II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3178 

To establish the Children’s Court to improve the adjudication of immigration 

cases involving unaccompanied alien children. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2023 

Mr. BENNET (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To establish the Children’s Court to improve the adjudication 

of immigration cases involving 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 ‘‘Immigration Court Ef5 ficiency and Children’s Court Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND STRUCTURE OF THE CHIL7 DREN’S COURT. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHILDREN’S COURT.— 

9 Chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality 

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1 Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

2 section 240C (8 U.S.C. 1230) the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 240D. CHILDREN’S COURT. 

4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 ‘‘(1) CHILDREN’S COURT.—The term ‘Chil6 dren’s Court’ means all of the specialized children’s 

7 dockets described in this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

9 the Director of the Executive Office for Immigration 

10 Review. 

11 ‘‘(3) DOCKET.—The term ‘docket’ means a 

12 grouping of removal proceedings that are held dur13 ing a dedicated time on a court’s calendar and adju14 dicated separately from other immigration cases. 

15 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General shall 

16 establish and maintain, within the Executive Office for 

17 Immigration Review, specialized children’s dockets for the 

18 adjudication of removal proceedings for any individual 

19 who— 

20 ‘‘(1) was younger than 18 years of age on the 

21 date on which such proceedings were initiated; and 

22 ‘‘(2)(A) was previously determined by the De23 partment of Homeland Security or the Department 

24 of Health and Human Services to be an unaccom25 panied alien child (as defined in section 462(g)(2) of 

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1 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

2 279(g)(2))); or 

3 ‘‘(B) is the principal respondent in a proceeding 

4 if such individual was referred to the children’s 

5 docket by an immigration judge, unless such child 

6 requests to remain on the court’s general docket. 

7 ‘‘(c) JUDGES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—The Director 

9 shall divide all of the immigration courts into 

10 geographical areas with not more than 5 immi11 gration courts in each such area. 

12 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATIONS.—The Director, in 

13 consultation with the Chief Immigration Judge, 

14 shall designate— 

15 ‘‘(A) an immigration judge to serve as 

16 Chief Children’s Judge for the Children’s 

17 Court; and 

18 ‘‘(B) 1 immigration judge in each geo19 graphical area referred to in to paragraph 

20 (1) to serve as the Assistant Chief Chil21 dren’s Judge for such area. 

22 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Attorney 

23 General shall establish, by regulation, qualifica24 tions for Children’s Court judges that ensure, 

25 among any other requirements, that the Chief 

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1 Children’s Judge, each Assistant Chief Chil2 dren’s Judge, and each immigration judge as3 signed to the Children’s Court— 

4 ‘‘(A) has substantial experience work5 ing with children in judicial or other set6 tings; 

7 ‘‘(B) possess and have demonstrated a 

8 commitment to ensuring the fair adminis9 tration of justice through child-appropriate 

10 court procedures; and 

11 ‘‘(C) apply for appointment to the 

12 Children’s Court. 

13 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) CHIEF CHILDREN’S JUDGE.— 

15 The Chief Children’s Judge shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) establish operating policies 

17 and procedures for carrying out adju18 dications in the Children’s Court in a 

19 manner that advances due process 

20 and fairness; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) oversee the implementation 

22 of such policies and procedures. 

23 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANT CHIEF CHILDREN’S

24 JUDGES.—In addition to his or her duties 

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1 as an immigration judge, each Assistant 

2 Chief Children’s Judge shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) promote fair and just proc4 esses for carrying out adjudications in 

5 the specialized children’s dockets in 

6 the immigration courts in his or her 

7 assigned geographical area; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) ensure that all of the immi9 gration judges assigned to a special10 ized children’s docket in the immigra11 tion courts in such area complete the 

12 training described in paragraph (5). 

13 ‘‘(5) TRAINING.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Immigration 

15 judges assigned to the Children’s Court 

16 shall complete— 

17 ‘‘(i) initial training upon assign18 ment; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) annual supplementary train20 ing. 

21 ‘‘(B) TOPICS.—Training required 

22 under this paragraph shall encompass the 

23 following topics: 

24 ‘‘(i) Children’s claims for immi25 gration relief. 

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1 ‘‘(ii) Appropriate use of docket 

2 management tools to facilitate chil3 dren’s pursuit of relief through an ap4 plication or petition to U.S. Citizen5 ship and Immigration Services. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Child-sensitive questioning 

7 techniques. 

8 ‘‘(iv) Developmental- and trau9 ma-informed practice that accounts 

10 for children’s developmental stage, 

11 trauma history, and other factors im12 pacting a child’s capacity when deter13 mining appropriate courtroom proce14 dures, evaluating credibility, and con15 sidering testimony and other evidence 

16 adduced by a child, among other ac17 tions. 

18 ‘‘(v) Methods for explaining the 

19 purpose and nature of court pro20 ceedings and procedures to children, 

21 including developmentally appropriate 

22 communication. 

23 ‘‘(vi) The concept of the best in24 terests of the child. 

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1 ‘‘(vii) Human trafficking of chil2 dren. 

3 ‘‘(C) LEGAL REPRESENTATION.— 

4 Training required under this paragraph 

5 shall include instruction from govern6 mental and nongovernmental experts in the 

7 legal representation of unaccompanied chil8 dren, child development, child welfare, and 

9 child psychology. Assistant Chief Chil10 dren’s Judges shall consult with such ex11 perts to design training plans. 

12 ‘‘(6) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—The Exec13 utive Office for Immigration Review may not 

14 implement minimal numeric case load or case 

15 completion requirements, judicial performance 

16 standards, or other standards for immigration 

17 judges assigned to the Children’s Court that 

18 could negatively impact the fair administration 

19 of justice or promotion of the best interests of 

20 the child by the Children’s Court. 

21 ‘‘(7) ASSIGNMENT OF OTHER CASES.—Im22 migration judges assigned to the Children’s 

23 Court may also be assigned cases that are not 

24 on a specialized children’s docket if the total 

25 caseload of such judges does not exceed 75 perVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Nov 02, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3178.IS S3178
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1 cent of the average caseload of immigration 

2 judges who are not assigned to the Children’s 

3 Court. 

4 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURAL PROTECTIONS.—Proceedings in 

5 the Children’s Court shall utilize child-appropriate proce6 dures that allow for maximum participation of child re7 spondents and promote due process, including— 

8 ‘‘(1) continuances that are sufficient for a child 

9 to obtain counsel; 

10 ‘‘(2) conferring among the parties to the max11 imum extent practicable to narrow the legal issues 

12 in advance of an adjudication on the merits; 

13 ‘‘(3) a rebuttable presumption in favor of grant14 ing a child’s request to dismiss or administratively 

15 close proceedings when an application for relief is 

16 pending before or approved by U.S. Citizenship and 

17 Immigration Services; 

18 ‘‘(4) explanations of court proceedings and 

19 advisals by immigration judges regarding legal 

20 rights and responsibilities that accommodate a 

21 child’s developmental level and capacity; 

22 ‘‘(5) appropriate accommodations, including 

23 breaks during oral testimony by a child; 

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1 ‘‘(6) language screening protocols to ensure 

2 that interpretation is provided in the child’s pre3 ferred language; and 

4 ‘‘(7) the use of virtual hearings only— 

5 ‘‘(A) at the request of the child or the 

6 child’s counsel; or 

7 ‘‘(B) if the immigration judge determines 

8 that virtual hearings would be in the child’s 

9 legal interests. 

10 ‘‘(e) BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The best interests of the 

12 child may be considered in adjudicating motions, 

13 forms of relief, or any other judicial decision requir14 ing a discretionary analysis. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—A best interests of the 

16 child determination shall be made by a child advo17 cate or other entity or professional with comparable 

18 expertise in such determinations, after taking into 

19 account— 

20 ‘‘(A) the safety and well-being of the child; 

21 ‘‘(B) the expressed interests of the child, 

22 taking into account the child’s age and stage of 

23 development; 

24 ‘‘(C) the physical and mental health of the 

25 child; 

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1 ‘‘(D) the right of the child to family integ2 rity, liberty, and development; and 

3 ‘‘(E) the identity of the child, including re4 ligious, ethnic, linguistic, gender, sexual ori5 entation, and cultural identity. 

6 ‘‘(3) APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT CHILD

7 ADVOCATES.—Immigration judges assigned to the 

8 Children’s Court, on their own initiative or at the re9 quest of a child’s counsel in an immigration pro10 ceeding, shall consider the referral of a child for ap11 pointment of an independent child advocate in ac12 cordance with section 235(c)(6). 

13 ‘‘(f) LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR UNACCOMPANIED

14 CHILDREN.—Each Assistant Chief Children’s Judge 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) coordinate with qualified local providers of 

17 legal services for children in the geographic area for 

18 purposes of maximizing providers’ capacity to pro19 vide legal assistance; 

20 ‘‘(2) on each day when any unrepresented child 

21 is on the Children’s Court docket, make sufficient 

22 appropriate space available in the court building to 

23 afford such child the opportunity to meet confiden24 tially with qualified providers of legal services at no 

25 cost to the child; and 

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1 ‘‘(3) coordinate with the Secretary of Health 

2 and Human Services for purposes of ensuring access 

3 to legal information and representation for unaccom4 panied children to the greatest extent practicable, in 

5 accordance with section 235(c)(5). 

6 ‘‘(g) ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF HOME7 LAND SECURITY CHILDREN’S COHORT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established, within 

9 the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, a Chil10 dren’s Cohort to represent U.S. Immigration and 

11 Customs Enforcement in the Children’s Court. 

12 ‘‘(2) TRAINING.—Attorneys assigned to the 

13 Children’s Cohort shall receive, from governmental 

14 and nongovernmental experts in child development, 

15 child psychology, and children’s immigration law, 

16 initial training upon appointment and annual sup17 plementary training regarding— 

18 ‘‘(A) unaccompanied children’s claims for 

19 immigration relief; 

20 ‘‘(B) child-sensitive questioning techniques; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(C) trauma-informed interviewing and ad23 judication methods. 

24 ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE METRICS.—Attorneys as25 signed to the Children’s Cohort may not be subVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Nov 02, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3178.IS S3178
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1 jected to performance standards or agency strategic 

2 measures that are based on case outcomes or other 

3 standards that could negatively impact the fair ad4 ministration of justice. 

5 ‘‘(4) PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION.—Attorneys 

6 assigned to the Children’s Cohort, consistent with 

7 their existing authority to exercise prosecutorial dis8 cretion, may seek resolution of cases in a manner 

9 that promotes the fair administration of justice, in10 cluding by— 

11 ‘‘(A) moving to dismiss or administratively 

12 close removal proceedings when an application 

13 for relief is pending before or approved by U.S. 

14 Citizenship and Immigration Services; 

15 ‘‘(B) agreeing to join motions for dis16 missal, administrative closure, or continuances; 

17 ‘‘(C) stipulating to facts or conclusions of 

18 law; 

19 ‘‘(D) joining motions to grant relief; and 

20 ‘‘(E) not pursuing appeals. 

21 ‘‘(5) RIGHT TO REVIEW CERTAIN DOCU22 MENTS.—Not later than 7 days after providing a no23 tice to appear to an unaccompanied child or to such 

24 child’s legal counsel pursuant to section 239(a), the 

25 Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforceVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Nov 02, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3178.IS S3178
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1 ment shall provide to such child or such legal coun2 sel, as appropriate, a complete copy of the child’s 

3 immigration file (commonly known as an ‘A-file’) in 

4 the possession of the Department of Homeland Se5 curity (other than documents protected from disclo6 sure under section 552(b) of title 5, United States 

7 Code).’’. 

8 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General shall pro9 mulgate regulations to implement the amendment made 

10 by subsection (a). 

11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

12 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

13 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

14 section 240C the following: 

‘‘Sec. 240D. Children’s Court.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON INFORMATION SHARING. 

16 (a) CHILD IN CUSTODY AND PROSPECTIVE SPON17 SORS.—The Director of the Office of Refugee Resettle18 ment may not provide any information about an unaccom19 panied alien child in the custody of the Secretary of 

20 Health and Human Services, or prospective sponsors, to 

21 the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity without the consent of— 

23 (1) such child or the child’s prospective spon24 sor, as applicable; and 

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1 (2) the legal counsel of such child or sponsor, 

2 respectively. 

3 (b) IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—No information about an un5 accompanied alien child may be shared between the 

6 Office of Refugee Resettlement and the Department 

7 of Homeland Security for purposes of immigration 

8 enforcement. 

9 (2) EXPLANATION FOR PROSPECTIVE SPON10 SORS.—The Director of the Office of Refugee Reset11 tlement shall ensure that communications by the Of12 fice of Refugee Resettlement with sponsors and pro13 spective sponsors, including the family reunification 

14 application packet, include an explanation that infor15 mation about a child, sponsor, or prospective spon16 sor provided to the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

17 may only be shared with the Department of Home18 land Security if such child and such child’s sponsor 

19 or prospective sponsor have provided informed con20 sent. 

21 (c) RELIEF FROM REMOVAL.—No information about 

22 an unaccompanied alien child may be shared between the 

23 Office of Refugee Resettlement and the Department of 

24 Homeland Security or the Department of Justice for pur25 poses of relief from removal. 

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1 (d) EXCEPTIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

3 Human Services may provide for the disclosure of 

4 information about an unaccompanied alien child in 

5 the same manner and circumstances as census infor6 mation may be disclosed by the Secretary of Com7 merce under section 8 of title 13, United States 

8 Code. 

9 (2) NATIONAL SECURITY PURPOSES.—The Sec10 retary of Health and Human Services may provide 

11 for the disclosure of information about an unaccom12 panied alien child to national security officials to be 

13 used solely for a national security purpose in a man14 ner that protects the confidentiality of such informa15 tion. 

16 (3) LAW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES.—The Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services may provide 

18 for the disclosure of information about an unaccom19 panied alien child to law enforcement officials to be 

20 used solely for a legitimate law enforcement purpose 

21 in a manner that protects the confidentiality of such 

22 information. 

23 (4) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—The Sec24 retary of Health and Human Services may disclose 

25 information about an unaccompanied alien child to 

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1 Federal, State, and local public and private agencies 

2 providing benefits, to be used solely in making deter3 minations of eligibility for benefits pursuant to sec4 tion 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 

5 Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

6 1641). 

7 (5) ADJUDICATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR RE8 LIEF.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Government entities 

10 adjudicating applications for relief under the 

11 immigration laws and government personnel 

12 carrying duties required under section 101(i)(1) 

13 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

14 U.S.C. 1101(i)(1)) may, with the prior written 

15 consent of the noncitizen involved, communicate 

16 with nonprofit, nongovernmental victims’ serv17 ice providers for the sole purpose of assisting 

18 victims in obtaining victim services from pro19 grams with expertise in working with immigrant 

20 victims. Agencies receiving referrals under this 

21 subparagraph are bound by the restrictions 

22 under this section. 

23 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

24 this paragraph may be construed as affecting 

25 the ability of an applicant to designate a safe 

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1 organization through which governmental agen2 cies may communicate with the applicant. 

3 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Subsections (a), (b), 

4 and (c) shall not be construed as preventing— 

5 (1) disclosure of information in connection with 

6 judicial review of a determination in a manner that 

7 protects the confidentiality of such information; or 

8 (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv9 ices from disclosing to the chair and ranking mem10 ber of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

11 or to the chair and ranking member of the Com12 mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa13 tives, for the exercise of congressional oversight au14 thority, information on closed cases described in this 

15 section in a manner that— 

16 (A) protects the confidentiality of such in17 formation; and 

18 (B) omits personally identifying informa19 tion (including locational information about in20 dividuals). 

21 SEC. 4. REPORTING AND EVALUATION. 

22 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap23 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

24 (1) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen25 ate; 

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1 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 Senate; 

3 (3) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

4 House of Representatives; and 

5 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there9 after, the Attorney General shall submit to the appropriate 

10 congressional committees and publish on a publicly acces11 sible website a report describing— 

12 (1) the level of compliance of each relevant im13 migration court with the requirements described in 

14 section 240D of the Immigration and Nationality 

15 Act, as added by section 2(a); 

16 (2) corrective actions the Attorney General is 

17 taking or plans to take to ensure that any relevant 

18 immigration court that is not in compliance with the 

19 requirements referred to in paragraph (1) expedi20 tiously achieves such compliance; 

21 (3) training that has been provided to judges 

22 assigned to the Children’s Court (as defined in such 

23 section 240D); 

24 (4) the number of unaccompanied alien chil25 dren’s cases pending before the Children’s Court; 

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1 (5) the number of unaccompanied alien chil2 dren’s cases receiving final decisions in the Chil3 dren’s Court during the reporting period, 

4 disaggregated by— 

5 (A) decision type, including orders of re6 moval, grants of relief, dismissals, and termi7 nations; and 

8 (B) whether the children were represented 

9 by an attorney at the time they received the 

10 final decisions; 

11 (6) unaccompanied alien children’s appearance 

12 rates at hearings before the Children’s Court, 

13 disaggregated by whether the children were rep14 resented by an attorney at the time of such hear15 ings; and 

16 (7) any immigration court resources conserved 

17 by the establishment and administration of special18 ized children’s dockets. 

19 (c) BIENNIAL EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 2 years 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially 

21 thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States 

22 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

23 and publish on a public website a report evaluating— 

24 (1) the Attorney General’s compliance with the 

25 requirements described in section 240D of the ImmiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 Nov 02, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3178.IS S3178
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1 gration and Nationality Act, as added by section 

2 2(a) across the Children’s Court as a whole and 

3 disaggregated by relevant immigration courts; and 

4 (2) the effectiveness of the Children’s Court 

5 in— 

6 (A) upholding fairness and due process in 

7 unaccompanied alien children’s proceedings; 

8 and 

9 (B) limiting adjudication redundancy be10 tween the Executive Office for Immigration Re11 view and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

12 Services. 

13 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Depart15 ment of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, 

16 and the Department of Health and Human Services such 

17 sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act and the 

18 amendment made by this Act. 

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