at HSI in 2022
to provide support to address such secondary trauma. The
Investigators Maintain Purposeful Awareness to Combat
Trafficking Trauma Program (IMPACTT) program was developed
after agents working in the field and at the HSI Center for
Countering Human Trafficking identified a significant need to
address these issues.\16\ The IMPACTT program provides outreach
and training to HSI employees and partners who have been
exposed to vicarious trauma in working with victims of human
trafficking.\17\ The bill requires the IMPACTT program to
provide self-awareness training to those working with victims
on recognizing the signs of burnout, stress, and vicarious
trauma. This training must provide tools and resources for
self-care and resilience. Additionally, training must be
provided to first line supervisors of relevant employees on
recognizing the aforementioned signs and providing the
appropriate response.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, Homeland Security
Investigations, Briefing with Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Staff (June 14, 2022).
\17\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Legislative History
Senator Peters (D-MI) introduced S. 670, the IMPACTT Human
Trafficking Act, on March 7, 2023, with original cosponsors
Senator Lankford (R-OK) and Senator Cornyn (R-TX). The bill was
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 670 at a business meeting on
March 29, 2023. During the business meeting, Senator Paul
offered an amendment to the bill. The Paul amendment would have
sunset both the IMPACTT program and the VAP after two years.
The amendment also included a requirement for the Government
Accountability Office to review both programs and provide
reports on their effectiveness. It would have also required
that emergency expenditures be purchased by other government
agencies in addition to nongovernmental organizations before
utilizing VAP funds, when available. Finally, the amendment
would have prevented additional funds from being appropriated
to carry out this bill and would have allowed DHS to carry out
the bill using only previously appropriated funds. The Paul
amendment was not adopted by voice vote, with Senators Peters,
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, Blumenthal, Paul,
Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley present. The bill was
ordered reported favorably by roll call vote of 12 yeas and 0
nays, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla,
Ossoff, Blumenthal, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley
voting in the affirmative, and with Senators Carper, Johnson,
and Marshall voting yea by proxy, for the record only.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section establishes the short title as the ``IMPACTT
Human Trafficking Act.''
Section 2. Investigators Maintain Purposeful Awareness to Combat
Trafficking Trauma program
Subsection (a) codifies the IMPACTT program at HSI, within
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The IMPACTT
program, as codified, will provide outreach and training to HSI
employees and partners who have been exposed to vicarious
trauma in working with victims of human trafficking.
Subsection (b)(1) requires, through the IMPACTT program,
that self-awareness training be provided to the relevant
employees on recognizing the signs of burnout, compassion
fatigue, critical incident stress, traumatic stress,
posttraumatic stress, secondary traumatic stress, and vicarious
trauma. This training must include mechanisms of self-care,
resilience, and resources available through the employee
assistance program. This training must include notification
about resources that are available through ICE, such as the
Employee Assistance Program, Peer Support Program, and Chaplain
Program, in addition to potential resources outside ICE, such
as faith-based and community-based resources. Additionally,
training must be provided to first line supervisors of relevant
employees on recognizing the aforementioned signs and providing
the appropriate response.
Subsection (b)(2) requires that training modules be carried
out by licensed and accredited clinicians or other subject
matter experts who have been trained on the exposure of various
forms of trauma and other stressors experienced in working with
victims. Clinicians may have experience working with faith-
based or community-based organizations, counseling programs, or
other social service programs.
Subsection (b)(3) also charges the DHS Center for
Countering Human Trafficking with overseeing the IMPACTT
program to ensure training is offered to all relevant
employees, appropriate program materials are distributed, and
any needed travel and equipment is provided.
Section 3. Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Program
Subsection(a) amends Subtitle D of title IV of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. Sec. 251 et seq.) by adding
Section 447, Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance
Program to the end of the existing section.
Section 447 subsection (a) defines ``Forensic Interview
Specialist'' as an interviewer who has specialized experience
and training in conducting trauma-informed forensic interviews
with victims of crime. It defines ``Victim'' as defined in the
Victim's Rights and Restitution Act of 1990. It also defines
``Victim Assistance Specialist'' as a victim assistance
professional who has experience working with victims of crime
in a service capacity and has been trained on the exposure of
various forms of trauma and other stressors experienced in
working with victims, and who may have experience working with
local government and community-based organizations, including
victim advocacy centers, child advocacy centers, child welfare
agencies, faith-based organizations, and other social service
programs.
Section 447 subsection (b) of section establishes the HSI
VAP.
Section 447 subsection (c) provides HSI with VASs to serve
victims identified through HSI investigations in every Special
Agent in Charge Office and every office that participates in a
human trafficking or child exploitation task force. The VAP is
authorized to provide oversight, guidance, training, travel,
equipment, and coordination to victim assistance personnel
throughout the United States. VASs will provide training
regarding victims' rights, victim-related policies, roles of
forensic interviewers and VASs, and an approach that is victim-
centered, trauma-informed, and to the extent feasible,
linguistically appropriate. This subsection also allows for
emergency expenditures for items needed to assist identified
victims in HSI investigations, including food, clothing,
hygiene products, transportation, and temporary shelter, when
not otherwise provided by a nongovernmental organization.
Subsection (b) of the bill includes a technical amendment
that amends Subtitle D of title IV of the Homeland Security Act
of 2002 to replace ``Bureau of Border Security'' with ``U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.''
Section 4. Annual report
This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to
submit a report to Congress no later than one year after
enactment, and annually thereafter, that identifies the number
of trainings provided through the IMPACTT program, the number
of personnel who received such training, and the number of
human trafficking victims assisted by the HSI VAP during the
reporting period.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 670 would establish the Investigators Maintain
Purposeful Awareness to Combat Trafficking Trauma (IMPACTT)
program, which would provide outreach and training to Homeland
Security Investigations (HSI) employees who have been exposed
to trauma while working with victims of human trafficking. The
program would be overseen by the Center for Countering Human
Trafficking within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
S. 670 also would codify and expand ICE's Victim Assistance
Program, which provides guidance on victim assistance, training
and technical assistance, and case consultation in HSI
investigations. The bill would require the agency to hire
additional forensic interview and victim assistance
specialists. Forensic interview specialists support HSI
investigators in questioning potential victims of abuse and
victim assistance specialists assess victims' needs and make
referrals for support services. Finally, S. 670 would require
the agency to submit an annual report to the Congress on the
number of people served by both the IMPACTT and Victim
Assistance Programs.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 670 would cost $43 million
over the 2024-2028 period. Such spending would be subject to
the availability of appropriated funds. The costs of the
legislation, detailed in Table 1, would fall within budget
function 750 (administration of justice).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 670
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------
2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2023-2028
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Authorization.............................. 0 9 9 9 10 10 47
Estimated Outlays.................................... 0 7 8 9 9 10 43
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 670 would require ICE to hire one forensic interview
specialist and one victim assistance specialist for each
Special Agent in the Charge Office. It also would require the
agency to hire one victim assistance specialist for each HSI
office participating in a human trafficking or child sexual
exploitation task force. Using information from ICE on current
personnel levels, CBO estimates that the agency would need an
additional 25 staff to comply with the bill's requirements, for
a total cost of $40 million over the 2024-2028 period.
Using information from ICE, CBO estimates that it would
also cost the agency $3 million over the 2024-2028 period for
additional contracting and administrative costs to create new
training materials for the IMPACTT program and to complete the
reporting requirements.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm.
The estimate was reviewed by Chad Chirico, Deputy Director of
Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002
* * * * * * *
SEC 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
* * * * * * *
Subtitle C--Miscellaneous Provisions
* * * * * * *
[Sec. 422. Functions of Administrator of General Services.] Sec. 442.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
* * * * * * *
Subtitle D--Immigration Enforcement Functions
* * * * * * *
Sec. 446. Sense of Congress regarding construction of fencing near San
Diego, California.
Sec. 447. Homeland Security Investigations Victim Assistance Program.
* * * * * * *
HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002
* * * * * * *
TITLE IV--BORDER, MARITIME, AND TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
* * * * * * *
Subtitle D--U.S. Immigration and Customs
* * * * * * *
SEC. 442. [ESTABLISHMENT OF BUREAU OF BORDER SECURITY] U.S. IMMIGRATION
AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Establishment [of Bureau].--
(1) In general.--There shall be in the Department of
Homeland Security a bureau to be known as [the ``Bureau
of Border Security''] U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
(2) Assistant secretary.--The head of [the Bureau of
Border Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement shall be the Assistant Secretary of [the
Bureau of Border Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, who--
(A) * * *
(B) * * *
(3) Functions.--The Assistant Secretary of [the
Bureau of Border Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement--
(A) * * *
(i) * * *
(ii) * * *
(B) * * *
(C) shall advise the Under Secretary for
Border and Transportation Security with respect
to any policy or operation of [the Bureau of
Border Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement that may affect the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services
established under subtitle E, including
potentially conflicting policies or operations.
(4) Program to collect information relating to
foreign students.--The Assistant Secretary of [the
Bureau of Border Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement shall be responsible for administering the
program to collect information relating to nonimmigrant
foreign students and other exchange program
participants described in section 641 of the Illegal
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of
1996 (8 U.S.C. 1372), including the Student and
Exchange Visitor Information System established under
that section, and shall use such information to carry
out the enforcement functions of [the Bureau] the
agency.
(5) Managerial rotation program.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after
the date on which the transfer of functions
specified under section 441 takes effect, the
Assistant Secretary of [the Bureau of Border
Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement shall design and implement a
managerial rotation program under which
employees of such [bureau] agency holding
positions involving supervisory or managerial
responsibility and classified, in accordance
with chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code,
as a GS-14 or above, shall--
(i) gain some experience in all the
major functions performed by such
[bureau] agency; and
(ii) work in at least one local
office of such [bureau] agency.
(B) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the
date on which the transfer of functions
specified under section 441 takes effect, the
Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress
on the implementation of such program.
(b) Chief of Policy and Strategy.--
(1) In general.--There shall be a position of Chief
of Policy and Strategy for [the Bureau of Border
Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(2) Functions.--In consultation with [Bureau of
Border Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement personnel in local offices, the Chief of
Policy and Strategy shall be responsible for--
(A) making policy recommendations and
performing policy research and analysis on
immigration enforcement issues; and
(B) coordinating immigration policy issues
with the Chief of Policy and Strategy for [the
Bureau of] U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (established under subtitle E), as
appropriate.
(c) Legal Advisor.--There shall be a principal legal
advisor to the Assistant Secretary of [the Bureau of Border
Security] U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The legal
advisor shall provide specialized legal advice to the Assistant
Secretary of [the Bureau of Border Security] U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement and shall represent the [bureau] agency
in all exclusion, deportation, and removal proceedings before
the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
SEC. 443. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND QUALITY REVIEW.
The Secretary shall be responsible for--
(1) * * *
(2) inspecting the operations of U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement and providing assessments of the
quality of the operations of [such bureau] such agency
as a whole and each of its components; and
* * * * * * *
SEC. 447. HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS VICTIM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Forensic interview specialist.--The term
``forensic interview specialist'' is an interview
professional who has specialized experience and
training in conducting trauma-informed forensic
interviews with victims of crime.
(2) Victim.--The term ``victim'' has the meaning
given such term in section 503(e)(2) of the Victims'
Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C.
20141(e)(2)).
(3) Victim assistance specialist.--The term ``victim
assistance specialist'' is a victim assistance
professional who--
(A) has experience working with victims of
crime in a service capacity;
(B) has been trained on the exposure of
various forms of trauma and other stressors
experienced in working with victims; and
(C) may have experience working with local
government and community-based organizations,
including victim advocacy centers, child
advocacy centers, child welfare agencies,
faith-based organizations, and other social
service programs.
(b) In General.--There is established, in Homeland Security
Investigations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the
Victim Assistance Program.
(c) Functions.--The Victim Assistance Program shall--
(1) provide oversight, guidance, training, travel,
equipment, and coordination to Homeland Security
Investigations victim assistance personnel throughout
the United States;
(2) recruit not fewer than--
(A) 1 forensic interview specialist and 1
victim assistance specialist for each Homeland
Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge
office;
``(B) 1 victim assistance specialist for--
``(i) every Homeland Security
Investigations office participating in
a human trafficking task force; and
``(ii) every Homeland Security
Investigations office participating in
a child sexual exploitation task force;
(3) support Homeland Security Investigations regional
attache offices, to the extent necessary;
(4) provide training regarding victims'' rights,
victim-related policies, roles of forensic interviewers
and victim assistance specialists, and an approach that
is--
``(A) victim-centered;
``(B) trauma-informed; and
``(C) linguistically appropriate, to the
extent feasible; and
(5) purchase emergency items that are needed to
assist identified victims in Homeland Security
Investigations criminal investigations, including food,
clothing, hygiene products, transportation, and
temporary shelter that is not otherwise provided by a
nongovernmental organization.
* * * * * * *
[all]