I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2217 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2019 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Ms. OMAR, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, 

Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, 

Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. HASTINGS, 

Mr. NADLER, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. SERRANO, 

Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. FRANKEL, Ms. 

BASS, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New 

York, Ms. LOFGREN, and Mr. PERLMUTTER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 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 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Families, Not Facili3 ties Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

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

7 Agreement between U.S. Immigration and Customs 

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

9 the Department of Homeland Security, and the Of10 fice of Refugee Resettlement of the Department of 

11 Health and Human Services went into effect to 

12 allow for intergovernmental sharing of personal in13 formation about unaccompanied alien children, their 

14 prospective sponsors, and adult members of sponsor 

15 households. 

16 (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce17 ment is using information obtained under the Memo18 randum of Agreement to conduct civil immigration 

19 enforcement actions against individuals residing in 

20 the homes of prospective sponsors of unaccompanied 

21 alien children. 

22 (3) These civil immigration enforcement actions 

23 have discouraged prospective sponsors of unaccom24 panied alien children, including family members, 

25 from coming forward to resettle children in the comVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2217.IH H2217

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1 munity as they pursue lawful claims for humani2 tarian protection. 

3 (4) Onerous requirements for sponsors and 

4 raids carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs 

5 Enforcement of sponsor households have discouraged 

6 qualified sponsors from coming forward, leading to 

7 unprecedented numbers of unaccompanied alien chil8 dren (approximately 11,705 in March 2019) being 

9 held in shelters overseen by the Office of Refugee 

10 Resettlement as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (5) The Office of Refugee Resettlement is 

12 struggling to accommodate the growing number of 

13 unaccompanied alien children in its shelter network, 

14 resorting to placing children in temporary ‘‘emer15 gency influx’’ shelters. The Office contracted with 

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

17 June 2018 and January 2019 in a temporary shelter 

18 at the Tornillo-Guadalupe Land Port of Entry in 

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

20 media sources described as a ‘‘tent city’’, and an21 nounced plans in January 2019 to nearly double the 

22 number of children held in a previously closed tem23 porary shelter in Homestead, Florida. 


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1 (6) Temporary shelters are inappropriate loca2 tions to hold unaccompanied alien children because 

3 such shelters— 

4 (A) have reduced standards of care, includ5 ing insufficient educational services; 

6 (B) offer limited access to clinical and 

7 legal services; and 

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

9 expenditure of more than $750 per day in tax10 payer funds for each child housed in Tornillo 

11 shelter, for example. 

12 (7) Facilities operated under a contract with 

13 the Office of Refugee Resettlement have faced unac14 ceptable allegations of abuse and neglect of unac15 companied alien children that merit additional inves16 tigation and oversight. 

17 (8) The Office of Refugee Resettlement is le18 gally required to place children in the least restric19 tive setting that is in the best interest of the child. 

20 (9) Services offered at facilities funded by the 

21 Office of Refugee Resettlement are required to in22 clude classroom education, mental and medical 

23 health services, case management, socialization and 

24 recreation activities, and family reunification serv25 ices that facilitate the safe and timely release of unVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2217.IH H2217

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1 accompanied alien children to family members or 

2 other sponsors that can care for them. 

3 (10) Providing legal and case management serv4 ices to all children while they are housed in a facility 

5 funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement and 

6 after their release from such a facility is a cost-effec7 tive and humane way of ensuring that the Office of 

8 Refugee Resettlement meets its statutory obligation 

9 to place children in least restrictive settings. 

10 SEC. 3. USE OF SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION. 

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

12 Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthoriza13 tion Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(c)(3)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘In mak15 ing such a determination, the Secretary may not 

16 consider the immigration status of the proposed cus17 todian.’’ after ‘‘well-being.’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(D) PROHIBITING USE OF CERTAIN IN20 FORMATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Se21 curity may not use information provided by an 

22 unaccompanied alien child or information ini23 tially obtained by the Secretary of Health and 

24 Human Services to make a suitability deter25 mination under subparagraph (A), a home 


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1 study determination under subparagraph (B), 

2 or a secure facility determination under para3 graph (2)(A) for the purpose of apprehending, 

4 detaining, or removing from the United 

5 States— 

6 ‘‘(i) the unaccompanied alien child; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the proposed custodian or cur8 rent custodian; 

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

10 the proposed custodian or current custo11 dian resides; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the proposed sponsor or current 

13 sponsor; or 

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

15 the proposed sponsor or current sponsor 

16 resides.’’. 

17 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

18 (1) FLORES SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The 

19 amendments made by subsection (a) may not be con20 strued to supersede the terms of the stipulated set21 tlement agreement filed on January 17, 1997, in the 

22 United States District Court for the Central District 

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

24 (commonly known as the ‘‘Flores settlement agree25 ment’’). 


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1 (2) CHILD WELFARE.—The amendments made 

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

3 the Secretary of Homeland Security from using in4 formation obtained by the Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services to investigate or report to the ap6 propriate law enforcement agency or child welfare 

7 agency instances of trafficking, abuse, or neglect. 

8 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR ENFORCE9 MENT, DETENTION, AND REMOVAL OPER10 ATIONS. 

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

12 and Customs Enforcement for any enforcement, detention, 

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

14 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reau15 thorization Act of 2008, as amended by section 3(a). 

16 SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS EN17 FORCEMENT FUNDING. 

18 Of the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2019 to 

19 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for enforce20 ment and removal operations— 

21 (1) $30,000,000 shall be transferred to the Of22 fice of Inspector General of the Department of 

23 Homeland Security to investigate child separation 

24 and inspect detention facilities overseen by U.S. Im25 migration and Customs Enforcement; 


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1 (2) $180,000,000 shall be transferred to the 

2 Office of Refugee Resettlement to provide the post3 release legal, case management, and child advocate 

4 services described in section 6; and 

5 (3) $10,000,000 shall be transferred to the Ad6 ministration for Children and Families to bolster the 

7 efforts of the Task Force to Prevent and End 

8 Human Trafficking. 

9 SEC. 6. ENSURING THE SAFETY OF UNACCOMPANIED 

10 ALIEN CHILDREN. 

11 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘post12 release case management services’’ means services that— 

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

14 by a nonprofit entity, who meets with the child indi15 vidually and with the family to develop an individ16 ualized service plan; and 

17 (2) allow children to successfully transition into 

18 their communities by— 

19 (A) assisting with school enrollment and 

20 acculturation; 

21 (B) locating medical and therapeutic serv22 ices; 

23 (C) making referrals to area legal services; 

24 and 


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1 (D) navigating new family settings and 

2 other individual needs. 

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

4 Resettlement shall— 

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

6 children upon release or as the need arises for the 

7 duration of their immigration proceedings; and 

8 (2) facilitate efforts to connect every unaccom9 panied child, including each child with a sponsor, 

10 with legal representation for his or her immigration 

11 proceedings. 

12 (c) THE OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AD13 VISORY COMMITTEE ON SHELTERS FOR UNACCOMPANIED

14 ALIEN CHILDREN.— 

15 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health 

16 and Human Services, in compliance with the Federal 

17 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), shall im18 mediately establish the Advisory Committee on Shel19 ters for Unaccompanied Alien Children (referred to 

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

21 advise the Office of Refugee Resettlement on mat22 ters regarding shelters and placements for unaccom23 panied alien children relating to education, immigra24 tion law, physical and mental health, trauma-inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:38 Apr 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2217.IH H2217

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1 formed social work services, youth shelter manage2 ment, and immigration detention reform. 

3 (2) COMPOSITION AND TERM.— 

4 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall 

5 appoint 14 individuals to serve on the Advisory 

6 Committee for 2-year terms. 

7 (B) PREREQUISITES.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each member of 

9 the Advisory Committee shall be employed 

10 by a nonprofit entity in the field of— 

11 (I) education; 

12 (II) immigration law; 

13 (III) physical and mental health 

14 of children and youth; 

15 (IV) trauma-informed child wel16 fare social work services; 

17 (V) youth shelter management; 

18 (VI) cultural competency; or 

19 (VII) immigration detention re20 form. 

21 (ii) REPRESENTATION.—At least 2 

22 members of the Advisory Committee shall 

23 represent each of the fields set forth in 

24 clause (i). 

25 (3) INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (A) INSPECTIONS.—Members of the Advi2 sory Committee may conduct unannounced in3 spections of all shelters contracted with the Of4 fice of Refugee Resettlement to hold unaccom5 panied alien children. 

6 (B) INFORMATION SHARING.—The Office 

7 of Refugee Resettlement shall provide the Advi8 sory Committee with access to such materials 

9 as may be necessary to effectively advocate for 

10 the best interest of children in the custody of 

11 the Office of Refugee Resettlement, subject to 

12 applicable statutes and regulations. 

13 (4) CONSULTATIONS.—The Advisory Committee 

14 shall consult with, and receive recommendations 

15 from— 

16 (A) the American Medical Association; 

17 (B) the American Academy of Pediatrics; 

18 (C) the National Association of Social 

19 Workers; 

20 (D) the American Bar Association Center 

21 on Children and the Law; 

22 (E) the American Immigration Lawyers 

23 Association; and 

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

25 experts. 


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1 (5) REPORTS.— 

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

3 months after the establishment of the Advisory 

4 Committee under paragraph (1), the Advisory 

5 Committee shall release to the public an interim 

6 report outlining the Advisory Committee’s in7 vestigations and recommendations regarding 

8 Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters for un9 accompanied alien children and submit such re10 port to— 

11 (i) the Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services; 

13 (ii) the Committee on Health, Edu14 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

15 (iii) the Committee on Homeland Se16 curity and Governmental Affairs of the 

17 Senate; 

18 (iv) the Committee on the Judiciary of 

19 the Senate; 

20 (v) the Committee on Energy and 

21 Commerce of the House of Representa22 tives; 

23 (vi) the Committee on Oversight and 

24 Reform of the House of Representatives; 

25 and 


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1 (vii) the Committee on the Judiciary 

2 of the House of Representatives. 

3 (B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 

4 year after the establishment of the Advisory 

5 Committee under paragraph (1), the Advisory 

6 Committee shall release to the public, and sub7 mit to the recipients of the interim report under 

8 subparagraph (A), a final report that outlines 

9 the Advisory Committee’s investigations and 

10 recommendations regarding Office of Refugee 

11 Resettlement shelters for unaccompanied alien 

12 children. 

13 (6) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this sub14 section may be construed to preempt any Federal 

15 agency from investigating allegations of mistreat16 ment and abuse of unaccompanied alien children in 

17 facilities overseen by the Department of Health and 

18 Human Services. 

Æ 


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