I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 532 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to use alternatives to detention 

for certain vulnerable immigrant populations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. 

COHEN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. GOMEZ, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. OMAR) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to use alternatives to detention for certain vulnerable immigrant 

populations, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alternatives to Deten5 tion Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVES TO DETAINING UNDOCUMENTED IN2 DIVIDUALS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity shall establish programs that provide alternatives to 

5 detaining individuals under the immigration laws (as de6 fined in section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Na7 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17))), whether such deten8 tion is pending a decision on whether the individual is to 

9 be removed from the United States or after the issuance 

10 of a removal order. The programs shall provide for a con11 tinuum of supervision mechanisms and options, including 

12 community-based supervision and community support. 

13 The Secretary may contract with nongovernmental com14 munity-based organizations to provide services under such 

15 programs, which may include case management services, 

16 appearance assistance services, and screenings of individ17 uals who have been detained. 

18 (b) DETERMINATION OF VULNERABLE POPULATION

19 OR CAREGIVER STATUS REQUIRED.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48 hours 

21 after taking an individual described in subsection (a) 

22 into custody, the Secretary or the immigration judge 

23 shall make a determination whether an individual 

24 may participate in an alternatives to detention pro25 gram and determine the appropriate level of super26 vision. 


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1 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—If the individual is mem2 ber of a vulnerable population described in sub3 section (c), is a parent of a child under 18 years of 

4 age, or is dependent caregiver or a family caregiver, 

5 the individual may not be detained and must be 

6 placed in an alternatives to detention program that 

7 is a community-based supervision program. 

8 (3) EXCEPTIONS.—Alternative to detention pro9 grams shall not be used— 

10 (A) for individuals detained under section 

11 236A of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

12 (8 U.S.C. 1226a); or 

13 (B) when release on bond or recognizance 

14 is determined to be a sufficient measure to en15 sure appearances at immigration proceedings 

16 and public safety. 

17 (c) VULNERABLE POPULATION.—In determining 

18 whether to place a detainee in an alternatives to detention 

19 program, the Secretary shall consider whether the de20 tainee— 

21 (1) is an asylum seeker or victim of torture or 

22 trafficking; 

23 (2) has special religious, cultural, or spiritual 

24 considerations; 

25 (3) is pregnant or nursing; 


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1 (4) is under 21 years of age or older than 60 

2 years of age; 

3 (5) identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans4 gender, or intersex; 

5 (6) is a victim or witness of a crime; 

6 (7) has a mental disorder or physical disability; 

7 or 

8 (8) has been determined by an immigration 

9 judge or the Secretary of Homeland Security to be 

10 experiencing severe trauma or to be a survivor of 

11 torture or gender-based violence, based on informa12 tion obtained during intake, from the individual’s at13 torney or legal services provider, or through credible 

14 self-reporting. 

15 (d) COORDINATOR OF ALTERNATIVES TO DETEN16 TION AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security shall establish in the Department of Home19 land Security the position of Coordinator of Alter20 natives to Detention and Family Reunification (‘‘Co21 ordinator’’). The Coordinator shall be selected by the 

22 President and shall be appointed by, and report di23 rectly to, the Secretary. Subject to the availability of 

24 appropriations, the Secretary shall make available to 

25 the Coordinator such personnel, funds, and other reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H532.IH H532

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1 sources as may be appropriate to enable the Coordi2 nator to carry out the Coordinator’s mission. 

3 (2) MISSION AND DUTIES OF COORDINATOR.— 

4 (A) MISSION.—The Coordinator’s mission 

5 shall be to work with the executive departments 

6 (as defined in section 101 of title 5, United 

7 States Code) to coordinate— 

8 (i) the use of alternatives to detention 

9 programs; and 

10 (ii) the reunification of parents with 

11 children separated from them by the Sec12 retary at or near a port of entry into the 

13 United States, or within 100 miles of an 

14 international border of the United States. 

15 (B) DUTIES OF COORDINATOR.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Coordinator 

17 shall serve as the primary point of contact 

18 within the executive branch with the Con19 gress, State and local governments, the 

20 private sector, and community leaders re21 garding the policies and programs de22 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) of subpara23 graph (A). Working with the input of the 

24 executive departments, the Coordinator 

25 shall be responsible for managing informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:06 Jan 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H532.IH H532

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1 tion flow, requests for actions, and discus2 sions regarding such policies and programs 

3 with the Congress, State and local govern4 ments, the private sector, and community 

5 leaders. 

6 (ii) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

7 after the date of the appointment of the 

8 Coordinator, the Coordinator shall issue a 

9 report to the Congress on the status of— 

10 (I) detentions under the immi11 gration laws (as defined in section 

12 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and 

13 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1101(a)(17))) pending a decision on 

15 whether an individual is to be re16 moved or after the issuance of a re17 moval order; and 

18 (II) reunification of parents and 

19 children separated by the Secretary at 

20 or near a port of entry into the 

21 United States, or within 100 miles of 

22 an international border of the United 

23 States. 


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1 (C) DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE DEPART2 MENTS.—The heads of the executive depart3 ments— 

4 (i) shall respond promptly to any re5 quest by the Coordinator; 

6 (ii) shall, consistent with applicable 

7 law, provide such information as the Coor8 dinator deems necessary to carry out the 

9 Coordinator’s mission; and 

10 (iii) otherwise shall cooperate with the 

11 Coordinator to the greatest extent prac12 ticable to facilitate the performance of the 

13 Coordinator’s mission. 

14 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub15 section shall be construed to impair or otherwise af16 fect— 

17 (A) the authority granted by law to an ex18 ecutive department or the head thereof; 

19 (B) the functions of the Director of the Of20 fice of Management and Budget relating to 

21 budget, administrative, or legislative proposals; 

22 or 

23 (C) the chain of command over the Armed 

24 Forces provided in section 162(b) of title 10, 

25 United States Code. 


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1 (4) SUNSET.—This subsection shall cease to be 

2 effective on the date that is 3 years after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (e) PARENTS AND OTHER CAREGIVERS.—For pur5 poses of this section: 

6 (1) The term ‘‘dependent caregiver’’ means an 

7 individual who lives with, and provides more than 

8 one-half of the financial support required by, a fam9 ily member who is— 

10 (A) under 18 years of age; or 

11 (B) unable to engage in substantial em12 ployment due to a physical or mental health 

13 condition or disability. 

14 (2) The term ‘‘family caregiver’’ means an indi15 vidual who lives with, and provides more than one16 half of the personal care required by, a family mem17 ber who is— 

18 (A) under 18 years of age; or 

19 (B) unable to engage in substantial em20 ployment due to a physical or mental health 

21 condition or disability. 

22 (3) The term ‘‘family member’’, with respect to 

23 an individual receiving personal care services or fi24 nancial support, means an individual who is— 

25 (A) a parent; 


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1 (B) a spouse; 

2 (C) a child; 

3 (D) a step-family member; or 

4 (E) an extended family member. 

5 (4) The term ‘‘parent’’ means— 

6 (A) a biological or adoptive parent of a 

7 child, whose parental rights have not been relin8 quished or terminated under State law or the 

9 law of a foreign country; or 

10 (B) a legal guardian under State law or 

11 the law of a foreign country. 

Æ 


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