II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 388 

To reduce the ability of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to 

engage in inappropriate civil immigration enforcement actions that harm 

unaccompanied alien children and to ensure the safety and welfare of 

unaccompanied alien children. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 

Ms. HARRIS (for herself, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. MERKLEY, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To reduce the ability of U.S. Immigration and Customs 

Enforcement to engage in inappropriate civil immigration 

enforcement actions that harm unaccompanied alien children and to ensure the safety and welfare of unaccompanied alien children. 

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 ‘‘Families, Not Facili5 ties Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) On May 13, 2018, a Memorandum of 

4 Agreement between U.S. Immigration and Customs 

5 Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol of 

6 the Department of Homeland Security, and the Of7 fice of Refugee Resettlement of the Department of 

8 Health and Human Services went into effect to 

9 allow for intergovernmental sharing of personal in10 formation about unaccompanied alien children, their 

11 prospective sponsors, and adult members of sponsor 

12 households. 

13 (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce14 ment is using information obtained under the Memo15 randum of Agreement to conduct civil immigration 

16 enforcement actions against individuals residing in 

17 the homes of prospective sponsors of unaccompanied 

18 alien children. 

19 (3) These civil immigration enforcement actions 

20 have discouraged prospective sponsors of unaccom21 panied alien children, including family members, 

22 from coming forward to resettle children in the com23 munity as they pursue lawful claims for humani24 tarian protection. 

25 (4) As a result of the lack of qualified sponsors, 

26 unprecedented numbers of unaccompanied alien chilVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Feb 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S388.IS S388

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1 dren (approximately 14,600 in December 2018) are 

2 being held in shelters overseen by the Office of Ref3 ugee Resettlement as of the date of enactment of 

4 this Act. 

5 (5) The Office of Refugee Resettlement is 

6 struggling to accommodate the growing number of 

7 unaccompanied alien children in its shelter network, 

8 resorting to placing children in temporary ‘‘emer9 gency influx’’ shelters. The Office contracted with 

10 BCFS to care for more than 6,200 children between 

11 June 2018 and January 2019 in a temporary shelter 

12 at the Tornillo-Guadalupe Land Port of Entry in 

13 Texas, a facility that the New York Times and other 

14 media sources described as a ‘‘tent city’’, and an15 nounced plans in January 2019 to nearly double the 

16 number of children held in a previously closed tem17 porary shelter in Homestead, Florida. 

18 (6) Temporary shelters are inappropriate loca19 tions to hold unaccompanied alien children because 

20 such shelters— 

21 (A) have reduced standards of care, includ22 ing insufficient educational services; 

23 (B) offer limited access to clinical and 

24 legal services; and 


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1 (C) are not cost-effective, resulting in the 

2 expenditure of more than $750 per day in tax3 payer funds for each child housed in Tornillo 

4 shelter, for example. 

5 (7) Facilities operated under a contract with 

6 the Office of Refugee Resettlement have faced unac7 ceptable allegations of abuse and neglect of unac8 companied alien children that merit additional inves9 tigation and oversight. 

10 (8) The Office of Refugee Resettlement is le11 gally required to place children in the least restric12 tive setting that is in the best interest of the child. 

13 (9) Services offered at facilities funded by the 

14 Office of Refugee Resettlement are required to in15 clude classroom education, mental and medical 

16 health services, case management, socialization and 

17 recreation activities, and family reunification serv18 ices that facilitate the safe and timely release of un19 accompanied alien children to family members or 

20 other sponsors that can care for them. 

21 (10) Providing legal and case management serv22 ices to all children while they are housed in a facility 

23 funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement and 

24 after their release from such a facility is a cost-effec25 tive and humane way of ensuring that the Office of 


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1 Refugee Resettlement meets its statutory obligation 

2 to place children in least restrictive settings. 

3 SEC. 3. USE OF SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 235(c)(3) of the William 

5 Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthoriza6 tion Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(c)(3)) is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘In mak8 ing such a determination, the Secretary may not 

9 consider the immigration status of the proposed cus10 todian.’’ after ‘‘well-being.’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(D) PROHIBITING USE OF CERTAIN IN13 FORMATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Se14 curity may not use information provided by an 

15 unaccompanied alien child or information ini16 tially obtained by the Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services to make a suitability deter18 mination under subparagraph (A), a home 

19 study determination under subparagraph (B), 

20 or a secure facility determination under para21 graph (2)(A) for the purpose of apprehending, 

22 detaining, or removing from the United 

23 States— 

24 ‘‘(i) the unaccompanied alien child; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the proposed custodian or cur2 rent custodian; 

3 ‘‘(iii) a resident of the home in which 

4 the proposed custodian or current custo5 dian resides; 

6 ‘‘(iv) the proposed sponsor or current 

7 sponsor; or 

8 ‘‘(v) a resident of the home in which 

9 the proposed sponsor or current sponsor 

10 resides.’’. 

11 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

12 (1) FLORES SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The 

13 amendments made by subsection (a) may not be con14 strued to supersede the terms of the stipulated set15 tlement agreement filed on January 17, 1997, in the 

16 United States District Court for the Central District 

17 of California in Flores v. Reno, CV 85–4544–RJK, 

18 (commonly known as the ‘‘Flores settlement agree19 ment’’). 

20 (2) CHILD WELFARE.—The amendments made 

21 by subsection (a) may not be construed to prevent 

22 the Secretary of Homeland Security from using in23 formation obtained by the Secretary of Health and 

24 Human Services to investigate or report to the apVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Feb 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S388.IS S388

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1 propriate law enforcement agency or child welfare 

2 agency instances of trafficking, abuse, or neglect. 

3 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR ENFORCE4 MENT, DETENTION, AND REMOVAL OPER5 ATIONS. 

6 No Federal funds may be used by U.S. Immigration 

7 and Customs Enforcement for any enforcement, detention, 

8 or removal activity that violates section 235(c)(3) of the 

9 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reau10 thorization Act of 2008, as amended by section 3(a). 

11 SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS EN12 FORCEMENT FUNDING. 

13 Of the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2019 to 

14 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for enforce15 ment and removal operations— 

16 (1) $30,000,000 shall be transferred to the De17 partment of Justice to expand the efforts of the 

18 Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes 

19 Against Children program to investigate criminal 

20 networks involved in child trafficking; 

21 (2) $180,000,000 shall be transferred to the 

22 Office of Refugee Resettlement to provide the post23 release legal, case management, and child advocate 

24 services described in section 6; and 


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1 (3) $10,000,000 shall be transferred to the Ad2 ministration for Children and Families to bolster the 

3 efforts of the Task Force to Prevent and End 

4 Human Trafficking. 

5 SEC. 6. ENSURING THE SAFETY OF UNACCOMPANIED 

6 ALIEN CHILDREN. 

7 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘post8 release case management services’’ means services that— 

9 (1) are provided by a social worker, employed 

10 by a nonprofit entity, who meets with the child indi11 vidually and with the family to develop an individ12 ualized service plan; and 

13 (2) allow children to successfully transition into 

14 their communities by— 

15 (A) assisting with school enrollment and 

16 acculturation; 

17 (B) locating medical and therapeutic serv18 ices; 

19 (C) making referrals to area legal services; 

20 and 

21 (D) navigating new family settings and 

22 other individual needs. 

23 (b) REQUIRED SERVICES.—The Office of Refugee 

24 Resettlement shall— 


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1 (1) provide post-release case management to all 

2 children upon release or as the need arises for the 

3 duration of their immigration proceedings; and 

4 (2) facilitate efforts to connect every unaccom5 panied child, including each child with a sponsor, 

6 with legal representation for his or her immigration 

7 proceedings. 

8 (c) THE OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AD9 VISORY COMMITTEE ON SHELTERS FOR UNACCOMPANIED

10 ALIEN CHILDREN.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health 

12 and Human Services, in compliance with the Federal 

13 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), shall im14 mediately establish the Advisory Committee on Shel15 ters for Unaccompanied Alien Children (referred to 

16 in this subsection as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’) to 

17 advise the Office of Refugee Resettlement on mat18 ters regarding shelters and placements for unaccom19 panied alien children relating to education, immigra20 tion law, physical and mental health, trauma-in21 formed social work services, youth shelter manage22 ment, and immigration detention reform. 

23 (2) COMPOSITION AND TERM.— 


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1 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall 

2 appoint 14 individuals to serve on the Advisory 

3 Committee for 2-year terms. 

4 (B) PREREQUISITES.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each member of 

6 the Advisory Committee shall be employed 

7 by a nonprofit entities in the field of— 

8 (I) education; 

9 (II) immigration law; 

10 (III) physical and mental health 

11 of children and youth; 

12 (IV) trauma-informed child wel13 fare social work services; 

14 (V) youth shelter management; 

15 (VI) cultural competency; or 

16 (VII) immigration detention re17 form. 

18 (ii) REPRESENTATION.—At least 2 

19 members of the Advisory Committee shall 

20 represent each of the fields set forth in 

21 clause (i). 

22 (3) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.— 

23 (A) INSPECTIONS.—Members of the Advi24 sory Committee may conduct unannounced in25 spections of all shelters contracted with the OfVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Feb 25, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S388.IS S388

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1 fice of Refugee Resettlement to hold unaccom2 panied alien children. 

3 (B) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Office 

4 of Refugee Resettlement shall provide the Advi5 sory Committee with access to such materials 

6 as may be necessary to effectively advocate for 

7 the best interest of children in the custody of 

8 the Office of Refugee Resettlement, subject to 

9 applicable statutes and regulations. 

10 (4) CONSULTATIONS.—The Advisory Committee 

11 shall consult with, and receive recommendations 

12 from— 

13 (A) the American Medical Association; 

14 (B) the American Academy of Pediatrics; 

15 (C) the National Association of Social 

16 Workers; 

17 (D) the American Bar Association Center 

18 on Children and the Law; 

19 (E) the American Immigration Lawyers 

20 Association; and 

21 (F) other medical, child welfare, and legal 

22 experts. 

23 (5) REPORTS.— 

24 (A) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 6 

25 months after the establishment of the Advisory 


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1 Committee under paragraph (1), the Advisory 

2 Committee shall release to the public an interim 

3 report outlining the Advisory Committee’s in4 vestigations and recommendations regarding 

5 Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters for un6 accompanied alien children and submit such re7 port to— 

8 (i) the Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services; 

10 (ii) the Committee on Health, Edu11 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

12 (iii) the Committee on Homeland Se13 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

14 Senate; 

15 (iv) the Committee on the Judiciary of 

16 the Senate; 

17 (v) the Committee on Energy and 

18 Commerce of the House of Representa19 tives; 

20 (vi) the Committee on Oversight and 

21 Reform of the House of Representatives; 

22 and 

23 (vii) the Committee on the Judiciary 

24 of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 

2 year after the establishment of the Advisory 

3 Committee under paragraph (1), the Advisory 

4 Committee shall release to the public, and sub5 mit to the recipients of the interim report under 

6 subparagraph (A), a final report that outlines 

7 the Advisory Committee’s investigations and 

8 recommendations regarding Office of Refugee 

9 Resettlement shelters for unaccompanied alien 

10 children. 

11 (6) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub12 section may be construed to preempt any Federal 

13 agency from investigating allegations of mistreat14 ment and abuse of unaccompanied alien children in 

15 facilities overseen by the Department of Health and 

16 Human Services. 

Æ 


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