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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2624 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2624

To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable unaccompanied alien 
                     children and female detainees.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 8, 2013

  Ms. Roybal-Allard (for herself and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 
    and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, Foreign 
Affairs, and Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable unaccompanied alien 
                     children and female detainees.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

SEC. 2. PROTECTING CHILD TRAFFICKING VICTIMS.

    (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Child 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act''.
    (b) 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).
    (c) Mandatory Training.--The Secretary, 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.
    (d) Care and Transportation.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary shall ensure that all unaccompanied alien 
children who will undergo any immigration proceedings before the 
Department or the Executive Office for Immigration Review are duly 
transported and placed in the care and legal and physical custody of 
the Office of Refugee Resettlement not later than 72 hours after their 
apprehension absent exceptional circumstances, including a natural 
disaster or comparable emergency beyond the control of the Secretary or 
the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The Secretary, 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 Department.
    (e) Qualified Resources.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide adequately 
        trained and qualified staff and resources, including the 
        accommodation of child welfare officials, in accordance with 
        subsection (e), at U.S. Customs and Border Protection ports of 
        entry and stations.
            (2) Child welfare professionals.--The Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary, shall 
        hire, on a full- or part-time basis, child welfare 
        professionals who will provide assistance, either in person or 
        by other appropriate methods of communication, in not fewer 
        than 7 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection offices or 
        stations with the largest number of unaccompanied alien child 
        apprehensions in the previous fiscal year.
    (f) 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 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).
            (2) Duties.--Child welfare professionals described in 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) develop guidelines for treatment of 
                unaccompanied alien children in the custody of the 
                Department;
                    (B) 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));
                    (C) notify the Department and the Office of Refugee 
                Resettlement of children that potentially meet the 
                notification and transfer requirements set forth in 
                subsections (a) and (b) of section 235 of such Act (8 
                U.S.C. 1232);
                    (D) interview adult relatives accompanying 
                unaccompanied alien children;
                    (E) provide an initial family relationship and 
                trafficking assessment and recommendations regarding 
                unaccompanied alien children's initial placements to 
                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 such 
                Act (8 U.S.C. 1232); and
                    (F) ensure that each unaccompanied alien child in 
                the custody 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 access to legal services and 
                        consular officials; and
                            (viii) is permitted to make supervised 
                        phone calls to family members.
            (3) Final determinations.--The Office of Refugee 
        Resettlement in accordance with applicable policies and 
        procedures for sponsors, shall submit final determinations on 
        family relationships to the Secretary, who shall consider such 
        adult relatives for community-based support alternatives to 
        detention.
            (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;
                    (B) assesses the effectiveness of such screenings; 
                and
                    (C) includes data on all unaccompanied alien 
                children who were screened by child welfare 
                professionals.
    (g) Immediate Notification.--The Secretary shall notify the Office 
of Refugee Resettlement of an unaccompanied alien child in the custody 
of the Department as soon as practicable, but generally not later than 
48 hours after the Department encounters the child, to effectively and 
efficiently coordinate the child's transfer to and placement with the 
Office of Refugee Resettlement.
    (h) Notice of Rights and Right to Access to Counsel.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure that all 
        unaccompanied alien children, upon apprehension, are provided--
                    (A) an interview and screening with a child welfare 
                professional described in subsection (e)(1); and
                    (B) an orientation and oral and written notice 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--
                    (A) the video orientation and written notice of 
                rights described in paragraph (1) is available in 
                English and in the 5 most common native languages 
                spoken by the unaccompanied children held in custody at 
                that location during the preceding fiscal year; and
                    (B) the oral notice of rights is available in 
                English and in the most common native language spoken 
                by the unaccompanied children held in custody at that 
                location during the preceding fiscal year.
    (i) 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.
    (j) 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.
    (k) Repatriation and Reintegration Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator of the United States 
        Agency for International Development, in conjunction with the 
        Secretary, 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) 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 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of 
        the House of Representatives on efforts to improve repatriation 
        and reintegration programs for unaccompanied alien children.
    (l) Transfer of Funds.--
            (1) Authorization.--The Secretary, in accordance with a 
        written agreement between the Secretary and the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services, shall transfer such amounts as may 
        be necessary to carry out the duties described in subsection 
        (f)(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, 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 Senate; 
                and
                    (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
                                 <all>
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