I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3729 

To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable unaccompanied alien 

children, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 11, 2019 

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, Appropriations, and Foreign Affairs, 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 provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable 

unaccompanied alien children, 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 ‘‘Child Trafficking Vic5 tims Protection and Welfare Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPREHENDED PARENT OR LEGAL GUARD2 IAN.—The term ‘‘apprehended parent or legal 

3 guardian’’ means an individual who is— 

4 (A) the parent or legal guardian of a child; 

5 and 

6 (B) apprehended by the Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security or the personnel of a co8 operating entity. 

9 (2) BORDER.—The term ‘‘border’’ means an 

10 international border of the United States. 

11 (3) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi12 vidual who— 

13 (A) has not reached the age of 18 years; 

14 and 

15 (B) has no permanent immigration status 

16 in the United States. 

17 (4) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONAL.—The 

18 term ‘‘child welfare professional’’ means an indi19 vidual who— 

20 (A) is licensed in social work by the State 

21 welfare agency, and, if applicable, country wel22 fare agency, of the State and county in which 

23 is located the port of entry or Border Patrol 

24 station at which such individual is available 

25 pursuant to section 3; 


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1 (B) has direct experience working with 

2 children; and 

3 (C) is proficient in 1 or more of the most 

4 common languages spoken by children appre5 hended at the border concerned. 

6 (5) COOPERATING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘cooper7 ating entity’’ means a State or local entity acting 

8 pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security. 

10 (6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

11 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

12 (7) EXPERT IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT.—The 

13 term ‘‘expert in child development’’ means an indi14 vidual who has significant education and expertise 

15 on infant, child, and adolescent development, and on 

16 the effects of trauma on children. 

17 (8) EXPERT IN CHILD WELFARE.—The term 

18 ‘‘expert in child welfare’’ means an individual who 

19 has— 

20 (A) knowledge of Federal and State child 

21 welfare laws and standards; and 

22 (B) not less than fifteen years of experi23 ence in the field of child and adolescent devel24 opment or child welfare. 


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1 (9) EXPERT IN PEDIATRIC MEDICINE.—The 

2 term ‘‘expert in pediatric medicine’’ means— 

3 (A) an individual qualified to practice pedi4 atric medicine in 1 or more States; or 

5 (B) an individual with an advanced degree 

6 in pediatric medicine on the faculty of an insti7 tution of higher education in the United States. 

8 (10) MIGRATION DETERRENCE PROGRAM.—The 

9 term ‘‘migration deterrence program’’ means an ac10 tion relating to the repatriation or referral for pros11 ecution of 1 or more individuals apprehended by the 

12 Secretary of Homeland Security or a cooperating en13 tity for a suspected or confirmed violation of the Im14 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

15 seq.). 

16 (11) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILD.—The 

17 term ‘‘unaccompanied alien child’’ has the meaning 

18 given the term in section 462(g) of the Homeland 

19 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)). 

20 SEC. 3. CHILD WELFARE AT THE BORDER. 

21 (a) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

23 Human Services, experts in child development, experts in 

24 child welfare, experts in pediatric medicine, and the Amer25 ican Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, 


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1 shall develop guidelines for the treatment of children in 

2 the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection by 

3 all personnel who come into contact with such children in 

4 the relevant legal authorities, policies, practices, and pro5 cedures pertaining to this vulnerable population. 

6 (b) MANDATORY TRAINING.—The Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

8 Health and Human Services, shall— 

9 (1) require all U.S. Customs and Border Pro10 tection personnel, and cooperating entity personnel, 

11 who have contact with a child at a port of entry or 

12 Border Patrol station to undergo appropriate train13 ing, which shall include live training, on the applica14 ble legal authorities, policies, practices, and proce15 dures relating to children; and 

16 (2) require U.S. Customs and Border personnel 

17 to undertake periodic and continuing training on 

18 best practices and changes in relevant legal authori19 ties, policies, and procedures applicable in connection 

20 with subsection (a) and paragraph (1). 

21 (c) QUALIFIED RESOURCES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with sub23 section (d), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

24 shall provide resources and staff, including child wel25 fare professionals, who are adequately trained and 


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1 qualified to address the needs of children at each 

2 port of entry and Border Patrol station. 

3 (2) SUFFICIENT STAFFING.—The Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security shall ensure that sufficient quali5 fied child welfare professionals and qualified experts 

6 in pediatric medicine are available at each port of 

7 entry and Border Patrol station to accomplish the 

8 duties described in this section without prolonging 

9 the time children and apprehended parents and legal 

10 guardians remain in the custody of U.S. Customs 

11 and Border Protection. 

12 (3) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONALS.—The 

13 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

14 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

15 shall hire, or seek to enter into contracts with, inde16 pendent child welfare professionals in order to do 

17 the following: 

18 (A) To provide child welfare expertise on19 site on a full-time basis at any port of entry or 

20 Border Patrol station that has had not fewer 

21 than 25 children in custody— 

22 (i) on any day during the preceding 

23 fiscal year; or 


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1 (ii) during the current fiscal year, 

2 based on a review of monthly statistical re3 ports during the current fiscal year. 

4 (B) To provide child welfare expertise by 

5 telephone on an on-call basis to U.S. Customs 

6 and Border Protection staff in any port of 

7 entry or Border Patrol station that is not de8 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

9 (C) With respect to a port of entry or Bor10 der Patrol station that is described in subpara11 graph (A) but is without on-site expertise as re12 quired by such subparagraph during a period of 

13 not more than 90 days in which the Secretary 

14 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

15 Secretary of Health and Human Services, is in 

16 the process of hiring or seeking to enter into a 

17 contract with an onsite independent child wel18 fare professional, to provide child welfare exper19 tise by telephone on an on-call basis to U.S. 

20 Customs and Border Protection staff. 

21 (d) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONALS AND EXPERTS

22 IN PEDIATRIC MEDICINE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

24 Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

25 Health and Human Services, shall ensure that 1 or 


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1 more qualified child welfare professionals with exper2 tise in culturally competent, trauma-centered, and 

3 developmentally appropriate interviewing skills and 1 

4 or more qualified experts in pediatric medicine is 

5 available at each port of entry and Border Patrol 

6 station. 

7 (2) MEDICAL ASSESSMENTS.—Any medical as8 sessment of a child in the custody of U.S. Customs 

9 and Border Protection shall be done in consultation 

10 with an expert in pediatric medicine described in 

11 paragraph (1). 

12 (3) INTERPRETER REQUIRED.—In a case in 

13 which a child welfare professional or an expert in pe14 diatric medicine at a port of entry or Border Patrol 

15 station does not speak the language of a child in 

16 custody at such port of entry or station, the Sec17 retary of Homeland Security shall provide an inter18 preter. 

19 (4) DUTIES.—Child welfare professionals de20 scribed in paragraph (1) shall— 

21 (A) ensure that— 

22 (i) any allegation of abuse or mis23 treatment of a child in the custody of U.S. 

24 Customs and Border Protection is referred 


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1 to the appropriate Federal and State au2 thorities; and 

3 (ii) the Commissioner of U.S. Cus4 toms and Border Protection and the Direc5 tor of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

6 comply with applicable child abuse report7 ing laws, including by— 

8 (I) ensuring that children in such 

9 custody have access to applicable com10 plaint mechanisms to report abuse or 

11 misconduct; 

12 (II) reporting any allegation of 

13 abuse or mistreatment to— 

14 (aa) the applicable Federal 

15 and State authorities; 

16 (bb) the Office of Inspector 

17 General of the Department; 

18 (cc) the Office for Civil 

19 Rights and Civil Liberties of the 

20 Department; 

21 (dd) the Internal Affairs Of22 fice of U.S. Customs and Border 

23 Protection; and 

24 (ee) the Office of Refugee 

25 Resettlement; 


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1 (III) providing notice to federally 

2 subcontracted legal service providers 

3 in the applicable geographical area 

4 with respect to any child in such cus5 tody who has made an allegation of 

6 abuse or mistreatment; and 

7 (IV) directing the legal service 

8 providers described in subclause (III) 

9 to relevant information relating to the 

10 availability of immigration and admin11 istrative relief for individuals with 

12 pending civil rights complaints; 

13 (B) conduct screening of each child in such 

14 custody in accordance with section 235(a)(4) of 

15 the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 

16 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 

17 U.S.C. 1232(a)(4)); 

18 (C) with respect to a child who may meet 

19 the notification and transfer requirements 

20 under subsections (a) and (b) of section 235 of 

21 the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 

22 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 

23 U.S.C. 1232), including a child for whom a de24 termination cannot be made, notify the Sec25 retary of Homeland Security and the Director 


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1 of the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the 

2 presence of such child at the port of entry or 

3 Border Patrol station; 

4 (D) provide to the Director of U.S. Immi5 gration and Customs Enforcement a best inter6 est placement recommendation for each accom7 panied child and family that— 

8 (i) considers— 

9 (I) the best interests of the child; 

10 and 

11 (II) applicable law; and 

12 (ii) favors a policy of release; 

13 (E) interview any adult relative accom14 panying a child, including siblings, grand15 parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; 

16 (F) for each unaccompanied alien child in 

17 such custody, provide to the Director of the Of18 fice of Refugee Resettlement— 

19 (i) an initial family relationship and 

20 trafficking assessment, which shall be con21 ducted in accordance with the timeframe 

22 under subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3) of sec23 tion 235 of the William Wilberforce Traf24 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 

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


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1 (ii) recommendations for the initial 

2 placement of the child; 

3 (G) pursuant to procedures developed by 

4 the Secretary of Homeland Security, maintain 

5 the best interests of children in any migration 

6 deterrence program for family units carried out 

7 at a border, including by— 

8 (i) inquiring whether a child is trav9 eling with a parent, sibling, legal guardian, 

10 or another family member, including a 

11 grandparent, aunt, uncle, or cousin; 

12 (ii) ascertaining whether the detention 

13 or removal from the United States of an 

14 apprehended parent or legal guardian of a 

15 child presents a humanitarian concern or a 

16 concern relating to the physical safety of 

17 the apprehended parent or legal guardian; 

18 (iii) in the case of a family separation, 

19 ensuring that— 

20 (I) each member of the family is 

21 provided with a telephone number for 

22 each other member of the family; 

23 (II) the apprehended parent or 

24 legal guardian is afforded the oppor25 tunity to speak with the child of the 


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1 apprehended parent or legal guardian 

2 not fewer than 3 times weekly, includ3 ing not fewer than 1 video conference; 

4 (III) for each child of the appre5 hended parent or legal guardian, the 

6 apprehended parent or legal guard7 ian— 

8 (aa) knows— 

9 (AA) the location of the 

10 child; and 

11 (BB) the date and loca12 tion of each scheduled immi13 gration court proceeding of 

14 the child; and 

15 (bb) is provided with up16 dated information if the location 

17 of the child or a scheduled immi18 gration court proceeding of the 

19 child changes; 

20 (IV) the location and contact in21 formation for the apprehended parent 

22 or legal guardian is maintained on 

23 file; 

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1 hended parent or legal guardian prior 

2 to separation; and 

3 (VI) with respect to the health of 

4 the child, the apprehended parent or 

5 legal guardian— 

6 (aa) can communicate 

7 known medical illness and med8 ical history to Department of 

9 Homeland Security staff prior to 

10 separation; and 

11 (bb) is made aware of med12 ical treatment administered to 

13 the child while in the care of the 

14 Office of Refugee resettlement, 

15 including the use of psychotropic 

16 drugs; and 

17 (iv) ensuring that, with respect to a 

18 decision relating to the removal from the 

19 United States or referral for prosecution of 

20 an apprehended parent or legal guardian— 

21 (I) consideration is given to— 

22 (aa) the best interests of the 

23 child of the apprehended parent 

24 or legal guardian; 


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1 (bb) family unity, to the 

2 maximum extent possible; and 

3 (cc) any other public interest 

4 factor, including a humanitarian 

5 concern and a concern relating to 

6 the physical safety of the appre7 hended parent or legal guardian; 

8 and 

9 (II) the apprehended parent or 

10 legal guardian and the child have ac11 cess to legal counsel; and 

12 (H) coordinate with the Consulate of Mex13 ico to ensure the safe repatriation of any child 

14 who is a citizen of Mexico. 

15 (5) PRESERVATION OF CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

16 Each child welfare professional shall maintain the 

17 privacy and confidentiality of all information gath18 ered in the course of providing care, custody, place19 ment, and follow-up services to a child pursuant to 

20 this subsection, consistent with the best interest of 

21 the child, by not disclosing such information to other 

22 Federal agencies or nonparental third parties unless 

23 such disclosure— 

24 (A) is in the best interest of the child; 

25 (B) is in writing; 


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1 (C) includes an explanation of the jus2 tification for the disclosure; 

3 (D) is included in the file of the child; and 

4 (E) is either— 

5 (i) authorized by the child or an ap6 proved sponsor of the child, in accordance 

7 with section 235 of the William Wilber8 force Trafficking Victims Protection Reau9 thorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) 

10 and the Health Insurance Portability and 

11 Accountability Act (Public Law 104–191; 

12 110 Stat. 1936); or 

13 (ii) provided to a duly recognized law 

14 enforcement entity to prevent imminent 

15 and serious harm to another individual. 

16 (e) PROHIBITION ON SEPARATION.—The Secretary of 

17 Homeland Security may not remove a child from a parent 

18 or legal guardian solely for a purpose as follows: 

19 (1) The purpose of furthering the policy objec20 tive of deterring individuals from migrating to the 

21 United States. 

22 (2) The purpose of furthering the policy objec23 tive of promoting compliance with the immigration 

24 laws. 

25 (f) FAMILY UNIT TRACKING NUMBER.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

2 Security shall assign a family unit tracking number 

3 to each member of an apprehended family unit, in4 cluding— 

5 (A) an apprehended spouse; 

6 (B) an apprehended parent or legal guard7 ian; 

8 (C) a child of an apprehended parent or 

9 legal guardian; and 

10 (D) a sibling group. 

11 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of Home12 land Security shall ensure that a family unit track13 ing number— 

14 (A) is transferrable; 

15 (B) may be shared easily among the data 

16 systems of— 

17 (i) U.S. Customs and Border Protec18 tion; 

19 (ii) U.S. Immigration and Customs 

20 Enforcement; and 

21 (iii) the Office of Refugee Resettle22 ment; and 

23 (C) is included on the paperwork of each 

24 member of an apprehended family unit and is 

25 not deleted or altered. 


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1 (g) MONITORING.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu2 rity shall— 

3 (1) allow nongovernmental organizations and 

4 State and local child welfare agencies in the jurisdic5 tion in which an apprehended child is located to con6 duct at least 1 unannounced, independent inspection 

7 each month of any Department facility that houses 

8 1 or more children; and 

9 (2) in consultation with 1 or more child welfare 

10 professionals and 1 or more experts in pediatric 

11 medicine, develop procedures to provide nongovern12 mental organizations regular, full access to any facil13 ity in which 1 or more children is housed for the 

14 purpose of human rights monitoring. 

15 (h) REPORT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 

18 fiscal quarter thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland 

19 Security shall submit to the Committee on the Judi20 ciary, the Committee on Homeland Security and 

21 Governmental Affairs, and the Committee on 

22 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Sen23 ate and the Committee on the Judiciary, the Com24 mittee on Oversight and Reform, and the Committee 

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1 atives a report that, for the preceding fiscal quar2 ter— 

3 (A) describes the procedures used by child 

4 welfare professionals under this section to 

5 screen unaccompanied alien children and chil6 dren accompanied by a parent or legal guard7 ian; 

8 (B) assesses the effectiveness of such 

9 screenings; 

10 (C) includes data on all children screened 

11 by child welfare professionals under this sec12 tion, including— 

13 (i) the number and location of chil14 dren in the physical custody of the Depart15 ment; 

16 (ii) the number of children transferred 

17 to the custody of the Secretary of Health 

18 and Human Services; 

19 (iii) the number of children appre20 hended together with a parent or legal 

21 guardian; 

22 (iv) the number of children separated 

23 from a parent or legal guardian by the De24 partment and the reason for such separa25 tion; and 


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1 (v) the number of children removed 

2 from the United States and the countries 

3 of nationality of such children; and 

4 (D) includes documentation of— 

5 (i) compliance with the guidelines de6 veloped pursuant to this section; 

7 (ii) instances of noncompliance with 

8 such guidelines; and 

9 (iii) actions taken to correct non10 compliance with such guidelines. 

11 (2) LIMITATION.—The data under paragraph 

12 (1)(C) shall not include the personally identifiable 

13 information of any child. 

14 (i) IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION.—To effectively and 

15 efficiently coordinate the transfer and placement of a child 

16 with the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall notify the Direc18 tor of the Office of Refugee Resettlement with respect to 

19 a child in the custody of the Secretary as soon as prac20 ticable, but not later than 48 hours after the time at which 

21 the Secretary encounters the child. 

22 (j) STANDARDS OF CARE FOR SHORT-TERM CUS23 TODY OF CHILDREN.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

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1 retary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

2 the head of the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Lib3 erties of the Department, shall promulgate regula4 tions establishing basic standards of care for the 

5 short-term custody of children by U.S. Customs and 

6 Border Protection. 

7 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations promul8 gated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall ensure that 

9 all children in the custody of U.S. Customs and Bor10 der Protection, while in such custody— 

11 (A) receive emergency medical care when 

12 necessary; 

13 (B) receive emergency medical and mental 

14 health care in compliance with section 8(c) of 

15 the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (42 

16 U.S.C. 15607(c)), as necessary, including in 

17 any case in which a child is at risk of harming 

18 himself or herself or others; 

19 (C) are provided— 

20 (i) continual access to potable water; 

21 (ii) a climate-appropriate environ22 ment; 

23 (iii) climate-appropriate clothing and 

24 shoes; 


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1 (iv) access to bathroom facilities and 

2 hygiene items, including soap, feminine hy3 giene products, toothpaste, toothbrushes 

4 and towels, and, in the case of any child in 

5 such custody for more than 24 hours, 

6 showers; 

7 (v) a pillow, linens, and sufficient 

8 blankets to rest at a comfortable tempera9 ture; 

10 (vi) in the case of any child in such 

11 custody for more than 12 hours, access to 

12 a bed and adequate bedding; and 

13 (vii) a location to sleep with lights 

14 dimmed; 

15 (D) both— 

16 (i) are offered food at the time at 

17 which the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

18 and Border Protection obtains custody of 

19 the child; and 

20 (ii) receive adequate nutrition, includ21 ing not fewer than 3 daily meals that in22 clude fruits or vegetables; 

23 (E) have a safe and sanitary living envi24 ronment; 


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1 (F) in the case of any child in such cus2 tody for more than 24 hours, have access to 

3 daily recreational programs and activities, in4 cluding access to recreational time outdoors; 

5 (G) have regular access to legal services 

6 and consular officials in person and tele7 phonically; and 

8 (H) are permitted to make supervised 

9 video conference calls, if available, and super10 vised phone calls to family members. 

11 (k) ENSURING CHILDREN HAVE ACCESS TO LEGAL

12 RIGHTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security shall ensure that each child, on apprehen15 sion, is provided— 

16 (A) an interview and screening with a child 

17 welfare professional as described in subsection 

18 (d); and 

19 (B) a video orientation and oral and writ20 ten notice, in a language understood by the 

21 child, of the rights of the child under the Immi22 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

23 seq.), including— 

24 (i) the right to relief from removal; 

25 (ii) the right to— 


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1 (I) confer with counsel under sec2 tion 292 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1362); 

3 and 

4 (II) have access to family or 

5 friends while in the temporary custody 

6 of the Department; and 

7 (iii) the applicable complaint mecha8 nism to report any abuse, mistreatment, or 

9 misconduct. 

10 (2) LANGUAGES.—The Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security shall ensure that, at each location at which 

12 1 or more children are held in custody, the video ori13 entation described in paragraph (1)(B) is available 

14 in English and the 5 most common native languages 

15 spoken by children held in custody at that location 

16 during the preceding fiscal year. 

17 (3) ACCESS TO LEGAL COUNSEL.—The Sec18 retary of Homeland Security shall ensure that each 

19 apprehended parent or legal guardian and each child 

20 is provided access to 1 or more nongovernmental or21 ganizations that provide legal assistance. 

22 (l) CHILD PROTECTION POLICIES.—With respect to 

23 children, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall adopt 

24 fundamental child protection policies and procedures— 


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1 (1) to make reliable age determinations, devel2 oped in consultation with experts in the physio3 logical, cognitive, and emotional development of chil4 dren and experts in pediatric medicine, which shall 

5 exclude the use of fallible forensic testing of the 

6 bones and teeth of children; 

7 (2) to utilize all legal authorities to defer the 

8 child’s removal from the United States of a child 

9 who faces a risk of life-threatening harm on return, 

10 including harm due to the mental health or medical 

11 condition of the child; and 

12 (3) to ensure, in accordance with the Juvenile 

13 Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 

14 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.), that a child in custody of the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security is separated phys16 ically, and by sight and sound, from any— 

17 (A) immigration detainee or inmate with a 

18 criminal conviction; 

19 (B) pretrial inmate facing criminal pros20 ecution; and 

21 (C) inmate exhibiting violent behavior. 

22 (m) PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.—The Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security shall preserve all records associated 

24 with children in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border 

25 Protection, including records as follows: 


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1 (1) Records containing information on the iden2 tity of any child, and, if accompanied by any family 

3 member, on the identity of such family member. 

4 (2) Records associated with reported incidents 

5 of abuse of children while in custody. 

6 (n) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.— 

7 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Home8 land Security, in accordance with a written agree9 ment between the Secretary of Homeland Security 

10 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to 

11 the extent and in such amounts as are provided in 

12 advance in appropriations Acts, shall transfer from 

13 amounts appropriated for U.S. Customs and Border 

14 Protection to the Department of Health and Human 

15 Services such amounts as may be necessary to carry 

16 out the duties described in subsections (c) and 

17 (d)(3). 

18 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 15 days before 

19 the date of any proposed transfer under paragraph 

20 (1), the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in 

21 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity, shall submit to the Committee on Appropria23 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Appro24 priations of the House of Representatives a detailed 

25 expenditure plan that describes the actions proposed 


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1 to be taken with the amounts transferred under such 

2 paragraph. 

3 (o) REPATRIATION AND REINTEGRATION PRO4 GRAM.— 

5 (1) REPATRIATION AND REINTEGRATION.—The 

6 Administrator of the Agency for International Devel7 opment, in consultation with the Secretary of Home8 land Security, the Secretary of Health and Human 

9 Services, the Attorney General, international organi10 zations, and nongovernmental organizations in the 

11 United States with expertise in repatriation and re12 integration and children, shall establish policies, pro13 cedures, and programs in the United States and the 

14 country of nationality or last habitual residence of 

15 unaccompanied alien children to support the safe 

16 and sustainable repatriation and reintegration of un17 accompanied alien children into such country, in18 cluding placement with the families, legal guardians, 

19 or other sponsoring agencies of such children. 

20 (2) SCOPE.—The process described in para21 graph (2) shall include— 

22 (A) an opportunity for the child to consult 

23 with an attorney or legal representative, to pur24 sue all potential claims for relief available, and 


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1 to seek all available avenues of appeal prior to 

2 seeking repatriation; 

3 (B) a process for identifying the needs of 

4 a child, including the expressed needs of a 

5 child, prior to the child’s repatriation, which 

6 needs shall be addressed by each agency that 

7 maintains custody of the child; 

8 (C) the creation of partnerships with com9 munity-based organizations that are linguis10 tically and culturally competent; 

11 (D) inclusion of the family unit in the 

12 process to help the child reintegrate; 

13 (E) consultation with child welfare advo14 cates and caseworkers throughout the child’s 

15 return to the child’s country of nationality or of 

16 last habitual residence; 

17 (F) coordination between the caseworkers 

18 and child protection agency authorities of the 

19 Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Depart20 ment of Health and Human Services in the 

21 country of origin to ensure communication 

22 about medical, mental health, and other special 

23 needs at the time of return to the child’s coun24 try of nationality or of last habitual residence; 


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1 (G) the provision of a wide variety of serv2 ices that support the child’s development in the 

3 location where the child is repatriated, including 

4 access to school, scholarships, and vocational 

5 and skills training and apprenticeship opportu6 nities, community programs, and mental and 

7 physical health services; 

8 (H) procedures that outline safe repatri9 ation to ensure children are not returned under 

10 harmful or unsafe circumstances such as during 

11 nighttime hours or at times or locations of sig12 nificant unrest; 

13 (I) procedures for when discretion should 

14 be exercised by officials maintaining custody of 

15 a child when it is not in the child’s best interest 

16 to be returned to the child’s country of nation17 ality or of last habitual residence; 

18 (J) special considerations to address the 

19 particular needs of returning girls, child sur20 vivors of sexual and gender-based violence, ten21 der-aged children, or other vulnerable children; 

22 (K) consultation with the Office of Refugee 

23 Resettlement of the Department of Health and 

24 Human Services to ensure staff, children, and 

25 parents are notified of the child’s departure 


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1 from the United States at least 5 days prior to 

2 the departure date; 

3 (L) procedures to assist parents with the 

4 cost and logistics of travel to reception centers 

5 to reunify with children; and 

6 (M) sufficient consultation with consular 

7 offices prior to the child’s departure. 

8 (3) REPORT ON REPATRIATION AND RE9 INTEGRATION OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL10 DREN.—Not later than 18 months after the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

12 the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health 

13 and Human Services, in consultation with the Sec14 retary of Homeland Security, shall submit to the 

15 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

16 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep17 resentatives annual reports on efforts to improve re18 patriation programs for unaccompanied alien chil19 dren. 

20 (4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

21 Congress that— 

22 (A) the guidelines established pursuant to 

23 this section should not be used to deport or re24 patriate children who otherwise qualify for pro25 tection in the United States, including those 


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1 who qualify for special immigrant juvenile sta2 tus; 

3 (B) children should have an opportunity to 

4 consult with an attorney and should have access 

5 to all potential avenues for relief and for appeal 

6 prior to repatriation; 

7 (C) the guidelines established pursuant to 

8 this section are not used to support a migrant 

9 deterrence program; 

10 (D) officials from the Department of 

11 Homeland Security, Department of Health and 

12 Human Services, and Department of Justice 

13 should not use the guidelines established pursu14 ant to this section to coerce migrant children 

15 into repatriation; and 

16 (E) under the William Wilberforce Traf17 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 

18 of 2008, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

19 should consult the Country Reports on Human 

20 Rights Practices and the Trafficking in Persons 

21 Report of the Department of State in assessing 

22 whether to repatriate an unaccompanied child 

23 to a particular country. 


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1 SEC. 4. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) FEDERAL LAW.—Nothing in this Act may be con3 strued to supersede or modify— 

4 (1) the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 

5 Protection Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232 et seq.); 

6 (2) the Stipulated Settlement Agreement filed 

7 in the United States District Court for the Central 

8 District of California on January 17, 1997 (CV 85– 

9 4544–RJK) (commonly known as the ‘‘Flores Settle10 ment Agreement’’); 

11 (3) the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

12 U.S.C. 101 et seq.); or 

13 (4) any applicable Federal child welfare law, in14 cluding the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 

15 (Public Law 105–89). 

16 (b) STATE LAW.—Nothing in this Act may be con17 strued to supersede or modify any applicable State child 

18 welfare laws. 

Æ 


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