I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1238 

To establish the Office of the Ombudsperson for Immigrant Children in 

Government Custody, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 

Ms. JAYAPAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland 

Security, 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 establish the Office of the Ombudsperson for Immigrant 

Children in Government Custody, 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 ‘‘Protection of Kids in 

5 Immigrant Detention Act’’ or ‘‘PROKID Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

2 means the expert advisory committee established 

3 under section 5(a). 

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

5 the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

6 (3) FACILITY.—The term ‘‘facility’’— 

7 (A) means a location at which 1 or more 

8 immigrant children are detained by the Govern9 ment or held in Government custody; and 

10 (B) includes— 

11 (i) an Office of Refugee Resettlement 

12 facility; and 

13 (ii) a Department of Homeland Secu14 rity facility, including— 

15 (I) a U.S. Customs and Border 

16 Protection temporary holding facility 

17 and transportation contractor; 

18 (II) a U.S. Immigration and Cus19 toms Enforcement family detention 

20 facility; 

21 (III) a U.S. Immigration and 

22 Customs Enforcement juvenile facility; 

23 (IV) a location operated by a pri24 vate entity, including a hotel room; 

25 and 


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1 (V) any other location at which 

2 the Department of Homeland Security 

3 detains or holds in custody an immi4 grant child. 

5 (4) FLORES SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The 

6 term ‘‘Flores settlement agreement’’ means the stip7 ulated settlement agreement filed in the United 

8 States District Court for the Central District of 

9 California on January 17, 1997 (CV 85–4544– 

10 RJK). 

11 (5) IMMIGRANT CHILD.—The term ‘‘immigrant 

12 child’’ means an alien (as defined in section 101(a) 

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

14 1101(a)) under the age of 18 years. 

15 (6) IN-NETWORK FACILITY.—The term ‘‘in-net16 work facility’’ means a facility operated by an Office 

17 of Refugee Resettlement grantee, subgrantee, con18 tractor, or subcontractor. 

19 (7) OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FA20 CILITY.—The term ‘‘Office of Refugee Resettlement 

21 facility’’— 

22 (A) means— 

23 (i) a shelter; 

24 (ii) staff secure, secure care, or transi25 tional foster care housing; or 


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1 (iii) any other location operated by 

2 the Office of Refugee Resettlement to hold 

3 immigrant children; and 

4 (B) includes an in-network facility and an 

5 out-of-network facility. 

6 (8) OMBUDSPERSON.—The term 

7 ‘‘Ombudsperson’’ means the ombudsperson ap8 pointed under section 3(c). 

9 (9) OUT-OF-NETWORK FACILITY.—The term 

10 ‘‘out-of-network facility’’ means a facility at which 

11 an immigrant child is placed as a result of an Office 

12 of Refugee Resettlement determination that there is 

13 no care provider available among in-network facili14 ties to provide specialized services required by the 

15 immigrant child, such as medical or mental health 

16 support. 

17 (10) UNOBSTRUCTED ACCESS.—The term ‘‘un18 obstructed access’’ means— 

19 (A) with respect to a facility, the ability to 

20 enter the facility, including unannounced, to 

21 tour and physically visit all areas of the facility; 

22 and 

23 (B) with respect to information, the ability 

24 to obtain requested information in a timely 

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1 rector or the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

2 as applicable. 

3 (11) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 

4 Group’’ means the interagency working group estab5 lished under section 6(b). 

6 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSPERSON FOR IMMIGRANT 

7 CHILDREN IN GOVERNMENT CUSTODY. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established, within 

9 the Department of Health and Human Services, an Office 

10 of the Ombudsperson for Immigrant Children in Govern11 ment Custody (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office 

12 of the Ombudsperson’’)— 

13 (1) to endorse and support the principle that 

14 family separation and detention are generally not in 

15 a child’s best interest; and 

16 (2) in cases in which detention or Government 

17 custody is required— 

18 (A) to ensure that immigrant children are 

19 only detained or held in Government custody in 

20 the least restrictive setting; 

21 (B) to advocate for the quick, safe, and ef22 ficient release of immigrant children from de23 tention or Government custody whenever pos24 sible; and 


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1 (C) in any case in which an immigrant 

2 child is held in Department of Homeland Secu3 rity custody together with his or her family 

4 unit, to advocate for the release of the child and 

5 concurrent release of the parent or legal guard6 ian of the child. 

7 (b) INDEPENDENCE.—The Office of the 

8 Ombudsperson shall be an impartial, confidential resource 

9 fully independent of— 

10 (1) the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the 

11 Department of Health and Human Services; and 

12 (2) the Department of Homeland Security. 

13 (c) OMBUDSPERSON.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of the 

15 Ombudsperson shall be headed by an 

16 Ombudsperson, who shall be appointed by, and re17 port directly to, the Secretary of Health and Human 

18 Services. 

19 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individual ap20 pointed as Ombudsperson shall have demonstrated 

21 experience in— 

22 (A) immigration law; and 

23 (B) child advocacy or child welfare. 

24 (3) DUTIES AND AUTHORITIES.— 


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1 (A) MONITORING.—The Ombudsperson 

2 shall monitor facilities for compliance with ap3 plicable law and standards, including— 

4 (i) the Flores settlement agreement; 

5 (ii) section 235 of the William Wilber6 force Trafficking Victims Protection Reau7 thorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232); 

8 (iii) the applicable provisions of the 

9 Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (34 

10 U.S.C. 30301 et seq.); 

11 (iv) the standards of U.S. Customs 

12 and Border Protection entitled ‘‘National 

13 Standards on Transport, Escort, Deten14 tion, and Search’’ issued in October 2015; 

15 and 

16 (v) internal Office of Refugee Reset17 tlement policy guidance, including the 

18 guidance entitled ‘‘ORR Policy Guide: 

19 Children Entering the United States Unac20 companied’’ issued on January 30, 2015. 

21 (B) INVESTIGATIONS.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsperson 

23 shall investigate— 

24 (I) claims of abuse, neglect, or 

25 mistreatment of immigrant children, 


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1 by the Government or any other enti2 ty, while in Government custody; and 

3 (II) complaints against foster 

4 care providers, including foster care 

5 providers under State oversight. 

6 (ii) REPORTING OF STATE LICENSING

7 VIOLATIONS.—If in the course of an inves8 tigation under clause (i)(II) the 

9 Ombudsperson discovers a State licensing 

10 violation, the Ombudsperson shall report 

11 the violation to the child welfare licensing 

12 agency of the applicable State. 

13 (C) OVERSIGHT OF OFFICE OF REFUGEE

14 RESETTLEMENT.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsperson 

16 shall provide oversight of the Director by 

17 reviewing placement decisions, including 

18 sponsor denials, that are contested by an 

19 immigrant child or the attorney, child ad20 vocate, parent, or prospective sponsor of 

21 the immigrant child. 

22 (ii) EXPEDITED REVIEW OF CON23 TESTED PLACEMENT DECISIONS.— 

24 (I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

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1 view of a placement decision described 

2 in clause (i) is requested, the 

3 Ombudsperson shall complete the re4 view. 

5 (II) RECOMMENDATION TO DI6 RECTOR.—If, in carrying out such a 

7 review, the Ombudsperson determines 

8 that such placement decision was er9 roneous, the Ombudsperson shall— 

10 (aa) submit to the Director 

11 a recommendation for further ac12 tion; and 

13 (bb) make a copy of the rec14 ommendation available to— 

15 (AA) the immigrant 

16 child; and 

17 (BB) if applicable, the 

18 immigrant child’s attorney 

19 and child advocate. 

20 (III) WRITTEN STATEMENT.— 

21 (aa) IN GENERAL.—In any 

22 case in which the Director de23 clines to follow a recommendation 

24 under subclause (II), not later 

25 than 15 days after the date on 


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1 which the Director receives the 

2 recommendation, the Director 

3 shall issue a written response, in4 cluding a detailed justification. 

5 (bb) NONDELEGATION.— 

6 The Director may not delegate 

7 the requirement to issue a writ8 ten statement under this sub9 clause. 

10 (iii) CIVIL ACTION NOT PRE11 CLUDED.—Review by the Ombudsperson 

12 under this subparagraph shall not preclude 

13 an immigrant child, or the attorney, child 

14 advocate, parent, or prospective sponsor of 

15 the immigrant child, from simultaneously 

16 commencing a civil action in any appro17 priate district court of the United States. 

18 (D) STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS.—Not less 

19 frequently than quarterly, the Ombudsperson 

20 shall invite community stakeholders, Flores set21 tlement agreement class counsel, and the Flores 

22 settlement agreement court-appointed monitor 

23 to participate in a meeting— 


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1 (i) to ensure that the Ombudsperson 

2 is aware of stakeholder concerns and prior3 ities; and 

4 (ii) to provide feedback on stakeholder 

5 requests. 

6 (E) REGIONAL OFFICES.—The 

7 Ombudsperson shall establish regional offices of 

8 the Office of the Ombudsperson— 

9 (i) to ensure the inclusion of pertinent 

10 local and regional issues, trends, and chal11 lenges for consideration by the 

12 Ombudsperson; 

13 (ii) to strengthen State oversight; 

14 (iii) to coordinate with State licensing 

15 entities; and 

16 (iv) to identify and address differences 

17 among State child protection laws. 

18 (F) INDIVIDUAL CASE ASSISTANCE.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsperson 

20 may offer individual case assistance to an 

21 immigrant child who is in Government cus22 tody if the case of the immigrant child is 

23 long-pending or otherwise requires expe24 dited processing or elevated attention, as 

25 determined by the Ombudsperson. 


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1 (ii) COMMUNICATION.—To ensure a 

2 complete understanding of the status of a 

3 case described in clause (i), the 

4 Ombudsperson may communicate with the 

5 potential sponsor, family members, child 

6 advocate, legal counsel, Office of Refugee 

7 Resettlement case manager and Federal 

8 field specialist, the General Dynamics In9 formation Technology case coordinator, 

10 and any other relevant individual charged 

11 with case management of the immigrant 

12 child concerned. 

13 (G) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the ap15 proval of the Secretary of Health and 

16 Human Services, the Ombudsperson 

17 may— 

18 (I) issue a subpoena to require 

19 the production of all information, re20 ports, and other documentary evidence 

21 necessary to carry out the duties of 

22 the Ombudsperson; and 

23 (II) invoke the aid of any appro24 priate court of the United States. 


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1 (ii) TIMELINE FOR PRODUCTION OF

2 INFORMATION.—To prevent undue delay of 

3 the placement of an immigrant child, re4 quirements set forth in a subpoena under 

5 clause (i)(I) shall be satisfactorily fulfilled 

6 not later than 7 days after the date on 

7 which the Ombudsperson issues the sub8 poena. 

9 (H) REPORTING MECHANISMS.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsperson 

11 shall establish and maintain— 

12 (I) a toll-free telephone number 

13 to receive complaints and reports of 

14 matters for investigation; and 

15 (II) an email address to receive 

16 complaints, such reports, and requests 

17 for review of placement decisions. 

18 (ii) AVAILABILITY.—The 

19 Ombudsperson shall ensure that— 

20 (I) such telephone number is 

21 made available, and a telephone is ac22 cessible, to each immigrant child in a 

23 facility; and 

24 (II) such email address is made 

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1 ment agreement class counsel, and 

2 legal services providers and child ad3 vocates who serve such immigrant 

4 children. 

5 (I) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Sep7 tember 30 each year, the Ombudsperson 

8 shall submit to Congress a report on the 

9 accomplishments and challenges of the Of10 fice of the Ombudsperson during the fiscal 

11 year ending on that date. 

12 (ii) ELEMENTS.—Each report re13 quired by clause (i) shall include, for the 

14 applicable fiscal year, the following: 

15 (I) A summary of the status of 

16 immigrant children in Government 

17 custody that highlights broader trends 

18 and recommendations for future ac19 tion. 

20 (II) Statistical information on 

21 immigrant children in Government 

22 custody, together with an analysis of 

23 such information. 

24 (III) A summary of complaints 

25 received and proposed resolutions. 


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1 (IV) A detailed description of any 

2 investigation into a claim of abuse, 

3 neglect, or mistreatment of an immi4 grant child in Government custody, 

5 including a summary of the results of 

6 any such investigation. 

7 (V) A description of the objec8 tives of the Office of the 

9 Ombudsperson for the next fiscal 

10 year. 

11 (J) ADDITIONAL DUTIES.—The 

12 Ombudsperson shall— 

13 (i) conduct a review of data collection, 

14 as described in section 4(a); 

15 (ii) establish the Committee, as de16 scribed in section 5; and 

17 (iii) enter into a memorandum of un18 derstanding, as described in section 6(a). 

19 (d) ACCESS TO FACILITIES.—The Secretary of 

20 Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Home21 land Security shall ensure— 

22 (1) unobstructed access by the Ombudsperson 

23 to any facility; and 

24 (2) the ability of the Ombudsperson— 

25 (A) to monitor any facility; and 


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1 (B) to meet confidentially with— 

2 (i) staff of any facility; 

3 (ii) employees and contractors of the 

4 Office of Refugee Resettlement and the 

5 Department of Homeland Security; and 

6 (iii) any immigrant child in Govern7 ment custody, after notification of the im8 migrant child’s counsel, as applicable. 

9 (e) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Secretary of 

10 Health and Human Services shall ensure unobstructed ac11 cess by the Ombudsperson to— 

12 (1) the case files, records, reports, audits, docu13 ments, papers, recommendations, or any other perti14 nent information relating to the care and custody of 

15 an immigrant child; and 

16 (2) the written policies and procedures of all 

17 Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities. 

18 SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION. 

19 (a) INDEPENDENT REVIEW BY OMBUDSPERSON.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Ombudsperson shall 

21 regularly review data collected by the Secretary of 

22 Health and Human Services and the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security relating to immigrant children in 

24 facilities. 


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1 (2) COLLABORATION REQUIRED.—The Sec2 retary of Health and Human Services and the Sec3 retary of Homeland Security shall provide the 

4 Ombudsperson unobstructed access to— 

5 (A) real-time custody and detention data 

6 for each immigrant child detained by the Gov7 ernment or held in Government custody, includ8 ing— 

9 (i) the location and level of placement; 

10 (ii) biographical information, includ11 ing full name, date of birth, country of citi12 zenship, and alien number; 

13 (iii) all locations at which the immi14 grant child has been detained or held in 

15 custody; 

16 (iv) the dates and times the immi17 grant child is booked in and booked out of 

18 any facility; and 

19 (v) transfer and discharge informa20 tion; and 

21 (B) Department of Homeland Security and 

22 Department of Health and Human Services 

23 data personnel for the purpose of reviewing 

24 data collection and integrity issues. 


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1 (b) OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT DATA

2 COLLECTION SYSTEM.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—To support the data collec4 tion and monitoring duties of the Ombudsperson and 

5 to facilitate public monitoring, the Director shall de6 velop a data collection system that collects and 

7 maintains the following information: 

8 (A) The total number of immigrant chil9 dren held in custody by the Director, 

10 disaggregated by placement level, specific Office 

11 of Refugee Resettlement facility, and age. 

12 (B) The average and median number of 

13 days immigrant children remain in such cus14 tody, disaggregated by placement level, specific 

15 Office of Refugee Resettlement facility, and 

16 age. 

17 (C) The average and median number of 

18 days immigrant children stay in an Office of 

19 Refugee Resettlement facility, disaggregated by 

20 placement level, specific Office of Refugee Re21 settlement facility, and age. 

22 (D) The number of immigrant children dis23 charged to sponsors, disaggregated by sponsor 

24 category, placement level, specific Office of Ref25 ugee Resettlement facility, and age. 


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1 (E) The sponsor categories of immigrant 

2 children held at each Office of Refugee Reset3 tlement facility, disaggregated by placement 

4 level and age. 

5 (F) The number and percentage of immi6 grant children held in an Office of Refugee Re7 settlement facility with more than 25 immi8 grant children, disaggregated by placement level 

9 and age. 

10 (G) The percentage of filled capacity 

11 across all Office of Refugee Resettlement facili12 ties. 

13 (H) The total number of children held at 

14 out-of-network facilities, disaggregated by 

15 placement level and age. 

16 (I) For each Office of Refugee Resettle17 ment facility— 

18 (i) the percentage of filled capacity; 

19 (ii) the maximum number of available 

20 beds; 

21 (iii) the number and percentage of im22 migrant children with disabilities, 

23 disaggregated by placement level and age; 

24 and 


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1 (iv) the number and percentage of im2 migrant children receiving mandatory 

3 home studies, discretionary home studies, 

4 and post-release services, disaggregated by 

5 placement level and age. 

6 (2) PUBLICATION.—Not later than the 15th of 

7 each month, the Director shall make the data col8 lected under paragraph (1) for the preceding month 

9 available to the public on the internet website of the 

10 Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

11 (c) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USES OF INFORMA12 TION.—Information collected under this section may not 

13 be used for immigration enforcement or law enforcement 

14 purposes. 

15 SEC. 5. EXPERT ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ombudsperson 

18 shall establish an expert advisory committee to assist the 

19 Ombudsperson in— 

20 (1) identifying relevant trends relating to immi21 grant children in Government custody; 

22 (2) conducting fact-finding missions and inves23 tigations of facilities; and 


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1 (3) ensuring Government and private contractor 

2 compliance with applicable law and standards for fa3 cilities. 

4 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the Committee 

5 shall— 

6 (1) be appointed by the Ombudsperson; 

7 (2) represent various geographical regions; and 

8 (3) be comprised of subject matter experts, in9 cluding— 

10 (A) legal advocates or specialists in the 

11 fields of child and family welfare, immigration, 

12 and human rights; 

13 (B) pediatricians or other appropriate pe14 diatric health care experts; 

15 (C) child or adolescent psychiatrists or 

16 psychologists; 

17 (D) social workers; 

18 (E) data analysis experts; and 

19 (F) any other relevant subject matter ex20 pert. 

21 (c) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet not less 

22 frequently than quarterly. 

23 (d) DUTIES.—The Committee shall regularly— 

24 (1) review facility compliance with applicable 

25 law and standards relating to Government detention 


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1 and custody of immigrant children, including the 

2 Flores settlement agreement and section 235 of the 

3 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 

4 Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232); and 

5 (2) submit to the Ombudsperson recommenda6 tions for improvement. 

7 (e) SITE VISITS.—The Committee may designate 1 

8 or more individuals who shall have the authority— 

9 (1) to carry out facility site visits; and 

10 (2) interview immigrant children held in Gov11 ernment custody, after notification of counsel, as ap12 plicable. 

13 SEC. 6. COORDINATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

14 SECURITY. 

15 (a) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the date of the enact17 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Secu18 rity and the Ombudsperson shall enter into a memo19 randum of understanding to coordinate oversight be20 tween the Department of Homeland Security and 

21 the Department of Health and Human Services. 

22 (2) ELEMENTS.—The memorandum of under23 standing required by paragraph (1) shall do the fol24 lowing: 


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1 (A) Require the Secretary of Homeland 

2 Security to provide information to the 

3 Ombudsperson with respect to each immigrant 

4 child detained by U.S. Customs and Border 

5 Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs 

6 Enforcement, or who is otherwise in the custody 

7 of the Secretary of Homeland Security, includ8 ing— 

9 (i) the location of the immigrant child; 

10 (ii) biographical information, includ11 ing full name, date of birth, country of citi12 zenship, and alien number; 

13 (iii) all locations at which the immi14 grant child has been so detained or held in 

15 Department of Homeland Security cus16 tody; 

17 (iv) exact times at which the immi18 grant child was booked in and booked out 

19 of such custody; 

20 (v) the date on which the immigrant 

21 child is released from such custody or 

22 transferred to the custody of the Secretary 

23 of Health and Human Services; 

24 (vi) in the case of an immigrant child 

25 who remains in Department of Homeland 


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1 Security custody for more than 72 hours, 

2 the reason for such continued custody; and 

3 (vii) any other information the 

4 Ombudsperson considers relevant to the 

5 oversight and monitoring duties described 

6 in section 3(c)(3). 

7 (B) Establish the right of the 

8 Ombudsperson and the Committee to monitor 

9 Department of Homeland Security facilities for 

10 compliance with applicable standards of cus11 tody. 

12 (C) Provide the Ombudsperson and the 

13 Committee full and unobstructed access to— 

14 (i) Department of Homeland Security 

15 facilities for regular site visits; and 

16 (ii) the written policies and procedures 

17 of Department of Homeland Security fa18 cilities. 

19 (3) LIMITATION.—The memorandum of under20 standing may only allow the Ombudsperson to share 

21 information with the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity on a case-by-case basis, and with the informed 

23 consent of the immigrant child concerned, if the 

24 Ombudsperson determines that such information 


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1 sharing may facilitate the release of the immigrant 

2 child from custody. 

3 (4) EVALUATION.—Not later than 2 years after 

4 the Ombudsperson and the Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security enter into the memorandum of under6 standing required by this subsection, the Comp7 troller General of the United States shall evaluate 

8 the coordination between the Ombudsperson and the 

9 Secretary to determine whether such memorandum 

10 of understanding is sufficient to ensure the oversight 

11 and monitoring required by this Act. 

12 (5) RECOMMENDATIONS.—If the Comptroller 

13 General makes a determination under paragraph (4) 

14 that the memorandum of understanding is insuffi15 cient, the Comptroller General shall recommend ac16 tionable steps to be implemented— 

17 (A) to improve coordination between the 

18 Ombudsperson and the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security; and 

20 (B) to ensure effectiveness of the mandate 

21 of the Ombudsperson. 

22 (b) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.— 

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 

24 interagency working group to identify and discuss 

25 concerns relating to immigrant children in facilities. 


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1 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Working Group shall 

2 be composed of representatives of— 

3 (A) the Department of Justice; 

4 (B) the Department of Health and Human 

5 Services, including the Director or a senior rep6 resentative of the Office of Refugee Resettle7 ment; 

8 (C) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 

9 (D) U.S. Immigration and Customs En10 forcement; 

11 (E) relevant oversight offices, including— 

12 (i) the Immigration Detention Om13 budsman of the Department of Homeland 

14 Security; and 

15 (ii) the Inspectors General of the De16 partment of Justice, the Department of 

17 Health and Human Services, U.S. Cus18 toms and Border Protection, and U.S. Im19 migration and Customs Enforcement; and 

20 (F) any other relevant Federal agency or 

21 office. 

22 (3) MEETINGS.—The Working Group shall— 

23 (A) hold meetings not less frequently than 

24 quarterly; 


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1 (B) invite representatives of nongovern2 mental organizations that provide services to 

3 immigrant children to participate in such meet4 ings as the Ombudsperson considers appro5 priate; and 

6 (C) provide to the Ombudsperson a sum7 mary of each such meeting. 

8 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

9 Nothing in the Act shall be construed to preclude or 

10 limit Flores settlement agreement class counsel from con11 ducting independent investigations or seeking enforcement 

12 actions relating to violations of the Flores settlement 

13 agreement in any appropriate district court of the United 

14 States. 

Æ 


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