Child Trafficking Victims Protection Act

Summary: Child Trafficking Victims Protection Act Directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) require the appropriate training of all personnel who come into contact with unaccompanied alien children, and (2) hire child welfare professionals. Sets forth related protections for such children regarding: (1) prompt placement with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, (2) qualified resources and child welfare professionals at appropriate ports of entry and stations, (3) confidentiality of information, (4) notice of rights and access to counsel, (5) separation from non-family member adults, and (6) the presence of female officers during the transfer and transport of female detainees. Directs the U.S. Agency for International Development to ensure that programs in the United States and within the country of return support the safe and sustainable repatriation and reintegration of unaccompanied alien children into their country of nationality or of last habitual residence.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Child Trafficking Victims Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTING CHILD TRAFFICKING VICTIMS.

    (a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``unaccompanied alien 
children'' has the meaning given such term in section 462 of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279).
    (b) Mandatory Training.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and 
independent child welfare experts, shall mandate appropriate training 
of all personnel who come into contact with unaccompanied alien 
children in the relevant legal authorities, policies, practices, and 
procedures pertaining to this vulnerable population.
    (c) Care and Transportation.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that all 
unaccompanied alien children who will undergo any immigration 
proceedings before the Secretary or the Executive Office for 
Immigration Review are duly transported and placed in the care and 
legal and physical custody of the Director of the Office of Refugee 
Resettlement not later than 72 hours after their apprehension, absent 
exceptional circumstances. In exceptional circumstances, such as an 
influx of children or a natural disaster, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall make emergency funds available to the Director of the 
Office of Refugee Resettlement, to the extent and in such amounts as 
are provided in advance in appropriations Acts, for the operation of 
emergency shelters. The Secretary of Homeland Security, to the extent 
practicable, shall ensure that female officers are continuously present 
during the transfer and transport of female detainees who are in the 
custody of the Secretary.
    (d) Qualified Resources.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        provide adequately trained and qualified staff and resources, 
        including child welfare professionals in accordance with 
        subsection (e), at U.S. Customs and Border Protection ports of 
        entry and stations.
            (2) Child welfare professionals.--The Secretary of Homeland 
        Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services, shall hire or contract with, on a full- or 
        part-time basis, child welfare professionals who will provide 
        assistance in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices or 
        stations having in their custody an average of 25 or more 
        children a day in the past fiscal year, and subject to review 
        based upon the current fiscal year's monthly statistical 
        reports.
    (e) Child Welfare Professionals.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall ensure that 
        qualified child welfare professionals, licensed in social work, 
        or other comparable training and expertise, and with expertise 
        in culturally competent, trauma-centered, and developmentally 
        appropriate interviewing skills are available at ports of entry 
        and stations as described in subsection (d). Child welfare 
        professionals shall be proficient in the most common languages 
        spoken by children apprehended at the border. In the case where 
        one is not available, an interpreter shall be used.
            (2) Duties.--Child welfare professionals described in 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) develop guidelines for treatment of children in 
                the custody of the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
                Border Protection;
                    (B) ensure allegations of abuse or mistreatment are 
                referred to the appropriate State and Federal child 
                protection authorities and that the Commissioner of 
                U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Director of 
                the Office of Refugee Resettlement satisfy their 
                obligations under applicable child abuse reporting laws 
                by--
                            (i) ensuring that children can avail 
                        themselves of relevant complaint mechanisms to 
                        report abuse or misconduct;
                            (ii) reporting abuse or mistreatment to 
                        State and Federal child protection authorities 
                        as required, as well as Department of Homeland 
                        Security Office of the Inspector General, 
                        Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, 
                        U.S. Customs and Border Protection Internal 
                        Affairs Office, and the Office of Refugee 
                        Resettlement; and
                            (iii) providing notice to area government 
                        subcontracted legal service providers regarding 
                        a child who has made an allegation of abuse and 
                        directing provider to relevant authorities 
                        regarding availability of immigration and 
                        administrative relief for individuals with 
                        pending civil rights complaints;
                    (C) conduct screening of all unaccompanied alien 
                children in accordance with section 235(a)(4) of the 
                William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 
                Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(a)(4)) and 
                refrain from screening children from noncontiguous 
                countries who will undergo screening at the Office of 
                Refugee Resettlement;
                    (D) notify the Secretary of Homeland Security and 
                the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement of 
                children that potentially meet the notification and 
                transfer requirements, including children for whom a 
                determination cannot be made, as set forth in 
                subsections (a) and (b) of section 235 of the William 
                Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 
                Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232);
                    (E) provide a best interest placement 
                recommendation for accompanied children and families to 
                the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs 
                Enforcement that takes into consideration the best 
                interests of the child and applicable law, favoring a 
                policy of release;
                    (F) interview adult relatives accompanying 
                unaccompanied alien children;
                    (G) provide an initial family relationship and 
                trafficking assessment and recommendations regarding 
                unaccompanied alien children's initial placements to 
                the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, 
                which shall be conducted in accordance with the 
                timeframe set forth in subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3) of 
                section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking 
                Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 
                U.S.C. 1232);
                    (H) ensure that each child in the custody of the 
                Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection--
                            (i) receives emergency medical care when 
                        necessary;
                            (ii) receives emergency medical and mental 
                        health care that complies with the standards 
                        adopted pursuant to section 8(c) of the Prison 
                        Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (42 U.S.C. 
                        15607(c)) whenever necessary, including in 
                        cases in which a child is at risk to harm 
                        himself, herself, or others;
                            (iii) is provided with climate appropriate 
                        clothing, shoes, basic personal hygiene and 
                        sanitary products, a pillow, linens, and 
                        sufficient blankets to rest at a comfortable 
                        temperature;
                            (iv) receives adequate nutrition;
                            (v) enjoys a safe and sanitary living 
                        environment;
                            (vi) has access to daily recreational 
                        programs and activities if held for a period 
                        longer than 24 hours;
                            (vii) has regular access to legal services 
                        and consular officials both in person and 
                        telephonically; and
                            (viii) is permitted to make supervised 
                        phone calls to family members;
                    (I) develop procedures to maintain the best 
                interests of the child in any migration deterrence 
                programs for family units carried out at a border, 
                including--
                            (i) inquiring whether a child is traveling 
                        with a parent or legal guardian;
                            (ii) ascertaining whether the removal 
                        location of an apprehended parent or legal 
                        guardian of the child presents any humanitarian 
                        concern or concern related to such apprehended 
                        individual's physical safety;
                            (iii) ensuring that, with respect to a 
                        decision related to the removal or referral for 
                        prosecution of such apprehended individual, due 
                        consideration is given to--
                                    (I) the best interests of such 
                                apprehended individual's child, if any;
                                    (II) family unity whenever 
                                possible; and
                                    (III) other public interest 
                                factors, including humanitarian 
                                concerns and concerns related to such 
                                apprehended individual's physical 
                                safety; and
                    (J) coordinate with the Mexican Consulate to ensure 
                the safe repatriation of Mexican children.
            (3) Monitoring.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
        consultation with a child welfare professional, shall develop 
        procedures to provide regular access to nongovernmental 
        organizations for human rights monitoring.
            (4) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
        shall submit a report to Congress that--
                    (A) describes the screening procedures used by the 
                child welfare professionals to screen unaccompanied 
                alien children and children accompanied by a parent or 
                legal guardian;
                    (B) assesses the effectiveness of such screenings; 
                and
                    (C) includes data on all children who were screened 
                by child welfare professionals.
    (f) Immediate Notification.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall notify the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement of an 
unaccompanied alien child in the custody of the Secretary as soon as 
practicable, but generally not later than 48 hours after the Secretary 
encounters the child, to effectively and efficiently coordinate the 
child's transfer to and placement with the Director of the Office of 
Refugee Resettlement.
    (g) Notice of Rights and Right to Access to Counsel.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure that all 
        children, upon apprehension, are provided--
                    (A) an interview and screening with a child welfare 
                professional described in subsection (e)(1); and
                    (B) a video orientation, as well as an oral and 
                written notice, in a language they understand, of their 
                rights under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
                including--
                            (i) their right to relief from removal;
                            (ii) their right to confer with counsel (as 
                        guaranteed under section 292 of such Act (8 
                        U.S.C. 1362)), family, or friends while in the 
                        temporary custody of the Department; and
                            (iii) relevant complaint mechanisms to 
                        report any abuse or misconduct they may have 
                        experienced.
            (2) Languages.--The Secretary shall ensure that the video 
        orientation described in paragraph (1) is available in English 
        and in the 5 most common native languages spoken by children 
        held in custody at that location during the preceding fiscal 
        year.
    (h) Confidentiality.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall maintain the privacy and confidentiality of all information 
gathered in the course of providing care, custody, placement, and 
follow-up services to unaccompanied alien children, consistent with the 
best interest of the unaccompanied alien child, by not disclosing such 
information to other government agencies or nonparental third parties 
unless such disclosure is--
            (1) recorded in writing and placed in the child's file;
            (2) in the child's best interest; and
            (3)(A) authorized by the child or by an approved sponsor in 
        accordance with section 235 of the William Wilberforce 
        Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 
        U.S.C. 1232) and the Health Insurance Portability and 
        Accountability Act (Public Law 104-191); or
            (B) provided to a duly recognized law enforcement entity to 
        prevent imminent and serious harm to another individual.
    (i) Other Policies and Procedures.--The Secretary shall adopt 
fundamental child protection policies and procedures--
            (1) for reliable age determinations of children, developed 
        in consultation with medical and child welfare experts, which 
        exclude the use of fallible forensic testing of children's bone 
        and teeth;
            (2) to utilize all legal authorities to defer the child's 
        removal if the child faces a risk of life-threatening harm upon 
        return including due to the child's mental health or medical 
        condition; and
            (3) to ensure, in accordance with the Juvenile Justice and 
        Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.), 
        that unaccompanied alien children, while in detention, are--
                    (A) physically separated from any adult who is not 
                an immediate family member; and
                    (B) separated from--
                            (i) immigration detainees and inmates with 
                        criminal convictions;
                            (ii) pretrial inmates facing criminal 
                        prosecution; and
                            (iii) inmates exhibiting violent behavior.
    (j) Repatriation and Reintegration Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the United States 
        Agency for International Development, in conjunction with the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services, the Attorney General, international 
        organizations, and nongovernmental organizations in the United 
        States with expertise in repatriation and reintegration, shall 
        ensure that programs in the United States and within the 
        country of return support the safe and sustainable repatriation 
        and reintegration of unaccompanied alien children into their 
        country of nationality or of last habitual residence, including 
        placement with their families, legal guardians, or other 
        sponsoring agencies.
            (2) Scope.--The process described in paragraph (1) shall 
        include--
                    (A) an identification of the expressed needs of the 
                child;
                    (B) the creation of partnerships with community 
                based organizations that are linguistically and 
                culturally competent;
                    (C) the recognition of the need to include the 
                family unit in the process to help the child 
                reintegrate;
                    (D) the provision of a wide diversity of services, 
                including access to school, scholarships, and 
                vocational and skills training;
                    (E) procedures that outline safe repatriation to 
                ensure children are not returned to harm or in other 
                unsafe circumstances such as during nighttime hours;
                    (F) procedures for when the exercise of discretion 
                should be exercised because it is not in the child's 
                best interest to be returned; and
                    (G) special considerations to address the 
                particular needs of returning girls are addressed, 
                tender-aged children, or other vulnerable children.
            (3) Report on repatriation and reintegration of 
        unaccompanied alien children.--Not later than 18 months after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 
        the Administrator of the Agency for International Development 
        shall submit a substantive report to the Committee on the 
        Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the Senate on efforts to improve repatriation 
        and reintegration programs for unaccompanied alien children.
    (k) Transfer of Funds.--
            (1) Authorization.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
        accordance with a written agreement between the Secretary and 
        the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and to the extent 
        and in such amounts as are provided in advance in 
        appropriations Acts, shall transfer such amounts as may be 
        necessary to carry out the duties described in subsections (c) 
        and (e)(2) from amounts appropriated for U.S. Customs and 
        Border Protection to the Department of Health and Human 
        Services.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 15 days before any proposed 
        transfer under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security, shall submit a detailed expenditure plan that 
        describes the actions proposed to be taken with amounts 
        transferred under such paragraph to--
                    (A) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.