II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4723 

To limit the separation of families at or near ports of entry. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 11 (legislative day, JULY 10), 2024 

Ms. BUTLER (for herself, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

BOOKER, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. FETTERMAN, Ms. 

HIRONO, Mr. KING, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WELCH) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To limit the separation of families at or near ports of entry. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Keep Families Together Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Limitation on the separation of families. 

Sec. 4. Recommendations for separation by agents or officers. 

Sec. 5. Presumptions. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4723 IS

Sec. 6. Required policy for locating separated children. 

Sec. 7. Required information for separated families. 

Sec. 8. Annual report on family separation. 

Sec. 9. Clarifications. 

Sec. 10. GAO report on prosecution of asylum seekers. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AGENT; OFFICER.—The terms ‘‘agent’’ and 

4 ‘‘officer’’ include contractors for the Federal Govern5 ment. 

6 (2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi7 vidual who— 

8 (A) has not reached 18 years of age; and 

9 (B) has no permanent immigration status 

10 in the United States. 

11 (3) COMMITTEES OF JURISDICTION.—The term 

12 ‘‘committees of jurisdiction’’ means— 

13 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

14 Senate; 

15 (B) the Committee on Health, Education, 

16 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

17 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

18 House of Representatives; and 

19 (D) the Committee on Education and the 

20 Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

21 (4) DANGER OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT AT THE

22 HANDS OF THE PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN.—The 

23 term ‘‘danger of abuse or neglect at the hands of the 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4723 IS

1 parent or legal guardian’’ does not include dangers 

2 directly relating to migrating to or crossing the 

3 United States border. 

4 (5) DESIGNATED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘des5 ignated agency’’ means— 

6 (A) the Department of Homeland Security; 

7 (B) the Department of Justice; and 

8 (C) the Department of Health and Human 

9 Services. 

10 (6) FINDING.—The term ‘‘finding’’ means an 

11 individualized written assessment or screening by a 

12 trained agent or officer that includes a consultation 

13 with a child welfare specialist that has been formal14 ized in accordance with sections 3(c), 4, 5, and 9. 

15 (7) SECRETARY.—Unless otherwise specified, 

16 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Home17 land Security. 

18 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON THE SEPARATION OF FAMILIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—An agent or officer of a des20 ignated agency shall be prohibited from removing a child 

21 from his or her parent or legal guardian, at or near the 

22 port of entry or within 100 miles of the border of the 

23 United States, unless— 

24 (1) a State court, authorized under State law, 

25 terminates the rights of a parent or legal guardian, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4723 IS

1 determines that it is in the best interests of the child 

2 to be removed from his or her parent or legal guard3 ian, in accordance with the Adoption and Safe Fam4 ilies Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–89), or makes 

5 any similar determination that is legally authorized 

6 under State law; 

7 (2) an official from the State or county child 

8 welfare agency with expertise in child trauma and 

9 development makes a best interests determination 

10 that it is in the best interests of the child to be re11 moved from his or her parent or legal guardian be12 cause the child is in danger of abuse or neglect at 

13 the hands of the parent or legal guardian, or is a 

14 danger to herself or others; or 

15 (3) the Chief Patrol Agent or the Area Port Di16 rector, in his or her official and undelegated capac17 ity, authorizes separation upon the recommendation 

18 by an agent or officer and based on a finding that— 

19 (A) the child is a victim of trafficking or 

20 is at significant risk of becoming a victim of 

21 trafficking; 

22 (B) there is a strong likelihood that the 

23 adult is not the parent or legal guardian of the 

24 child; or 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4723 IS

1 (C) the child is in danger of abuse or ne2 glect at the hands of the parent or legal guard3 ian, or is a danger to themselves or others. 

4 (b) PROHIBITION ON SEPARATION.—An agency may 

5 not remove a child from a parent or legal guardian solely 

6 for the policy goal of— 

7 (1) deterring individuals from migrating to the 

8 United States; or 

9 (2) promoting compliance with civil immigration 

10 laws. 

11 (c) DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

12 shall ensure that any separation authorized under sub13 section (a)(3)— 

14 (1) is documented in writing; and 

15 (2) includes (at a minimum)— 

16 (A) the reason for such separation; and 

17 (B) the stated evidence for such separa18 tion. 

19 SEC. 4. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SEPARATION BY AGENTS 

20 OR OFFICERS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con23 sultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv24 ices, shall develop training and guidance, with an empha25 sis on the best interests of the child, childhood trauma, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4723 IS

1 attachment, and child development, for use by the agents 

2 and officers, in order to standardize the implementation 

3 of section 3(a)(3). 

4 (b) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Not less frequently than an5 nually, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

6 shall— 

7 (1) review the guidance developed pursuant to 

8 subsection (a); and 

9 (2) submit recommendations to the Secretary to 

10 ensure such guidance is in accordance with current 

11 evidence and best practices in child welfare, child de12 velopment, and childhood trauma. 

13 (c) REQUIREMENT.—The guidance developed pursu14 ant to subsection (a) shall incorporate the presumptions 

15 described in section 5. 

16 (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (1) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The guidance and 

18 training developed pursuant to this section shall in19 corporate evidence-based practices. 

20 (2) TRAINING REQUIRED.— 

21 (A) AGENTS AND OFFICERS.—All agents 

22 and officers of designated agencies, upon hire, 

23 and annually thereafter, shall complete training 

24 on adherence to the guidance developed pursu25 ant to subsection (a). 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4723 IS

1 (B) MANAGEMENT.—All Chief Patrol 

2 Agents and Area Port Directors, upon hire, and 

3 annually thereafter, shall complete— 

4 (i) training on adherence to the guid5 ance developed pursuant to subsection (a); 

6 and 

7 (ii) 90 minutes of child welfare prac8 tice training that is evidence-based and 

9 trauma-informed. 

10 SEC. 5. PRESUMPTIONS. 

11 In this Act— 

12 (1) there shall be a strong presumption in favor 

13 of family unity; 

14 (2) the Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum 

15 extent practicable, that sibling groups remain intact; 

16 and 

17 (3) there is a presumption that detention is not 

18 in the best interests of families and children. 

19 SEC. 6. REQUIRED POLICY FOR LOCATING SEPARATED 

20 CHILDREN. 

21 (a) DEVELOPMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta23 tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv24 ices, immigrant advocacy organizations, child welfare 

25 organizations, and State child welfare agencies, shall 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4723 IS

1 develop public guidance that describes, with speci2 ficity, the manner in which a parent or legal guard3 ian may locate a child who was separated from the 

4 parent or legal guardian pursuant to section 3(a). 

5 (2) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary shall publish the final public guidance devel8 oped pursuant to paragraph (1). 

9 (b) WRITTEN NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall 

10 provide each parent or legal guardian who is separated 

11 from a child pursuant to section 3(a) with written notice 

12 of the public guidance to locate the separated child. 

13 (c) LANGUAGE ACCESS.—All guidance developed pur14 suant to subsection (a) shall be available— 

15 (1) in English and Spanish; and 

16 (2) at the request of a parent or legal guardian, 

17 in the language or manner that is understandable by 

18 such parent or legal guardian. 

19 SEC. 7. REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR SEPARATED FAMI20 LIES. 

21 Not less frequently than monthly, the Secretary shall 

22 provide the parent or legal guardian of a child from whom 

23 he or she was separated with— 

24 (1) a status report on the monthly activities of 

25 such child; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4723 IS

1 (2) information about the education and health 

2 of such child, including any medical treatment pro3 vided to the child or medical treatment rec4 ommended for the child; 

5 (3) information about changes to such child’s 

6 immigration status; and 

7 (4) other information about such child, which 

8 shall be designed to promote and maintain family re9 unification, as determined by the Secretary. 

10 SEC. 8. ANNUAL REPORT ON FAMILY SEPARATION. 

11 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

13 submit a report to the committees of jurisdiction that de14 scribes each instance in which a child was separated from 

15 a parent or legal guardian and includes, for each such in16 stance— 

17 (1) the relationship of the adult and the child; 

18 (2) the age and gender of the adult and child; 

19 (3) the length of separation; 

20 (4) whether the adult was charged with a crime, 

21 and if the adult was charged with a crime, the type 

22 of crime; 

23 (5) whether the adult made a claim for asylum, 

24 expressed a fear to return, or applied for other im25 migration relief; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4723 IS

1 (6) whether the adult was prosecuted if charged 

2 with a crime and the associated outcome of such 

3 charges; 

4 (7) the stated reason for, and evidence in sup5 port of, the separation; 

6 (8) if the child was part of a sibling group at 

7 the time of separation, whether the sibling group has 

8 had physical contact and visitation; 

9 (9) whether the child was rendered an unac10 companied alien child; and 

11 (10) other information in the Secretary’s discre12 tion. 

13 SEC. 9. CLARIFICATIONS. 

14 (a) PARENTAL RIGHTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a child is separated from 

16 a parent or legal guardian, and a State court has 

17 not made a determination that the parental rights of 

18 such parent or legal guardian have been terminated, 

19 there is a presumption that— 

20 (A) the parental rights remain intact; and 

21 (B) such separation does not constitute an 

22 affirmative determination of abuse or neglect 

23 under Federal or State law. 

24 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

25 Act may be construed to limit any independent 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4723 IS

1 rights that a parent, legal guardian, or child may 

2 have under any source of law, including the Settle3 ment Agreement in Ms. L. v. ICE, 18–cv–00428 

4 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 11, 2023). 

5 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

6 (1) FEDERAL LAW.—Nothing in this Act may 

7 be construed to supersede or modify Federal child 

8 welfare law, as applicable, including the Adoption 

9 and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105– 

10 89). 

11 (2) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this Act may be 

12 construed to supersede or modify State child welfare 

13 laws, as applicable. 

14 SEC. 10. GAO REPORT ON PROSECUTION OF ASYLUM SEEK15 ERS. 

16 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

17 States shall conduct a study of the prosecution of asylum 

18 seekers during the period beginning on January 1, 2014 

19 and ending on December 31, 2023, including— 

20 (1) the total number of persons who claimed a 

21 fear of persecution, received a favorable credible fear 

22 determination, and were referred for prosecution; 

23 (2) an overview and analysis of the metrics 

24 used by the Department of Homeland Security and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 4723 IS

1 the Department of Justice to track the number of 

2 asylum seekers referred for prosecution; 

3 (3) the total number of asylum seekers referred 

4 for prosecution, a breakdown and description of the 

5 criminal charges filed against asylum seekers during 

6 such period, and a breakdown and description of the 

7 convictions secured; 

8 (4) the total number of asylum seekers who 

9 were separated from their children as a result of 

10 being referred for prosecution; 

11 (5) a breakdown of the resources spent on pros12 ecuting asylum seekers during such period, as well 

13 as any diversion of resources required to prosecute 

14 asylum seekers, and any costs imposed on States 

15 and localities; 

16 (6) the total number of asylum seekers who 

17 were referred for prosecution and also went through 

18 immigration proceedings; and 

19 (7) the total number of asylum seekers referred 

20 for prosecution who were deported before going 

21 through immigration proceedings. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 4723 IS

1 submit a report to Congress that includes the results of 

2 the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a). 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS