II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1445 

To provide a coordinated regional response to manage effectively the endemic 

violence and humanitarian crisis in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2019 

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Mr. LEAHY, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. CARPER, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. 

SMITH, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. BENNET, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. REED, Ms. WARREN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. 

CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HASSAN, 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. UDALL, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Mr. WARNER, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. HEINRICH, and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide a coordinated regional response to manage effectively the endemic violence and humanitarian crisis in 

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Central America Reform and Enforcement Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

TITLE I—ADVANCING REFORMS IN CENTRAL AMERICA TO 

ADDRESS THE FACTORS DRIVING MIGRATION 

Subtitle A—Strengthening the Capacity of Central American Governments To 

Protect and Provide for Their Own People 

Sec. 111. United States Strategy for Engagement in Central America. 

Sec. 112. Authorization of appropriations for United States Strategy for Engagement in Central America. 

Sec. 113. Strengthening the rule of law and combating corruption. 

Sec. 114. Combating criminal violence and improving citizen security. 

Sec. 115. Tackling extreme poverty and advancing economic development. 

Subtitle B—Conditions, Limitations, and Certifications on United States 

Assistance 

Sec. 121. Assistance funding available without condition. 

Sec. 122. Conditions on assistance related to combating, smuggling, and providing for screening and safety of migrants. 

Sec. 123. Conditions on assistance related to progress on specific issues. 

Sec. 124. Additional limitations. 

Sec. 125. Restrictions on reprogramming. 

Subtitle C—Effectively Coordinating United States Engagement in Central 

America 

Sec. 131. United States Coordinator for Engagement in Central America. 

Subtitle D—United States Leadership for Engaging International Donors and 

Partners 

Sec. 141. Requirement for strategy to secure support of international donors 

and partners. 

TITLE II—CRACKING DOWN ON CRIMINAL GANGS, CARTELS, AND 

COMPLICIT OFFICIALS 

Subtitle A—Strengthening Cooperation Among Law Enforcement Agencies To 

Target Smugglers and Traffickers 

Sec. 211. Enhanced international cooperation to combat human smuggling and 

trafficking. 

Sec. 212. Enhanced investigation and prosecution of human smuggling and 

trafficking. 

Sec. 213. Information campaign on dangers of irregular migration. 

Subtitle B—Strengthening the Ability of the United States Government To 

Crack Down on Smugglers, Traffickers, and Drug Cartels 


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Sec. 221. Enhanced penalties for organized smuggling schemes. 

Sec. 222. Expanding financial sanctions on narcotics trafficking and money 

laundering. 

Sec. 223. Support for FBI transnational anti-gang task forces for countering 

criminal gangs. 

Sec. 224. Sense of Congress regarding the expansion of targeted sanctions related to corruption and human rights abuses. 

Subtitle C—Creating New Penalties for Hindering Immigration, Border, and 

Customs Controls 

Sec. 231. Hindering immigration, border, and customs controls. 

TITLE III—MINIMIZING BORDER CROSSINGS BY EXPANDING 

PROCESSING OF REFUGEE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN-COUNTRY AND IN THE REGION AND BY STRENGTHENING REPATRIATION INITIATIVES 

Subtitle A—Providing Alternative Safe Havens in Mexico and the Region 

Sec. 311. Strengthening internal asylum systems in Mexico and other countries. 

Subtitle B—Expanding Refugee Processing in Mexico and Central America 

for Third Country Resettlement 

Sec. 321. Expanding refugee processing in Mexico and Central America for 

third country resettlement. 

Subtitle C—Establishing Legal Channels to the United States 

Sec. 331. Program to adjust the status of certain vulnerable refugees from Central America. 

TITLE IV—MONITORING AND SUPPORTING UNACCOMPANIED 

ALIEN CHILDREN AFTER PROCESSING AT THE BORDER 

Sec. 401. Definitions; authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 402. Family reunification. 

Sec. 403. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle A—Strengthening the Government’s Ability To Oversee the Safety 

and Well-being of Children and Support Children Forcibly Separated From 

Their Families 

Sec. 411. Health care in shelters for unaccompanied alien children. 

Sec. 412. Services to unaccompanied alien children after placement. 

Sec. 413. Background checks to ensure the safe placement of unaccompanied 

alien children. 

Sec. 414. Responsibility of sponsor for immigration court compliance and child 

well-being. 

Sec. 415. Monitoring unaccompanied alien children. 

Subtitle B—Funding to States and School Districts; Supporting Education 

and Safety 

Sec. 421. Funding to States to conduct State criminal checks and child abuse 

and neglect checks. 

Sec. 422. Unaccompanied alien children in schools. 


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TITLE V—ENSURING ORDERLY AND HUMANE MANAGEMENT OF 

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SEEKING PROTECTION 

Subtitle A—Providing a Fair and Efficient Legal Process for Children and 

Vulnerable Families Seeking Asylum 

Sec. 511. Court appearance compliance and legal orientation. 

Sec. 512. Fair day in court for kids. 

Sec. 513. Access to counsel and legal orientation at detention facilities. 

Sec. 514. Report on access to counsel. 

Sec. 515. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle B—Reducing Significant Delays in Immigration Court 

Sec. 521. Eliminate immigration court backlogs. 

Sec. 522. Improved training for immigration judges and members of the Board 

of Immigration Appeals. 

Sec. 523. New technology to improve court efficiency. 

Subtitle C—Reducing the Likelihood of Repeated Migration to the United 

States 

Sec. 531. Establishing reintegration and monitoring services for repatriating 

children. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Since 2008, incidents of murder, other vio4 lent crime, and corruption perpetrated by criminal 

5 networks, armed gangs and groups, and illicit traf6 ficking organizations have remained at alarming lev7 els in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

8 (2) In 2017, El Salvador and Honduras— 

9 (A) continued to be among the most vio10 lent countries in Latin America and the world, 

11 with 60 and 42 murders for every 100,000 peo12 ple, respectively; and 

13 (B) were characterized by a high preva14 lence of gang-related violence and crimes involv15 ing sexual and gender-based violence. 


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1 (3) El Salvador and Honduras are both among 

2 the top 3 countries in the world with the highest 

3 child homicide rates, with more than 22 and 32 

4 deaths per 100,000 children respectively, according 

5 to the nongovernmental organization Save the Chil6 dren. 

7 (4) A November 2017 report by the United Na8 tions Development Programme and UN Women 

9 stated that femicide ‘‘is taking on a devastating 

10 magnitude and trend in Central America, where 2 in 

11 every 3 women murdered, are killed because of their 

12 gender.’’. 

13 (5) Since 2014, elevated numbers of unaccom14 panied minors, women, and other vulnerable individ15 uals have fled violence in Central America’s North16 ern Triangle and left for the United States in search 

17 of protection. 

18 (6) Unaccompanied minors emigrating from El 

19 Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras cite violence, 

20 forced gang recruitment, extortion, poverty, and lack 

21 of opportunity as reasons for leaving their home 

22 countries. 

23 (7) Challenges to the rule of law in the North24 ern Triangle continue to be exacerbated by high lev25 els of impunity related to murders and violent crime. 


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1 In 2015, approximately 95 percent of murders tak2 ing place in Honduras and El Salvador remained 

3 unresolved. 

4 (8) The presence of major drug trafficking or5 ganizations in the Northern Triangle contributes to 

6 violence, corruption, and criminality. According to 

7 the Department of State’s 2017 International Nar8 cotics Control Strategy Report, El Salvador, Guate9 mala, and Honduras continue to be transit countries 

10 for illicit drugs originating from countries in South 

11 America that are destined for the United States. 

12 (9) In June 2018, the Office of the United Na13 tions High Commissioner for Human Rights found 

14 that in El Salvador, a pattern of behavior among se15 curity personnel and weak institutional responses 

16 may have resulted in extrajudicial executions and ex17 cessive use of force, with official figures indicating 

18 an alarming increase in the number of persons (al19 leged gang-members) who have been killed by secu20 rity personnel. 

21 (10) Widespread public sector corruption in the 

22 Northern Triangle undermines economic and social 

23 development and directly affects regional political 

24 stability. 


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1 (11) Human rights defenders, journalists, trade 

2 unionists, social leaders, and LGBT activists in the 

3 Northern Triangle face dire conditions, as evidenced 

4 by— 

5 (A) the March 2016 murder of the promi6 nent Honduran environmental activist, Berta 

7 Caceres; and 

8 (B) the ongoing targeted killing of civil so9 ciety leaders in all 3 countries in the Northern 

10 Triangle. 

11 (12) The Northern Triangle struggles with high 

12 levels of economic insecurity. In 2016, 60.9 percent 

13 of Hondurans and 38 percent of Salvadorans lived 

14 below the poverty line. In 2014, 59.3 percent of 

15 Guatemalans lived below the poverty line. 

16 (13) Weak investment climates, low levels of tax 

17 collection, and low levels of educational opportunity 

18 are barriers to inclusive economic growth and social 

19 development in the Northern Triangle. 

20 (14) In January 2018 and May 2018, the 

21 Trump Administration announced the termination of 

22 Temporary Protected Status designations for Hon23 duras and El Salvador, respectively, which would af24 fect more than 500,000 individuals and their United 


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1 States citizen children who may have to return to 

2 dangerous conditions in those countries. 

3 (15) In a November 2017 letter to the Depart4 ment of Homeland Security, then Secretary of State 

5 Rex Tillerson warned that as a result of ending 

6 Temporary Protected Status, the Governments of El 

7 Salvador and Honduras ‘‘may take retaliatory ac8 tions counter to our long-standing national security 

9 and economic interests like withdrawing their coun10 ternarcotics and anti-gang cooperation with the 

11 United States, reducing their willingness to accept 

12 the return of their deported citizens, or refraining 

13 from efforts to control illegal migration.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that— 

16 (1) United States support is necessary to ad17 dress irregular migration by addressing the violence 

18 and humanitarian crisis in the Northern Triangle, 

19 which has resulted in the elevated numbers of Cen20 tral American unaccompanied children, women, and 

21 other refugees and migrants arriving at the South22 western border of the United States; 

23 (2) the violence and humanitarian crisis is 

24 linked to the severe challenges posed by— 


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1 (A) high rates of homicide, sexual and gen2 der-based violence, and violent crime per3 petrated by armed criminal actors, including 

4 drug trafficking organizations and criminal 

5 gangs, such as the MS–13 and 18th Street 

6 gangs; 

7 (B) endemic corruption carried out by or8 ganized networks and the weak rule of law, in9 cluding the limited institutional capacity of na10 tional police forces, public prosecutors, and 

11 court systems; and 

12 (C) the limited capabilities and lack of po13 litical will on the part of Northern Triangle 

14 governments to establish the rule of law, guar15 antee security, and ensure the well-being of 

16 their citizens; 

17 (3) the United States must work with inter18 national partners— 

19 (A) to address the complicated conditions 

20 in the Northern Triangle that contribute to the 

21 violence and humanitarian crisis; and 

22 (B) to guarantee protections for vulnerable 

23 populations, particularly women and children, 

24 fleeing violence in the region; 


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1 (4) the Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in 

2 the Northern Triangle, which was developed by the 

3 Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Hon4 duras, with the technical assistance of the Inter5 American Development Bank, represents a com6 prehensive approach to address the complex situa7 tion in the Northern Triangle; 

8 (5) the United States Strategy for Engagement 

9 in Central America, as first developed by President 

10 Obama and Vice President Biden, provides impor11 tant support for the Alliance for Prosperity and 

12 other United States national security priorities, in13 cluding rule of law and anti-corruption initiatives; 

14 (6) President Trump’s decision to reduce 

15 United States foreign assistance to El Salvador, 

16 Guatemala, and Honduras from funding levels set in 

17 fiscal years 2017 and 2018— 

18 (A) poses a serious risk to United States 

19 national security; and 

20 (B) will damage the efforts of the United 

21 States to address the underlying conditions 

22 causing citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, and 

23 Honduras to flee their homelands and migrate 

24 to the United States; 


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1 (7) the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts 

2 in United States foreign assistance for Central 

3 America for fiscal year 2020, if implemented, would 

4 undermine the United States ability to work with 

5 the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and 

6 Honduras to address critical United States national 

7 security priorities and the factors driving migration 

8 to the United States; 

9 (8) the Trump Administration must reverse its 

10 decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Sta11 tus designations for El Salvador and Honduras in 

12 order to prevent negative consequences to United 

13 States foreign policy objectives; 

14 (9) the United States should partner with the 

15 Government of Mexico— 

16 (A) to strengthen Mexico’s internal asylum 

17 system; and 

18 (B) ensure that Mexico upholds inter19 national and humanitarian standards; 

20 (10) combating corruption in the Northern Tri21 angle must remain a critical priority and the United 

22 States must continue its public and financial support 

23 for the United Nation’s Commission Against Impu24 nity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the Organization of 

25 American States’ Mission to Support the Fight 


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1 Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras 

2 (MACCIH) as part of this effort; 

3 (11) the Government of Guatemala should re4 verse its efforts— 

5 (A) to terminate CICIG’s mandate; and 

6 (B) to undermine the effectiveness of 

7 CICIG’s ongoing operations, including prohib8 iting the current CICIG Commissioner from en9 tering the country; and 

10 (12) it is imperative for the United States to 

11 implement a multi-year strategy and sustain a long12 term commitment to addressing the underlying fac13 tors causing Central Americans to flee their coun14 tries by strengthening citizen security, the rule of 

15 law, democratic governance, the protection of human 

16 rights, and inclusive economic growth in the North17 ern Triangle. 

18 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

21 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given the 

22 term in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 

23 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 


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1 (2) NORTHERN TRIANGLE.—The term ‘‘North2 ern Triangle’’ means El Salvador, Guatemala, and 

3 Honduras. 

4 (3) PLACEMENT.—The term ‘‘placement’’ 

5 means the placement of an unaccompanied alien 

6 child with a sponsor. 

7 (4) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Plan 

8 of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Tri9 angle. 

10 (5) SPONSOR.—The term ‘‘sponsor’’ means a 

11 sponsor referred to in section 462(b)(4) of the 

12 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

13 279(b)(4)). 

14 (6) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILD.—The term 

15 ‘‘unaccompanied alien child’’ has the meaning given 

16 the term in section 462(g) of the Homeland Security 

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


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1 TITLE I—ADVANCING REFORMS 

2 IN CENTRAL AMERICA TO AD3 DRESS THE FACTORS DRIV4 ING MIGRATION 

5 Subtitle A—Strengthening the Ca6 pacity of Central American Gov7 ernments To Protect and Pro8 vide for Their Own People 

9 SEC. 111. UNITED STATES STRATEGY FOR ENGAGEMENT IN 

10 CENTRAL AMERICA. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

13 shall submit to Congress a 5-year, interagency strategy, 

14 titled ‘‘the United States Strategy for Engagement in 

15 Central America’’, to advance reforms in Central Amer16 ican countries that address the factors driving migration. 

17 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy under subsection (a) 

18 shall include efforts to— 

19 (1) strengthen the rule of law, improve access 

20 to justice, and bolster the effectiveness and inde21 pendence of judicial systems and public prosecutors’ 

22 offices, and the effectiveness of civilian police forces; 

23 (2) combat corruption and improve public sec24 tor transparency; 


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1 (3) confront and counter the violence and crime 

2 perpetrated by armed criminal gangs, illicit traf3 ficking organizations, and organized crime; 

4 (4) disrupt money laundering operations and 

5 the illicit financial operations of criminal networks, 

6 armed gangs, illicit trafficking organizations, and 

7 human smugglers; 

8 (5) strengthen democratic governance and pro9 mote greater respect for internationally recognized 

10 human rights, labor rights, fundamental freedoms, 

11 and the media, including through the protection of 

12 human rights and environmental defenders, other 

13 civil society activists, and journalists; 

14 (6) enhance the capability of Central American 

15 governments to protect and provide for vulnerable 

16 and at-risk populations; 

17 (7) address the underlying causes of poverty 

18 and inequality; 

19 (8) address the constraints to inclusive eco20 nomic growth in Central America; 

21 (9) prevent and respond to endemic levels of 

22 sexual and gender-based violence; and 

23 (10) enhance accountability for government of24 ficials, including security force personnel, credibly alVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:04 May 25, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1445.IS S1445

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1 leged to have committed gross violations of human 

2 rights or other crimes. 

3 (c) COORDINATION AND CONSULTATION.—In formu4 lating the strategy under subsection (a), the Secretary of 

5 State shall— 

6 (1) coordinate with the Secretary of the Treas7 ury, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the 

9 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

10 International Development; and 

11 (2) consult with the Director of National Intel12 ligence. 

13 (d) SUPPORT FOR CENTRAL AMERICAN EFFORTS.— 

14 To the degree feasible, the strategy under subsection (a) 

15 shall support or complement efforts being carried out by 

16 the Governments of El Salvador, of Guatemala, and of 

17 Honduras under the Plan, in coordination with the Inter18 American Development Bank and other bilateral and mul19 tilateral donors. 

20 (e) PRIORITIZATION.—The strategy under subsection 

21 (a) shall prioritize programs and initiatives to address the 

22 key factors in Central American countries that contribute 

23 to the flight of unaccompanied alien children and other 

24 individuals to the United States. 


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1 SEC. 112. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR 

2 UNITED STATES STRATEGY FOR ENGAGE3 MENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated 

5 $1,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 to carry out the strat6 egy described in section 111. 

7 SEC. 113. STRENGTHENING THE RULE OF LAW AND COM8 BATING CORRUPTION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—In advancing the strategy de10 scribed in section 111, of the amounts authorized to be 

11 appropriated pursuant to section 112, $550,000,000 are 

12 authorized to be made available to the Secretary of State 

13 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

14 International Development to strengthen the rule of law, 

15 combat corruption, consolidate democratic governance, 

16 and defend human rights. 

17 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR CENTRAL AMERICA.—The Sec18 retary and the Administrator may use the amounts made 

19 available under subsection (a) to provide assistance for 

20 Central American countries through the activities de21 scribed in subsection (c). 

22 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities described 

23 in this section include— 

24 (1) strengthening the rule of law in Central 

25 American countries by providing support for— 


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1 (A) the Office of the Attorney General, 

2 public prosecutors, judges, and courts in each 

3 such country, including the enhancement of 

4 their forensics capabilities and services; 

5 (B) reforms leading to independent, merit6 based, selection processes for judges and pros7 ecutors, independent internal controls, and rel8 evant ethics and professional training, including 

9 training on sexual and gender-based violence; 

10 (C) the improvement of victim and witness 

11 protection and access to justice; and 

12 (D) the reform and improvement of prison 

13 facilities and management; 

14 (2) combating corruption by providing support 

15 for— 

16 (A) inspectors general and oversight insti17 tutions, including relevant training for inspec18 tors and auditors; 

19 (B) international commissions against im20 punity, including the International Commission 

21 Against Impunity in Guatemala and the Sup22 port Mission Against Corruption and Impunity 

23 in Honduras; 

24 (C) civil society watchdogs conducting 

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1 tions, police and security forces, and judicial of2 ficials and public prosecutors; and 

3 (D) the enhancement of freedom of infor4 mation mechanisms; 

5 (3) consolidating democratic governance by pro6 viding support for— 

7 (A) the reform of civil services, related 

8 training programs, and relevant career laws and 

9 processes that lead to independent, merit-based, 

10 selection processes; 

11 (B) national legislatures and their capacity 

12 to conduct oversight of executive branch func13 tions; 

14 (C) the reform and strengthening of polit15 ical party and campaign finance laws and elec16 toral tribunals; and 

17 (D) local governments and their capacity 

18 to provide critical safety, education, health, and 

19 sanitation services to citizens; and 

20 (4) defending human rights by providing sup21 port for— 

22 (A) human rights ombudsman offices; 

23 (B) government protection programs that 

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1 fenders, journalists, trade unionists, and civil 

2 society activists at risk; 

3 (C) civil society organizations that promote 

4 and defend human rights, freedom of expres5 sion, freedom of the press, labor rights, environ6 mental protection, and LGBT rights; and 

7 (D) civil society organizations that address 

8 sexual, domestic, and inter-partner violence 

9 against women and protect victims of such vio10 lence. 

11 SEC. 114. COMBATING CRIMINAL VIOLENCE AND IMPROV12 ING CITIZEN SECURITY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In advancing the strategy de14 scribed in section 111, of the amounts authorized to be 

15 appropriated pursuant to section 112, $550,000,000 are 

16 authorized to be made available to the Secretary of State 

17 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

18 International Development to counter the violence and 

19 crime perpetrated by armed criminal gangs, illicit traf20 ficking organizations, and human smugglers. 

21 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR CENTRAL AMERICA.—The Sec22 retary and the Administrator may use the amounts made 

23 available under subsection (a) to provide assistance for 

24 Central American countries through the activities de25 scribed in subsection (c). 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities described 

2 in this section include— 

3 (1) professionalizing civilian police forces by 

4 providing support for— 

5 (A) the reform of personnel recruitment, 

6 vetting and dismissal processes, including the 

7 enhancement of polygraph capability for use in 

8 such processes; 

9 (B) inspectors general and oversight of10 fices, including relevant training for inspectors 

11 and auditors, and independent oversight mecha12 nisms, as appropriate; 

13 (C) community policing policies and pro14 grams; 

15 (D) the establishment of special vetted 

16 units; 

17 (E) training and the development of proto18 cols regarding the appropriate use of force and 

19 human rights; 

20 (F) training on civilian intelligence collec21 tion (including safeguards for privacy and basic 

22 civil liberties), investigative techniques, forensic 

23 analysis, and evidence preservation; 

24 (G) training on the management of com25 plex, multi-actor criminal cases; and 


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1 (H) equipment, such as nonintrusive in2 spection equipment; 

3 (2) countering illicit trafficking by providing as4 sistance to the civilian law enforcement and armed 

5 forces of Central American countries, including sup6 port for— 

7 (A) the establishment of special vetted 

8 units; 

9 (B) the enhancement of intelligence collec10 tion capacity (including safeguards for privacy 

11 and basic civil liberties); 

12 (C) the reform of personnel recruitment, 

13 vetting, and dismissal processes, including the 

14 enhancement of polygraph capability for use in 

15 such processes; and 

16 (D) port, airport, and border security sys17 tems, including— 

18 (i) computer infrastructure and data 

19 management systems; 

20 (ii) secure communications tech21 nologies; 

22 (iii) nonintrusive inspection equip23 ment; 

24 (iv) radar and aerial surveillance 

25 equipment; 


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1 (v) canine units; and 

2 (vi) training on the equipment, tech3 nologies, and systems listed in clauses (i) 

4 through (v); 

5 (3) disrupting illicit financial networks, includ6 ing by providing support for— 

7 (A) finance ministries, including the en8 hancement of the capacity to use financial sanc9 tions to block the assets of individuals and or10 ganizations involved in money laundering and 

11 the financing of armed criminal gangs, illicit 

12 trafficking networks, human smugglers, and or13 ganized crime; 

14 (B) financial intelligence units, including 

15 the establishment and enhancement of anti16 money laundering programs; and 

17 (C) the reform of bank secrecy laws; and 

18 (4) improving crime prevention by providing 

19 support for— 

20 (A) educational initiatives to reduce sexual 

21 and gender-based violence; 

22 (B) the enhancement of police and judicial 

23 capacity to identify, investigate, and prosecute 

24 sexual and gender-based violence; 


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1 (C) the enhancement of programs for at2 risk and criminal-involved youth, including the 

3 improvement of community centers throughout 

4 El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras; and 

5 (D) alternative livelihood programs. 

6 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that— 

8 (1) operational technology transferred to gov9 ernments in Central America for intelligence or law 

10 enforcement purposes should be used solely for the 

11 purposes for which the technology was intended; 

12 (2) the United States should take all necessary 

13 steps to ensure that the use of operation technology 

14 described in paragraph (1) is consistent with United 

15 States law, including protections of freedom of ex16 pression, freedom of movement, and freedom of as17 sociation; and 

18 (3) the assistance to Central American armed 

19 forces described in subsection (c)(2) should be lim20 ited to assistance that relates to— 

21 (A) the armed forces activities to combat 

22 illicit maritime and riverine trafficking; and 

23 (B) illicit trafficking occurring at national 

24 borders. 


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1 SEC. 115. TACKLING EXTREME POVERTY AND ADVANCING 

2 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts authorized to be 

4 appropriated pursuant to section 112, $400,000,000 are 

5 authorized to be made available to the Secretary of State 

6 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

7 International Development to improve economic develop8 ment and the underlying causes of poverty. 

9 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR CENTRAL AMERICA.—The Sec10 retary and the Administrator may use the amounts made 

11 available under subsection (a) to provide assistance for 

12 Central American countries through the activities de13 scribed in subsection (c). 

14 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities described 

15 in this section include— 

16 (1) strengthening human capital, including by 

17 providing support for— 

18 (A) workforce development and entrepre19 neurship training programs that are driven by 

20 market demand, specifically programs that 

21 prioritize women, at-risk youth, and minorities; 

22 (B) improving early-grade literacy and the 

23 improvement of primary and secondary school 

24 curricula; 

25 (C) relevant professional training for 

26 teachers and educational administrators; and 


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1 (D) educational policy reform and improve2 ment of education sector budgeting; 

3 (2) enhancing economic competitiveness and in4 vestment climate by providing support for— 

5 (A) small business development centers 

6 and programs that strengthen supply chain in7 tegration; 

8 (B) trade facilitation and customs harmo9 nization programs; 

10 (C) reducing energy costs through invest11 ments in clean technologies and the reform of 

12 energy policies and regulations; 

13 (D) the improvement of protections for in14 vestors, including dispute resolution and arbi15 tration mechanisms; and 

16 (E) the improvement of labor and environ17 mental standards, in accordance with the Do18 minican Republic–Central America Free Trade 

19 Agreement; 

20 (3) strengthening food security, including by 

21 providing support for— 

22 (A) small-scale agriculture, including— 

23 (i) technical training; 

24 (ii) initiatives that facilitate access to 

25 credit; and 


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1 (iii) policies and programs that 

2 incentivize government agencies and pri3 vate institutions to buy from local pro4 ducers; 

5 (B) agricultural value chain development 

6 for farming communities; 

7 (C) nutrition programs to reduce childhood 

8 stunting rates; and 

9 (D) investment in scientific research on cli10 mate change and climate resiliency; and 

11 (4) improving the state of fiscal and financial 

12 affairs, including by providing support for— 

13 (A) domestic revenue generation, including 

14 programs to improve tax administration, collec15 tion, and enforcement; 

16 (B) strengthening public sector financial 

17 management, including strategic budgeting and 

18 expenditure tracking; and 

19 (C) reform of customs and procurement 

20 policies and processes. 


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1 Subtitle B—Conditions, Limita2 tions, and Certifications on 

3 United States Assistance 

4 SEC. 121. ASSISTANCE FUNDING AVAILABLE WITHOUT CON5 DITION. 

6 The Secretary of State or the Administrator of the 

7 United States Agency for International Development, as 

8 appropriate, may obligate up to 25 percent of the amounts 

9 appropriated pursuant to section 112 that are made avail10 able for the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and 

11 Honduras to carry out the United States Strategy for En12 gagement in Central America. 

13 SEC. 122. CONDITIONS ON ASSISTANCE RELATED TO COM14 BATING, SMUGGLING, AND PROVIDING FOR 

15 SCREENING AND SAFETY OF MIGRANTS. 

16 (a) NOTIFICATION AND COOPERATION.—In addition 

17 to the amounts authorized to be made available under sec18 tions 121 and 123, 25 percent of the amounts appro19 priated pursuant to section 112 that are made available 

20 for assistance for the Governments of El Salvador, of Gua21 temala, and of Honduras may only be made available after 

22 the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary 

23 of Homeland Security, consults with, and subsequently 

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1 mittees that such governments are taking effective steps, 

2 in addition to steps taken during previous years, to— 

3 (1) combat human smuggling and trafficking, 

4 including investigating, prosecuting, and increasing 

5 penalties for individuals responsible for such crimes; 

6 (2) improve border security and border screen7 ing to detect and deter illicit smuggling and traf8 ficking, while respecting the rights of individuals 

9 fleeing violence and seeking humanitarian protection 

10 asylum, in accordance with international law; 

11 (3) cooperate with United States Government 

12 agencies and other governments in the region to fa13 cilitate the safe and timely repatriation of migrants 

14 who do not qualify for refugee or other protected 

15 status, in accordance with international law; 

16 (4) improve reintegration services, in open part17 nership with civil society organizations, for repatri18 ated migrants in a manner that ensures the safety 

19 and well-being of the individual and reduces the like20 lihood of repeated migration to the United States; 

21 and 

22 (5) cooperate with the United Nations High 

23 Commissioner for Refugees to improve protections 

24 for, and the processing of, vulnerable populations, 

25 particularly women and children fleeing violence. 


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1 SEC. 123. CONDITIONS ON ASSISTANCE RELATED TO 

2 PROGRESS ON SPECIFIC ISSUES. 

3 (a) EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION.—In addition to 

4 the amounts authorized to be obligated under sections 121 

5 and 122, 50 percent of the amounts appropriated pursu6 ant to section 112 that are made available for assistance 

7 for the Governments of El Salvador, of Guatemala, and 

8 of Honduras may only be made available after the Sec9 retary consults with, and subsequently certifies and re10 ports to, the appropriate congressional committees that 

11 such governments are taking effective steps in their re12 spective countries, in addition to steps taken during the 

13 previous calendar year, to— 

14 (1) combat corruption, including investigating 

15 and prosecuting government officials, military per16 sonnel, and civilian police officers credibly alleged to 

17 be corrupt; 

18 (2) implement reforms and strengthen the rule 

19 of law, including increasing the capacity and inde20 pendence of the judiciary and public prosecutors; 

21 (3) counter the activities of armed criminal 

22 gangs, illicit trafficking networks, and organized 

23 crime; 

24 (4) establish and implement a plan to create a 

25 professional, accountable civilian police force and 

26 curtail the role of the military in internal policing; 


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1 (5) investigate and prosecute, through the civil2 ian justice system, military and police personnel who 

3 are credibly alleged to have violated human rights, 

4 and to ensure that the military and the police are 

5 cooperating in such cases; 

6 (6) counter and prevent sexual and gender7 based violence; 

8 (7) cooperate, as appropriate, with international 

9 human rights entities and international commissions 

10 against impunity, including the United Nation’s 

11 Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala 

12 (CICIG), the Organization of American States’ Mis13 sion to Support the Fight Against Corruption and 

14 Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), and any other 

15 similar entities that may be established; 

16 (8) implement electoral and political reforms, 

17 including reforms related to improving the trans18 parency of financing political campaigns and polit19 ical parties; 

20 (9) protect the right of political opposition par21 ties, journalists, trade unionists, human rights de22 fenders, and other civil society activists to operate 

23 without interference; 


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1 (10) increase government revenues, including by 

2 enhancing tax collection, strengthening customs 

3 agencies, and reforming procurement processes; 

4 (11) implement reforms to strengthen edu5 cational systems, vocational training programs, and 

6 programs for at-risk youth; 

7 (12) resolve commercial disputes, including the 

8 confiscation of real property, between United States 

9 entities and the respective governments; and 

10 (13) implement a policy by which local commu11 nities, civil society organizations (including indige12 nous and marginalized groups), and local govern13 ments are consulted in the design, implementation, 

14 and evaluation of the activities of the Plan that af15 fect such communities, organizations, or govern16 ments. 

17 (b) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS.—The Secretary of 

18 State may not certify that the Government of Guatemala 

19 is taking effective steps to address the issues listed in sub20 section (a) until after the Government of Guatemala— 

21 (1) extends the mandate of the International 

22 Commission against Impunity in Guatemala 

23 (CICIG) beyond 2019; and 


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1 (2) permits the CICIG Commissioner and 

2 CICIG staff to carry out their work with government 

3 obstruction. 

4 (c) EXCEPTION.—The certification and reporting re5 quirements under subsection (a) and section 122(a) shall 

6 not apply to the amounts appropriated pursuant to section 

7 112 for assistance to the International Commission 

8 against Impunity in Guatemala and the Mission to Sup9 port the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Hon10 duras. 

11 SEC. 124. ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS. 

12 (a) DEPORTATIONS AND REPATRIATIONS.—None of 

13 the amounts authorized to be appropriated pursuant to 

14 this title may be used or transferred to any other Federal 

15 agency to assist in the removal or repatriation of any indi16 vidual from a third country to his or her country of origin 

17 or to another country. 

18 (b) FUND TRANSFERS.—Notwithstanding any other 

19 provision of law, the Secretary of State may not transfer 

20 amounts appropriated for the Department of State to any 

21 account managed by the Department of Homeland Secu22 rity for the purpose of assisting in the deportation or repa23 triation of any foreign person from a third country to his 

24 or her country of origin or to another country, absent a 

25 specific authorization from Congress for such transfer. 


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1 SEC. 125. RESTRICTIONS ON REPROGRAMMING. 

2 (a) UNITED STATES STRATEGY FOR ENGAGEMENT

3 IN CENTRAL AMERICA.—Amounts appropriated pursuant 

4 to section 112 may not be reprogrammed for any activities 

5 other than those authorized under this title. 

6 (b) BILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE AND INTER7 NATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR EL SALVADOR, 

8 GUATEMALA, AND HONDURAS.—The Secretary of State 

9 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

10 International Development may not reprogram amounts 

11 made available for assistance for El Salvador, of Guate12 mala, and of Honduras under— 

13 (1) titles III and IV of the Department of 

14 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 

15 Appropriations Act, 2019 (division F of Public Law 

16 116–6); 

17 (2) titles III and IV of the Department of 

18 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 

19 Appropriations Act, 2018 (division K of Public Law 

20 115–141); 

21 (3) titles III and IV of the Department of 

22 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 

23 Appropriations Act, 2017 (division J of Public Law 

24 115–31); or 

25 (4) titles III and IV of the Department of 

26 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs 


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1 Appropriations Act, 2016 (division K of Public Law 

2 114–113). 

3 Subtitle C—Effectively Coordi4 nating United States Engage5 ment in Central America 

6 SEC. 131. UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR ENGAGE7 MENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA. 

8 (a) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 30 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall des10 ignate a senior official to coordinate all of the Federal 

11 Government’s efforts, including coordination with inter12 national partners— 

13 (1) to strengthen citizen security, the rule of 

14 law, and economic prosperity in Central America; 

15 and 

16 (2) to protect vulnerable populations in the re17 gion. 

18 (b) SUPERVISION.—The official designated under 

19 subsection (a) shall report directly to the President. 

20 (c) DUTIES.—The official designated under sub21 section (a) shall coordinate all of the efforts, activities, and 

22 programs related to United States Strategy for Engage23 ment in Central America, including— 

24 (1) coordinating with the Department of State, 

25 the Department of Justice (including the Federal 


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1 Bureau of Investigation), the Department of Home2 land Security, the intelligence community, and inter3 national partners regarding United States efforts to 

4 dismantle and disrupt armed criminal gangs, illicit 

5 trafficking networks, and organized crime respon6 sible for high levels of violence, extortion, and cor7 ruption in Central America; 

8 (2) coordinating with the Department of State, 

9 the United States Agency for International Develop10 ment, and international partners regarding United 

11 States efforts to prevent and mitigate the effects of 

12 violent criminal gangs and transnational criminal or13 ganizations on vulnerable Central American popu14 lations, including women and children; 

15 (3) coordinating with the Department of State, 

16 the Department of Homeland Security, and inter17 national partners regarding United States efforts to 

18 counter human smugglers illegally transporting Cen19 tral American migrants to the United States; 

20 (4) coordinating with the Department of State, 

21 the Department of Homeland Security, the United 

22 States Agency for International Development, and 

23 international partners, including the United Nations 

24 High Commissioner for Refugees, to increase protec25 tions for vulnerable Central American populations, 


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1 improve refugee processing, and strengthen asylum 

2 and migration systems throughout the region; 

3 (5) coordinating with the Department of State, 

4 the Department of Defense, the Department of Jus5 tice (including the Drug Enforcement Administra6 tion), the Department of the Treasury, the intel7 ligence community, and international partners re8 garding United States efforts to combat illicit nar9 cotics traffickers, interdict transshipments of illicit 

10 narcotics, and disrupt the financing of the illicit nar11 cotics trade; 

12 (6) coordinating with the Department of State, 

13 the Department of the Treasury, the Department of 

14 Justice, the intelligence community, the United 

15 States Agency for International Development, and 

16 international partners regarding United States ef17 forts to combat corruption, money laundering, and 

18 illicit financial networks; 

19 (7) coordinating with the Department of State, 

20 the Department of Justice, the United States Agen21 cy for International Development, and international 

22 partners regarding United States efforts to strength23 en the rule of law, democratic governance, and 

24 human rights protections; and 


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1 (8) coordinating with the Department of State, 

2 the Department of Agriculture, the United States 

3 Agency for International Development, the Overseas 

4 Private Investment Corporation, the United States 

5 Trade and Development Agency, the Department of 

6 Labor, and international partners, including the 

7 Inter-American Development Bank, to strengthen 

8 the foundation for inclusive economic growth and 

9 improve food security, investment climate, and pro10 tections for labor rights. 

11 (d) CONSULTATION.—The official designated under 

12 subsection (a) shall consult with Congress, multilateral or13 ganizations and institutions, foreign governments, and do14 mestic and international civil society organizations. 

15 Subtitle D—United States Leader16 ship for Engaging International 

17 Donors and Partners 

18 SEC. 141. REQUIREMENT FOR STRATEGY TO SECURE SUP19 PORT OF INTERNATIONAL DONORS AND 

20 PARTNERS. 

21 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap22 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

23 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

24 Senate; 


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1 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 Senate; 

3 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

4 House of Representatives; and 

5 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 (b) STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

9 shall submit a 3-year strategy to the appropriate congres10 sional committees that— 

11 (1) describes how the United States will secure 

12 support from international donors and regional part13 ners (including Colombia and Mexico) for the imple14 mentation of the Plan; 

15 (2) identifies governments that are willing to 

16 provide financial and technical assistance for the im17 plementation of the Plan and a description of such 

18 assistance; and 

19 (3) identifies the financial and technical assist20 ance to be provided by multilateral institutions, in21 cluding the Inter-American Development Bank, the 

22 World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the 

23 Andean Development Corporation—Development 

24 Bank of Latin America, and the Organization of 


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1 American States, and a description of such assist2 ance. 

3 (c) DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT AND COORDINA4 TION.—The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 

5 Secretary of the Treasury, as appropriate, shall— 

6 (1) carry out diplomatic engagement to secure 

7 contributions of financial and technical assistance 

8 from international donors and partners in support of 

9 the Plan; and 

10 (2) take all necessary steps to ensure effective 

11 cooperation among international donors and part12 ners supporting the Plan. 

13 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after submitting 

14 the strategy under subsection (b), and annually thereafter, 

15 the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appro16 priate congressional committees that describes— 

17 (1) the progress made in implementing the 

18 strategy; and 

19 (2) the financial and technical assistance pro20 vided by international donors and partners, includ21 ing the multilateral institutions listed in subsection 

22 (b)(3). 

23 (e) BRIEFINGS.—Upon a request from 1 of the ap24 propriate congressional committees, the Secretary of State 

25 shall provide a briefing to such committee that describes 


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1 the progress made in implementing the strategy submitted 

2 under subsection (b). 

3 TITLE II—CRACKING DOWN ON 

4 CRIMINAL GANGS, CARTELS, 

5 AND COMPLICIT OFFICIALS 

6 Subtitle A—Strengthening Co7 operation Among Law Enforce8 ment Agencies To Target Smug9 glers and Traffickers 

10 SEC. 211. ENHANCED INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TO 

11 COMBAT HUMAN SMUGGLING AND TRAF12 FICKING. 

13 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 

14 heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall expand partner15 ship efforts with law enforcement entities in El Salvador, 

16 Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico seeking to combat 

17 human smuggling and trafficking in those countries, in18 cluding— 

19 (1) the creation or expansion of transnational 

20 criminal investigative units to identify, disrupt, and 

21 prosecute human smuggling and trafficking oper22 ations; 

23 (2) participation by U.S. Immigration and Cus24 toms Enforcement and the Department of Justice in 

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1 tiative with their Mexican law enforcement counter2 parts; and 

3 (3) advanced training programs for investiga4 tors and prosecutors from El Salvador, Guatemala, 

5 Honduras, and Mexico. 

6 SEC. 212. ENHANCED INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION 

7 OF HUMAN SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General and the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security shall expand collaborative 

10 programs aimed at investigating and prosecuting human 

11 smugglers and traffickers targeting Central American chil12 dren and families and operating at the southwestern bor13 der of the United States, including the continuation and 

14 expansion of anti-trafficking coordination teams. 

15 (b) HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS.—The 

16 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 

17 Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

18 shall increase the resources available to Homeland Secu19 rity Investigations to facilitate the expansion of its smug20 gling and trafficking investigations. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

23 necessary to carry out subsections (a) and (b). 


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1 SEC. 213. INFORMATION CAMPAIGN ON DANGERS OF IR2 REGULAR MIGRATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con4 sultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall 

5 design and implement public information campaigns in El 

6 Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras— 

7 (1) to disseminate information about the dan8 gers of travel across Mexico to the United States; 

9 (2) to combat misinformation about United 

10 States immigration law or policy; and 

11 (3) to provide accurate information about the 

12 right to seek asylum. 

13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The information campaigns imple14 mented pursuant to subsection (a) shall, to the greatest 

15 extent possible— 

16 (1) be targeted at populations and localities 

17 with high migration rates; 

18 (2) be in local languages; 

19 (3) employ a variety of communications media; 

20 and 

21 (4) be developed in consultation with program 

22 officials at the Department of Homeland Security, 

23 the Department of State, and other government, 

24 nonprofit, or academic entities in close contact with 

25 migrant populations from El Salvador, Guatemala, 

26 and Honduras, including repatriated migrants. 


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1 Subtitle B—Strengthening the Abil2 ity of the United States Govern3 ment To Crack Down on Smug4 glers, Traffickers, and Drug Car5 tels 

6 SEC. 221. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR ORGANIZED SMUG7 GLING SCHEMES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 274(a)(1)(B) of the Im9 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(1)(B)) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as 

12 clauses (iv) and (v), respectively; 

13 (2) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 

14 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a violation of subparagraph 

15 (A)(i) during and in relation to which the person, 

16 while acting for profit or other financial gain, know17 ingly directs or participates in an effort or scheme 

18 to assist or cause 10 or more persons (other than a 

19 parent, spouse, sibling, or child of the offender) to 

20 enter or to attempt to enter the United States at the 

21 same time at a place other than a designated port 

22 of entry or place other than designated by the Sec23 retary, be fined under title 18, United States Code, 

24 imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both;’’; and 


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1 (3) in clause (iv), as redesignated, by inserting 

2 ‘‘commits or attempts to commit sexual assault of,’’ 

3 after ‘‘section 1365 of title 18, United States Code) 

4 to,’’. 

5 (b) BULK CASH SMUGGLING.—Section 5332(b)(1) of 

6 title 31, United States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

8 ‘‘TERM OF IMPRISONMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘IN GEN9 ERAL’’; and 

10 (2) by inserting ‘‘, fined under title 18, or 

11 both’’ after ‘‘5 years’’. 

12 SEC. 222. EXPANDING FINANCIAL SANCTIONS ON NAR13 COTICS TRAFFICKING AND MONEY LAUN14 DERING. 

15 (a) FINANCIAL SANCTIONS EXPANSION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas17 ury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of State, 

18 the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of Cen19 tral Intelligence shall expand investigations, intel20 ligence collection, and analysis pursuant to the For21 eign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act to increase 

22 the identification and application of sanctions 

23 against— 

24 (A) significant foreign narcotics traf25 fickers, their organizations and networks; and 


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1 (B) foreign persons who provide material, 

2 financial, or technological support to such traf3 fickers, organizations, and networks. 

4 (2) TARGETS.—The activities described in para5 graph (1) shall specifically target foreign narcotics 

6 traffickers, their organizations and networks, and 

7 the foreign persons who provide material, financial, 

8 or technological support to such traffickers, organi9 zations, and networks that are present and oper10 ating in Central America. 

11 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

13 necessary to carry out subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 223. SUPPORT FOR FBI TRANSNATIONAL ANTI-GANG 

15 TASK FORCES FOR COUNTERING CRIMINAL 

16 GANGS. 

17 (a) TASK FORCE EXPANSION.—The Director of the 

18 Federal Bureau of Investigation, in coordination with the 

19 Secretary of State, shall expand the efforts of the 

20 Transnational Anti-Gang Task Forces in El Salvador, 

21 Guatemala, and Honduras, including by— 

22 (1) expanding transnational criminal investiga23 tions focused on criminal gangs in El Salvador, Gua24 temala, and Honduras, such as MS–13 and 18th 

25 Street; 


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1 (2) expanding training and partnership efforts 

2 with Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran law 

3 enforcement entities in order to disrupt and dis4 mantle criminal gangs, both internationally and in 

5 their respective countries; 

6 (3) establishing or expanding special vetted in7 vestigative units; and 

8 (4) collecting and disseminating intelligence to 

9 support related United States-based investigations. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated, to the Bureau of Inter12 national Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, such 

13 sums as may be necessary to carry out subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 224. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE EXPAN15 SION OF TARGETED SANCTIONS RELATED TO 

16 CORRUPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) the President should intensify targeting of 

19 and impose sanctions regularly on a range of foreign 

20 persons from or in Central America determined to 

21 be responsible for human rights abuses, corruption22 related misconduct, and other misconduct identified 

23 pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 

24 Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note); 


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1 (2) the Director of National Intelligence, in co2 ordination with the Director of the Central Intel3 ligence Agency and other United States intelligence 

4 agencies, as appropriate, should expand intelligence 

5 collection and analysis in support of the efforts de6 scribed in paragraph (1); and 

7 (3) the efforts described in paragraph (1) 

8 should specifically target foreign persons, including 

9 foreign government officials, complicit in acts that 

10 weaken, run counter to, or undermine the strategy 

11 described in section 111. 

12 Subtitle C—Creating New Penalties 

13 for Hindering Immigration, Bor14 der, and Customs Controls 

15 SEC. 231. HINDERING IMMIGRATION, BORDER, AND CUS16 TOMS CONTROLS. 

17 (a) IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.—The Im18 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is 

19 amended by inserting after section 274D the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 274E. HINDERING IMMIGRATION, BORDER, AND CUS21 TOMS CONTROLS. 

22 ‘‘(a) ILLICIT SPOTTING.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful to 

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1 ployee of a Federal, State, or tribal law enforcement 

2 agency— 

3 ‘‘(A) with the intent to gain financially; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) in furtherance of any violation of the 

6 immigration laws, the customs and trade laws 

7 of the United States (as defined in section 2 of 

8 the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement 

9 Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–125)), any other 

10 Federal law relating to transporting controlled 

11 substances, agriculture, or monetary instru12 ments into the United States, or any Federal 

13 law relating to border controls measures of the 

14 United States. 

15 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para16 graph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United 

17 States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, 

18 or both. 

19 ‘‘(b) DESTRUCTION OF UNITED STATES BORDER

20 CONTROLS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful to 

22 knowingly and without lawful authorization— 

23 ‘‘(A) destroy or significantly damage any 

24 fence, barrier, sensor, camera, or other physical 

25 or electronic device deployed by the Federal 


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1 Government to control an international border 

2 of, or a port of entry to, the United States; or 

3 ‘‘(B) otherwise seek to construct, excavate, 

4 or make any structure intended to defeat, cir5 cumvent or evade such a fence, barrier, sensor 

6 camera, or other physical or electronic device 

7 deployed by the Federal Government to control 

8 an international border of, or a port of entry to, 

9 the United States. 

10 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para11 graph (1) shall be fined under title 18, United 

12 States Code, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, 

13 or both.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

15 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by insert16 ing after the item relating to section 274D the following: 

‘‘Sec. 274E. Hindering immigration, border, and customs controls.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—MINIMIZING BORDER 

2 CROSSINGS BY EXPANDING 

3 PROCESSING OF REFUGEE 

4 CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN5 COUNTRY AND IN THE RE6 GION AND BY STRENGTH7 ENING REPATRIATION INITIA8 TIVES 

9 Subtitle A—Providing Alternative 

10 Safe Havens in Mexico and the 

11 Region 

12 SEC. 311. STRENGTHENING INTERNAL ASYLUM SYSTEMS IN 

13 MEXICO AND OTHER COUNTRIES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con15 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall 

16 work with international partners, including the United 

17 Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to support and 

18 provide technical assistance to strengthen the domestic ca19 pacity of Mexico and other countries in the region to pro20 vide asylum to eligible children and families, in accordance 

21 with international law and best practices, by— 

22 (1) establishing and expanding temporary and 

23 long-term in-country reception centers and shelter 

24 capacity to meet the humanitarian needs of those 


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1 seeking asylum or other forms of international pro2 tection; 

3 (2) improving the asylum registration system to 

4 ensure that all individuals seeking asylum or other 

5 humanitarian protection— 

6 (A) are provided with adequate informa7 tion about their rights, including their right to 

8 seek protection; 

9 (B) are properly screened for security, in10 cluding biographic and biometric capture; 

11 (C) receive due process and meaningful ac12 cess to existing legal protections; and 

13 (D) receive proper documents in order to 

14 prevent fraud and ensure freedom of movement 

15 and access to basic social services; 

16 (3) creating or expanding a corps of trained 

17 asylum officers capable of evaluating and deciding 

18 individual asylum claims consistent with inter19 national law and obligations; and 

20 (4) developing the capacity to conduct best in21 terest determinations for unaccompanied alien chil22 dren to ensure that their needs are properly met, 

23 which may include family reunification or resettle24 ment in the United States or another country based 


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1 on international protection needs and the best inter2 ests of the child. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 

5 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

6 shall submit a report that describes the plans of the Sec7 retary of State to assist in developing the asylum proc8 essing capabilities described in subsection (a) to— 

9 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

10 Senate; 

11 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

12 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

13 (3) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen14 ate; 

15 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

16 Senate; 

17 (5) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

18 House of Representatives; 

19 (6) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

20 House of Representatives; 

21 (7) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

22 House of Representatives; and 

23 (8) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

24 House of Representatives. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

3 necessary to carry out this section. 

4 Subtitle B—Expanding Refugee 

5 Processing in Mexico and Cen6 tral America for Third Country 

7 Resettlement 

8 SEC. 321. EXPANDING REFUGEE PROCESSING IN MEXICO 

9 AND CENTRAL AMERICA FOR THIRD COUN10 TRY RESETTLEMENT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con12 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall 

13 coordinate with the United Nations High Commissioner 

14 for Refugees to support and provide technical assistance 

15 to the Government of Mexico and the governments of 

16 other countries in the region to increase access to global 

17 resettlement for eligible children and families with protec18 tion needs, in accordance with international law and best 

19 practices, by— 

20 (1) establishing and expanding in-country ref21 ugee reception centers to meet the humanitarian 

22 needs of those seeking international protection; 

23 (2) improving the refugee registration system to 

24 ensure that all refugees— 


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1 (A) are provided with adequate informa2 tion about their rights, including their right to 

3 seek protection; 

4 (B) are properly screened for security, in5 cluding biographic and biometric capture; 

6 (C) receive due process and meaningful ac7 cess to existing legal protections; and 

8 (D) receive proper documents in order to 

9 prevent fraud and ensure freedom of movement 

10 and access to basic social services; 

11 (3) creating or expanding a corps of trained 

12 refugee officers capable of evaluating and deciding 

13 individual claims for protection, consistent with 

14 international law and obligations; and 

15 (4) developing the capacity to conduct best in16 terest determinations for unaccompanied alien chil17 dren to ensure that— 

18 (A) such children with international pro19 tection needs are properly registered; and 

20 (B) their needs are properly met, which 

21 may include family reunification or resettlement 

22 in the United States or another country based 

23 on international protection needs and the best 

24 interests of the child. 


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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 

3 consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

4 shall submit a report to the committees listed in section 

5 311(b) that describes the plans of the Secretary of State 

6 to assist in developing the refugee processing capabilities 

7 described in subsection (a). 

8 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) the conditions in Mexico, as of the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act, do not meet the necessary 

12 threshold for the United States Government to sign 

13 a safe third country agreement with the Government 

14 of Mexico; and 

15 (2) individuals of any nationality, who enter the 

16 United States from Mexico and request humani17 tarian protection, such as asylum, in the United 

18 States— 

19 (A) are not subject to section 235(b)(2)(C) 

20 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

21 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(C)); and 

22 (B) cannot be returned to Mexico while 

23 their request for humanitarian protection is 

24 pending. 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

3 necessary to carry out subsection (a). 

4 Subtitle C—Establishing Legal 

5 Channels to the United States 

6 SEC. 331. PROGRAM TO ADJUST THE STATUS OF CERTAIN 

7 VULNERABLE REFUGEES FROM CENTRAL 

8 AMERICA. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) REFUGEE STATUS.—The term ‘‘refugee sta11 tus’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

12 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

13 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)), except that the alien may 

14 apply inside his or her country of nationality if there 

15 is a designated application processing center present. 

16 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es19 tablish a refugee processing program for nationals of El 

20 Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to respond to country 

21 conditions and the growing need to provide an alternative 

22 to the dangerous journey to the United States of America. 

23 (c) ADMISSION OF ELIGIBLE CENTRAL AMERICAN

24 ALIENS AS REFUGEES.—Notwithstanding the numerical 

25 limitations set forth in sections 201, 202, and 207 of the 


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1 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151, 1152, 

2 and 1157), the Secretary shall adjust the status of an 

3 alien who is a national of El Salvador, Guatemala, or Hon4 duras to that of an alien admitted as a refugee if the 

5 alien— 

6 (1) applies for such refugee status at a Des7 ignated Application Processing Center (as defined in 

8 subsection (e)); and 

9 (2) is eligible under subsection (d). 

10 (d) CENTRAL AMERICANS ELIGIBLE FOR REFUGEE

11 ADMISSION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Admission as a refugee or 

13 adjustment of status to that of a refugee shall be 

14 available to any alien, or members of the alien’s 

15 family, if— 

16 (A) the alien is a national of El Salvador, 

17 Guatemala, or Honduras; 

18 (B) the alien otherwise meets the definition 

19 of a refugee, except that the alien may apply 

20 from inside his or her country of nationality; 

21 (C)(i) the alien presents himself or herself 

22 at a Designated Application Processing Center 

23 for consideration of refugee status under this 

24 section; or 


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1 (ii) in the case of an alien who is a minor, 

2 a parent or legal guardian of the alien presents 

3 an application for the alien; and 

4 (D) the alien passes all relevant medical, 

5 national security, and background checks. 

6 (2) EFFECT OF DENIAL OF REFUGEE STA7 TUS.—The denial of refugee status under the Cen8 tral American Minors Program— 

9 (A) shall not be held determinative with re10 spect to an adjudication under this section; and 

11 (B) shall not prejudice the results of an 

12 adjudication under this section. 

13 (e) DESIGNATED APPLICATION PROCESSING CEN14 TERS.— 

15 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary of State shall establish a minimum of 4 Des18 ignated Application Processing Centers in 4 dif19 ferent physical locations in the countries referred to 

20 in paragraph (2), with the consent of the host coun21 try, if necessary. 

22 (2) LOCATIONS.—The Secretary of State shall 

23 ensure that at least 1 Designated Application Proc24 essing Center is established in— 


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1 (A) El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 

2 and Mexico; and 

3 (B) any other country in Central America 

4 selected by the Secretary of State. 

5 (3) APPLICATION FOR REFUGEE STATUS.—The 

6 Secretary of State shall ensure that any alien who 

7 is physically present at a Designated Application 

8 Processing Center is permitted— 

9 (A) to apply for refugee status under this 

10 section; 

11 (B) to include his or her family in the ap12 plication for refugee status, regardless of such 

13 alien’s status; and 

14 (C) if the alien applying for refugee status 

15 is an unaccompanied minor, to have legal coun16 sel present at all interviews. 

17 (4) ADJUDICATION.—Applications submitted at 

18 a Designated Application Processing Center under 

19 this section shall be adjudicated by refugee officers 

20 from the Refugee, Asylum and International Oper21 ations Directorate of U.S. Citizenship and Immigra22 tion Services. 

23 (5) ADJUDICATION DEADLINES.— 

24 (A) FIRST YEAR.—Applications submitted 

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1 ginning on the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act shall be adjudicated not later than 1 year 

3 after submission. 

4 (B) SUBSEQUENT APPLICATIONS.—Appli5 cations submitted under this section after the 

6 period described in subparagraph (A) shall be 

7 adjudicated not later than 6 months after sub8 mission. 

9 (f) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsections (c)(1) and (d)(1)(C) 

10 shall be waived by the Secretary if the alien, or his or 

11 her family— 

12 (1) is a national of El Salvador or Honduras; 

13 (2) was in temporary protected status under 

14 section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

15 (8 U.S.C. 1254a) on the date on which his or her 

16 country of nationality’s designation under subsection 

17 (b) of such section was terminated; 

18 (3) has maintained physical presence in the 

19 United States since the effectiveness date of the 

20 most recent designation, extension, or termination; 

21 and 

22 (4) would be eligible to reapply, under such sec23 tion 244, if his or her country of nationality’s des24 ignation had not been terminated. 

25 (g) APPLICATION FEES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the Secretary shall ensure that applicants 

3 for refugee status are not charged fees in order to 

4 apply for humanitarian relief under this section. 

5 (2) PREVIOUS DENIAL.—The Secretary may 

6 charge a reasonable fee to an alien who applies for 

7 refugee status under this section after having pre8 viously been denied refugee status unless such denial 

9 occurred before the alien attained 21 years of age. 

10 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

12 necessary to carry out this section. 

13 TITLE IV—MONITORING AND 

14 SUPPORTING UNACCOM15 PANIED ALIEN CHILDREN 

16 AFTER PROCESSING AT THE 

17 BORDER 

18 SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS; AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA19 TIONS. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this title: 

21 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

22 means the Department of Health and Human Serv23 ices. 


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

2 the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

3 of the Department. 

4 (3) FLORES SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The 

5 term ‘‘Flores settlement agreement’’ means the Stip6 ulated Settlement Agreement filed in the United 

7 States District Court for the Central District of 

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

9 RJK). 

10 (4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

11 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

12 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec13 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

14 (5) RESIDENT ADULT.—The term ‘‘resident 

15 adult’’ means any individual who is at least 18 years 

16 of age and regularly lives, shares common areas, and 

17 sleeps in a sponsor or prospective sponsor’s home. 

18 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

20 (7) SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT

21 PERSONNEL; SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT

22 SERVICES.—The terms ‘‘specialized instructional 

23 support personnel’’ and ‘‘specialized instructional 

24 support services’’ have the meanings given such 


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1 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec2 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

3 (8) ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY.—The term ‘‘zero 

4 tolerance policy’’ means the policy described in the 

5 memorandum of the Attorney General entitled 

6 ‘‘Zero-Tolerance for Offenses Under 8 U.S.C. § 

7 1325(a)’’, issued on April 6, 2018. 

8 SEC. 402. FAMILY REUNIFICATION. 

9 (a) DIRECTIVES TO FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

10 (1) FAMILY REUNIFICATION.—Consistent with 

11 section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking 

12 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 

13 U.S.C. 1232) and other applicable Federal law, the 

14 Secretary shall reallocate resources to facilitate the 

15 immediate family reunification of each child sepa16 rated from his or her parent or guardian at or near 

17 a port of entry or within 100 miles of the border or 

18 otherwise removed from her or her parent or legal 

19 guardian by the Secretary, the Secretary of Home20 land Security, the Attorney General, the Director of 

21 the Bureau of Prisons, or any agent or agency 

22 thereof, if such reunification is in the best interest 

23 of the child. 

24 (2) COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAW.—The 

25 Secretary, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 


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1 Attorney General, the Director of the Bureau of 

2 Prisons, and any other head of a Federal agency in3 volved in the proceedings against a parent or guard4 ian separated from the parent or guardian’s child 

5 (as described in paragraph (1) shall immediately 

6 change policies, procedures, and practices— 

7 (A) to reunify the child separated from his 

8 or her parent or guardian; and 

9 (B) to comply with section 235 of the Wil10 liam Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 

11 Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232), 

12 the Flores settlement agreement, and other ap13 plicable Federal law. 

14 (b) PARENTAL RIGHTS.—Consistent with the laws of 

15 the State in which the child is located, only an order from 

16 a court of competent jurisdiction may terminate the rights 

17 of a parent or guardian over an unaccompanied alien 

18 child, including any such child separated from the parent 

19 or guardian at such a border. 

20 SEC. 403. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

22 as may be necessary to carry out this title. 


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1 Subtitle A—Strengthening the Gov2 ernment’s Ability To Oversee 

3 the Safety and Well-being of 

4 Children and Support Children 

5 Forcibly Separated From Their 

6 Families 

7 SEC. 411. HEALTH CARE IN SHELTERS FOR UNACCOM8 PANIED ALIEN CHILDREN. 

9 (a) ACCESS TO SERVICES.—The Secretary shall di10 rect the Director, in carrying out the functions transferred 

11 to the Director under section 462(a) of the Homeland Se12 curity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(a))— 

13 (1) to ensure that unaccompanied alien children 

14 who have not been placed with a sponsor have access 

15 to comprehensive, age-appropriate medical, behav16 ioral, and mental health care services, including evi17 dence-based and trauma-informed treatments, pro18 vided by qualified health care professionals with the 

19 appropriate certifications, licensure, training, and 

20 expertise in treating children, including infants, tod21 dlers, and other children who are younger than 13 

22 years of age; and 

23 (2) to issue guidance to grantees, not later than 

24 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 


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1 on the procedures for prescribing, reporting, and ad2 ministration of psychotropic medication. 

3 (b) NATIONAL CHILD TRAUMATIC STRESS INITIA4 TIVE.— 

5 (1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Out of amounts ap6 propriated pursuant to section 403 to carry out this 

7 section, the Secretary shall award grants, contracts, 

8 or cooperative agreements to public and nonprofit 

9 private entities and Indian tribes and tribal organi10 zations (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self11 Determination and Educational Assistance Act (25 

12 U.S.C. 5304)), for the purpose of developing and 

13 maintaining programs that respond to the needs of 

14 unaccompanied alien children in the care of the Of15 fice of Refugee Resettlement. 

16 (2) BEST PRACTICES FOR TRAUMATIZED CHIL17 DREN.—The National Child Traumatic Stress Initia18 tive coordinating center described in section 

19 582(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 290hh–1(a)(1)) shall develop, and make pub21 lically available, best practices for providing evi22 dence-based and trauma-informed health care treat23 ment to unaccompanied alien children in the care of 

24 the Office of Refugee Resettlement (including such 

25 children who are traumatized by separation from 


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1 parents or guardians by the Federal Government to 

2 facilitate enforcement of the zero tolerance policy 

3 and other infants, toddlers, and children who are 

4 younger than 13 years of age)— 

5 (A) to carry out programs under para6 graph (1); 

7 (B) to provide services under section 

8 412(a); and 

9 (C) to conduct assessments under section 

10 412(a)(1)(A). 

11 (c) OVERSIGHT ON ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTH

12 CARE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 

15 years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the 

16 United States shall conduct an evaluation of the 

17 medical, behavioral, and mental health services pro18 vided to unaccompanied alien children in the care of 

19 the Office of Refugee Resettlement and submit a re20 port and recommendations to the Department, the 

21 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen22 sions of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary 

23 of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Com24 merce of the House of Representatives, and the 


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1 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep2 resentatives. 

3 (2) CONTENT.—Each report under paragraph 

4 (1) shall address— 

5 (A) the extent to which entities with which 

6 the Office of Refugee Resettlement contracts 

7 meet established standards for ensuring the 

8 safety and well-being of alien children in their 

9 care; 

10 (B) the quality and appropriateness of the 

11 health care services provided to such children, 

12 including the administration of medications and 

13 treatment; 

14 (C) the extent to which medical, behav15 ioral, and mental health services address the 

16 needs of traumatized children and mitigate the 

17 long-term health consequences of trauma expo18 sure; 

19 (D) the adequacy of practices to assess the 

20 qualifications, including training and licensure, 

21 of the professionals administering care, includ22 ing the expertise of such professionals in pro23 viding trauma-informed care; 

24 (E) the adequacy of appropriately-trained 

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1 tlement tasked with assessing the adequacy of 

2 care provided to children in their care; and 

3 (F) oversight, investigations, and actions 

4 taken to address allegations against contracted 

5 entities of mistreatment, abuse, or neglect of 

6 children under any program under Federal or 

7 State law. 

8 SEC. 412. SERVICES TO UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN 

9 AFTER PLACEMENT. 

10 (a) TRAUMA-INFORMED, RISK-BASED, POST-PLACE11 MENT SERVICES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts appropriated 

13 pursuant to section 403 to carry out this section, the 

14 Secretary shall assist each unaccompanied alien 

15 child in a placement with a sponsor by— 

16 (A) completing an individualized assess17 ment of the need for services to be provided 

18 after placement; and 

19 (B) providing such post-placement services 

20 during the pendency of all immigration pro21 ceedings or until no longer necessary, whichever 

22 is later. 

23 (2) MINIMUM SERVICES.—The services referred 

24 to in paragraph (1)(B) shall include— 


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1 (A) for the unaccompanied alien child, at 

2 least 1 post-placement case management serv3 ices visit not later than 30 days after placement 

4 with a sponsor and the referral of the child to 

5 service providers in the community; 

6 (B) for the family of the child’s sponsor, 

7 orientation and other functional family support 

8 services, as determined to be necessary in the 

9 individualized assessment; and 

10 (C) for each unaccompanied alien child 

11 traumatized by separation of such child from 

12 the child’s parent or guardian by the Federal 

13 Government, comprehensive, trauma-informed 

14 services to assist such child. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE USE OF CHILD ADVOCATES FOR THE

16 MOST VULNERABLE UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL17 DREN.—The Secretary shall— 

18 (1) direct the Director— 

19 (A) to identify and track the referral rates 

20 of unaccompanied alien children to child advo21 cates by care providers and investigate in22 stances in which such a rate is low; 

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1 plied when a care provider determines if such a 

2 child is eligible for referral to a child advocate; 

3 (C) to provide technical assistance to care 

4 providers to ensure compliance with such cri5 teria; 

6 (D) to establish a process for stakeholders 

7 and the public to refer unaccompanied alien 

8 children, including those placed with a sponsor, 

9 to the child advocate program to determine if 

10 such child meets the referral criteria for ap11 pointment of a child advocate; and 

12 (E) to refer to a child advocate each unac13 companied alien child described in subsection 

14 (a)(2)(C); and 

15 (2) ensure that each child advocate for an unac16 companied alien child— 

17 (A) is provided access to materials nec18 essary to advocate effectively for the best inter19 est of the child, including direct access to sig20 nificant incident reports, home studies, and 

21 similar materials and information; and 

22 (B) is notified when new materials and in23 formation described in subparagraph (A) relat24 ing to the child are created or become available. 


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1 SEC. 413. BACKGROUND CHECKS TO ENSURE THE SAFE 

2 PLACEMENT OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN 

3 CHILDREN. 

4 (a) CRIMINAL AND CIVIL RECORD CHECKS.— 

5 (1) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out the func6 tions transferred to the Director under section 

7 462(a) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

8 U.S.C. 279(a)), from amounts appropriated pursu9 ant to section 403 to carry out this section, the Di10 rector shall perform, consistent with best practices 

11 in the field of child welfare, and a prospective spon12 sor and all resident adults in the home of the pro13 spective sponsor shall submit to the following record 

14 checks (which shall be completed as expeditiously as 

15 possible): 

16 (A) Fingerprint-based checks (except as 

17 described in paragraph (2)) in national crime 

18 information databases, as defined in section 

19 534(e)(3) of title 28, United States Code. 

20 (B) A search of the State criminal registry 

21 or repository for any State (except as described 

22 in paragraph (3)) in which the prospective 

23 sponsor or resident adult has resided during the 

24 5 years preceding the search. 

25 (C) A search of the National Sex Offender 

26 Registry established under section 119 of the 


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1 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 

2 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16919). 

3 (D) A search (except as described in para4 graphs (2) and (3)) of State-based child abuse 

5 and neglect registries and databases for any 

6 State in which the prospective sponsor or resi7 dent adult has resided during the 5 years pre8 ceding the search. 

9 (2) PARENTS AND GUARDIANS.—For purposes 

10 of paragraph (1), if the prospective sponsor is the 

11 parent or guardian of the child involved, the Direc12 tor shall have discretion to determine whether the 

13 Director shall perform, and the prospective sponsor 

14 and resident adults described in paragraph (1) shall 

15 submit to, a check described in subparagraph (A) or 

16 (D) of paragraph (1). 

17 (3) WAIVERS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter19 mines that it is not feasible to conduct the 

20 check described in subparagraph (B) or (D) of 

21 paragraph (1) for a State, including infeasi22 bility due to a State’s refusal or nonresponse in 

23 response to a request for related information, or 

24 that the average time to receive results from a 

25 State for such a check is more than 10 business 


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1 days, the Secretary may waive the requirements 

2 of that subparagraph with respect to the State 

3 involved for a period of not more than 1 year. 

4 The Secretary may renew the waiver in accord5 ance with this subparagraph. 

6 (B) PROHIBITION ON DELEGATION.—The 

7 Secretary may not delegate the responsibility 

8 under subparagraph (A) to another officer or 

9 employee of the Department. 

10 (C) STATES WHERE WAIVERS APPLY.—The 

11 Secretary shall make available, on a website of 

12 the Department, the list of States for which the 

13 requirements of subparagraph (B) or (D) of 

14 paragraph (1) are waived under this paragraph. 

15 (4) USE OF RECORD CHECKS.—The information 

16 revealed by a record check performed pursuant to 

17 this section shall be used only by the Director for 

18 the purpose of determining whether a potential 

19 sponsor is a suitable sponsor for a placement for an 

20 unaccompanied alien child. 

21 (b) PLACEMENT DETERMINATIONS GENERALLY.— 

22 (1) DENIALS REQUIRED FOR CERTAIN

23 CRIMES.—The Director shall deny any placement for 

24 a prospective sponsor (other than the parent or 

25 guardian of the child involved), and may deny any 


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1 placement for a prospective sponsor who is the par2 ent or guardian of the child involved subject to sub3 section (c), if the record checks performed pursuant 

4 to this section reveal that the prospective sponsor or 

5 a resident adult in the home of the prospective spon6 sor was convicted at age 18 or older of a crime that 

7 is a felony consisting of any of the following: 

8 (A) Domestic violence, stalking, child 

9 abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment, if 

10 the prospective sponsor or resident adult served 

11 at least 1 year imprisonment for a crime speci12 fied in this subparagraph, or if the prospective 

13 sponsor or resident adult was convicted of 2 or 

14 more crimes specified in this subparagraph, not 

15 arising out of a single scheme of criminal mis16 conduct. 

17 (B) A crime against a child involving por18 nography. 

19 (C) Human trafficking. 

20 (D) Rape or sexual assault. 

21 (E) Homicide. 

22 (2) DENIALS CONSIDERED FOR CERTAIN OF23 FENSES.—The Director may deny a placement for a 

24 prospective sponsor if the record checks performed 

25 pursuant to this section reveal that the prospective 


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1 sponsor or a resident adult in the home of a pro2 spective sponsor was adjudged guilty of a civil of3 fense or was convicted of a crime not covered by 

4 paragraph (1). The Director, in making a deter5 mination about whether to approve or deny the 

6 placement, shall consider all of the following factors: 

7 (A) The type of offense. 

8 (B) The number of offenses the sponsor or 

9 resident adult has been adjudged guilty or con10 victed of. 

11 (C) The length of time that has elapsed 

12 since the adjudication or conviction. 

13 (D) The nature of the offense. 

14 (E) The age of the individual at the time 

15 of the adjudication or conviction. 

16 (F) The relationship between the offense 

17 and the capacity to care for a child. 

18 (G) Evidence of rehabilitation of the indi19 vidual. 

20 (H) Opinions of community and family 

21 members concerning the individual. 

22 (c) PLACEMENT DETERMINATIONS CONCERNING

23 PARENTS OR GUARDIANS.—The Director may deny a 

24 placement for a prospective sponsor who is the parent or 

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1 formed pursuant to this section reveal that the prospective 

2 sponsor or a resident adult in the home of a prospective 

3 sponsor was adjudged guilty of a civil offense or was con4 victed of a crime. The Director, in making a determination 

5 about whether to approve or deny the placement, shall 

6 consider all of the factors described in subsection (b)(2). 

7 (d) APPEALS PROCESS.— 

8 (1) INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall provide 

9 information to each prospective sponsor on how such 

10 sponsor may appeal— 

11 (A) a placement determination under this 

12 section, including— 

13 (i) prompt notice of the opportunity to 

14 so appeal; and 

15 (ii) instructions about how to partici16 pate in the appeals process; and 

17 (B) the results of a record check per18 formed pursuant to this section or the accuracy 

19 or completeness of the information yielded by 

20 the record check, as provided in paragraph (2), 

21 including— 

22 (i) prompt notice of the opportunity to 

23 so appeal; and 

24 (ii) instructions about how to partici25 pate in the appeals process. 


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1 (2) APPEAL.—Each Federal agency responsible 

2 for administering or maintaining the information in 

3 a database, registry, or repository used in a record 

4 check performed pursuant to this section or respon5 sible for the accuracy or completeness of the infor6 mation yielded by the record check shall— 

7 (A) establish a process for an appeal con8 cerning the results of that record check, or that 

9 accuracy or completeness; and 

10 (B) complete such process not later than 

11 30 days after the date on which such an appeal 

12 is filed. 

13 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec14 tion may be construed to prohibit the Director from estab15 lishing additional checks or procedures (besides the checks 

16 required in this section) for sponsors, to enable the Direc17 tor— 

18 (1) to oversee and promote the health, safety, 

19 and well-being of unaccompanied alien children; or 

20 (2) to prevent the exploitation, neglect, or abuse 

21 of unaccompanied alien children. 


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1 SEC. 414. RESPONSIBILITY OF SPONSOR FOR IMMIGRATION 

2 COURT COMPLIANCE AND CHILD WELL3 BEING. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts appropriated pur5 suant to section 403 to carry out this section, the Sec6 retary, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall es7 tablish procedures to ensure that legal orientation pro8 grams regarding immigration court and rights and respon9 sibilities for the well-being of unaccompanied alien chil10 dren are provided to all prospective sponsors of unaccom11 panied alien children prior to an unaccompanied alien 

12 child’s placement with such a sponsor. 

13 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The procedures de14 scribed in subsection (a) shall include a requirement that 

15 each legal orientation program described in such sub16 section shall provide information on the sponsor’s rights 

17 and responsibilities to— 

18 (1) ensure the unaccompanied alien child ap19 pears at immigration proceedings and communicate 

20 with the court involved regarding the child’s change 

21 of address and other relevant information; 

22 (2) immediately enroll the child in school, and 

23 shall provide information and resources if the spon24 sor encounters difficulty enrolling such child in 

25 school; 


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1 (3) provide access to health care, including 

2 mental health care as needed, and any necessary 

3 age-appropriate health screening to the child; 

4 (4) report potential child traffickers and other 

5 persons seeking to victimize or exploit unaccom6 panied alien children, or otherwise engage such chil7 dren in criminal, harmful, or dangerous activity; 

8 (5) seek assistance from the Department re9 garding the health, safety, and well-being of the 

10 child placed with the sponsor; and 

11 (6) file a complaint, if necessary, with the Sec12 retary or the Secretary of Homeland Security re13 garding treatment of unaccompanied alien children 

14 while under the care of the Office of Refugee Reset15 tlement or the Department of Homeland Security, 

16 respectively. 

17 SEC. 415. MONITORING UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL18 DREN. 

19 (a) RISK-BASED POST-PLACEMENT SERVICES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts appropriated 

21 pursuant to section 403 to carry out this section, the 

22 Secretary shall assist each unaccompanied alien 

23 child in a placement with a sponsor by— 


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1 (A) completing an individualized assess2 ment of the need for services to be provided 

3 after placement; and 

4 (B) providing such post-placement services 

5 during the pendency of removal proceedings or 

6 until no longer necessary. 

7 (2) MINIMUM SERVICES.—For the purposes of 

8 paragraph (1), the services shall, at a minimum, in9 clude— 

10 (A) for the unaccompanied alien child, at 

11 least one post-placement case management serv12 ices visit within 30 days after placement with a 

13 sponsor and the referral of unaccompanied alien 

14 children to service providers in the community; 

15 and 

16 (B) for the family of the child’s sponsor, 

17 orientation and other functional family support 

18 services, as determined to be necessary in the 

19 individualized assessment. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE USE OF CHILD ADVOCATES FOR THE

21 MOST VULNERABLE UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL22 DREN.—The Secretary shall— 

23 (1) direct the Director— 

24 (A) to identify and track the referral rates 

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1 cates by care providers and investigate in2 stances in which such a rate is low; 

3 (B) to ensure that the referral criteria es4 tablished by the Director are appropriately ap5 plied when a care provider determines if such a 

6 child is eligible for referral to a child advocate; 

7 (C) to provide technical assistance to care 

8 providers to ensure compliance with such cri9 teria; and 

10 (D) to establish a process for stakeholders 

11 and the public to refer unaccompanied alien 

12 children, including those placed with a sponsor, 

13 to the child advocate program to determine if 

14 such child meets the referral criteria for ap15 pointment of a child advocate; and 

16 (2) ensure that each child advocate for an unac17 companied alien child shall— 

18 (A) be provided access to materials nec19 essary to advocate effectively for the best inter20 est of the child, including direct access to sig21 nificant incident reports, home studies, and 

22 similar materials and information; and 

23 (B) be notified when new materials and in24 formation described in subparagraph (A) relat25 ing to the child are created or become available. 


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1 Subtitle B—Funding to States and 

2 School Districts; Supporting 

3 Education and Safety 

4 SEC. 421. FUNDING TO STATES TO CONDUCT STATE CRIMI5 NAL CHECKS AND CHILD ABUSE AND NE6 GLECT CHECKS. 

7 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term 

8 ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 States of the United States 

9 and the District of Columbia. 

10 (b) PAYMENTS TO STATES TO CONDUCT STATE

11 CRIMINAL REGISTRY OR REPOSITORY SEARCHES AND TO

12 CONDUCT CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT CHECKS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts appropriated 

14 pursuant to section 403 to carry out this section, the 

15 Secretary shall, in accordance with this subsection, 

16 make payments to States, through each agency in 

17 each State tasked with administering the State 

18 criminal registry or repository required under sec19 tion 413(a)(1)(B) or the State child abuse and ne20 glect registry required under section 413(a)(1)(D), 

21 to assist with searches of such registries, reposi22 tories, or databases for prospective sponsors of unac23 companied alien children and resident adults in the 

24 home of such prospective sponsors, in accordance 

25 with section 413. 


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1 (2) ALLOTMENTS.— 

2 (A) STATE CRIMINAL REGISTRY AND RE3 POSITORY SEARCHES.—In each fiscal year, 

4 using amounts appropriated pursuant to section 

5 403 to carry out this section with respect to the 

6 program providing payments to States to assist 

7 with criminal registry or repository searches, 

8 the Secretary shall allot to each State partici9 pating in such program, through the agency in 

10 each such State tasked with administering the 

11 State criminal registry or repository described 

12 in section 413(a)(1)(B), an amount that bears 

13 the same relationship to such funds as the 

14 number of searches of such State criminal reg15 istry or repository conducted in accordance with 

16 section 413(a)(1)(B) in the State bears to the 

17 total number of such searches in all States par18 ticipating in the program. 

19 (B) CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

20 CHECKS.—In each fiscal year, using amounts 

21 appropriated pursuant to section 403 to carry 

22 out this section with respect to the program 

23 providing payments to States to assist with 

24 child abuse and neglect registry and database 

25 searches, the Secretary shall allot to each State 


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1 participating in such program, through the 

2 agency in each such State tasked with admin3 istering the State child abuse and neglect reg4 istries and databases described in section 

5 413(a)(1)(D), an amount that bears the same 

6 relationship to such funds as the number of 

7 searches of such child abuse and neglect reg8 istries and databases conducted in accordance 

9 with such section in the State bears to the total 

10 number of such searches in all States partici11 pating in the program. 

12 (C) TRANSITION RULE.—In the first fiscal 

13 year in which funds are made available under 

14 this title to carry out this section, the Secretary 

15 shall make allotments to each State partici16 pating in the programs under this section in ac17 cordance with subparagraphs (A) and (B), 

18 based on the Secretary’s estimate of the num19 ber of the searches described in each such sub20 paragraph, respectively, that each of the States 

21 are expected to conduct in such fiscal year. 

22 (3) STATE APPLICATIONS.—Each State agency 

23 described in paragraph (1) desiring an allotment 

24 under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) 

25 shall submit an application at such time, in such 


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1 manner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary may require, which shall include an assurance 

3 that the State agency will respond promptly to all 

4 requests from the Director, within a reasonable time 

5 period determined by the Director, to conduct a 

6 search required under section 413 in a timely man7 ner, and a description of how funds will be used to 

8 meet such assurance. 

9 SEC. 422. UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS. 

10 (a) IMMEDIATE ENROLLMENT.—To be eligible for 

11 funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education 

12 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), a local educational 

13 agency shall— 

14 (1) ensure that unaccompanied alien children in 

15 the area served by the local educational agency are 

16 immediately enrolled in school following placement 

17 with a sponsor, and any available academic or other 

18 records are transferred to such school; and 

19 (2) remove barriers to enrollment and full par20 ticipation in educational programs and services of21 fered by the local educational agency for unaccom22 panied alien children (including barriers related to 

23 documentation, age, language, and lack of a parent 

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1 vising policies that may have a negative effect on 

2 such children. 

3 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—Using amounts appro4 priated pursuant to section 403 to carry out this section, 

5 the Secretary of Education shall award grants, on a com6 petitive basis, to eligible local educational agencies, or con7 sortia of neighboring local educational agencies, described 

8 in subsection (c) to enable the local educational agencies 

9 or consortia to enhance opportunities for, and provide 

10 services to, immigrant children and youth, including unac11 companied alien children, in the area served by the local 

12 educational agencies or consortia. 

13 (c) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency, 

15 or a consortium of neighboring local educational 

16 agencies, is eligible for a grant under subsection (b) 

17 if, during the fiscal year for which a grant is award18 ed under this section, there are 25 or more unac19 companied alien children enrolled in the public 

20 schools served by the local educational agency or the 

21 consortium, respectively. 

22 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF NUMBER OF UNAC23 COMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.—The Secretary of 

24 Education shall determine the number of unaccom25 panied alien children for purposes of paragraph (1) 


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1 based on the most accurate data available that is 

2 provided to the Secretary of Education by the Direc3 tor or the Department of Homeland Security. 

4 (d) APPLICATIONS.—A local educational agency, or 

5 a consortia of neighboring local educational agencies, de6 siring a grant under this section shall submit an applica7 tion to the Secretary of Education, which shall include a 

8 description of how the grant will be used to enhance op9 portunities for, and provide services to, immigrant chil10 dren and youth (including unaccompanied alien children) 

11 and their families, provide trauma-informed services and 

12 supports (including mental health care services for such 

13 children and youth), improve engagement with the spon14 sors of such children or youth, and provide specialized in15 structional support services (which may include hiring spe16 cialized instructional support personnel with expertise in 

17 providing services to such children and youth). 


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1 TITLE V—ENSURING ORDERLY 

2 AND HUMANE MANAGEMENT 

3 OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES 

4 SEEKING PROTECTION 

5 Subtitle A—Providing a Fair and 

6 Efficient Legal Process for Chil7 dren and Vulnerable Families 

8 Seeking Asylum 

9 SEC. 511. COURT APPEARANCE COMPLIANCE AND LEGAL 

10 ORIENTATION. 

11 (a) ACCESS TO LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS TO

12 ENSURE COURT APPEARANCE COMPLIANCE.— 

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

14 Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, 

15 shall establish procedures, consistent with the proce16 dures established pursuant to section 414, to ensure 

17 that legal orientation programs are available for all 

18 aliens detained by the Department of Homeland Se19 curity. 

20 (2) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Programs under 

21 paragraph (1) shall inform aliens described in such 

22 paragraph regarding— 

23 (A) the basic procedures of immigration 

24 hearings; 


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1 (B) their rights and obligations relating to 

2 such hearings under Federal immigration laws 

3 to ensure appearance at all immigration pro4 ceedings; 

5 (C) their rights under Federal immigration 

6 laws, including available legal protections and 

7 the procedure for requesting such protection; 

8 (D) the consequences of filing frivolous 

9 legal claims and of failing to appear for pro10 ceedings; and 

11 (E) any other subject that the Attorney 

12 General considers appropriate, such as a con13 tact list of potential legal resources and pro14 viders. 

15 (3) ELIGIBILITY.—An alien shall be given ac16 cess to legal orientation programs under this sub17 section regardless of the alien’s current immigration 

18 status, prior immigration history, or potential for 

19 immigration relief. 

20 (b) PILOT PROJECT FOR NONDETAINED ALIENS IN

21 REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

23 develop and administer a 2-year pilot program at 

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1 detained aliens with pending asylum claims access to 

2 legal information. 

3 (2) REPORT.—At the conclusion of the pilot 

4 program under this subsection, the Attorney General 

5 shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judi6 ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judi7 ciary of the House of Representatives that describes 

8 the extent to which nondetained aliens are provided 

9 with access to counsel. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated to the Executive Office of 

12 Immigration Review of the Department of Justice such 

13 sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

14 SEC. 512. FAIR DAY IN COURT FOR KIDS. 

15 (a) APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL IN REMOVAL PRO16 CEEDINGS; RIGHT TO REVIEW CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN

17 REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 240(b) of the Immi18 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘, at no expense to the 

23 Government,’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking the comma at the end 

25 and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

2 and (C) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec3 tively; 

4 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General may appoint or 

7 provide counsel, at Government expense, to 

8 aliens in immigration proceedings; 

9 ‘‘(C) the alien, or the alien’s counsel, not 

10 later than 7 days after receiving a notice to ap11 pear under section 239(a), shall receive a com12 plete copy of the alien’s immigration file (com13 monly known as an ‘A-file’) in the possession of 

14 the Department of Homeland Security (other 

15 than documents protected from disclosure under 

16 section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code);’’; 

17 and 

18 (D) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, 

19 by striking ‘‘, and’’ and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

21 ‘‘(8) FAILURE TO PROVIDE ALIEN REQUIRED

22 DOCUMENTS.—A removal proceeding may not pro23 ceed until the alien, or the alien’s counsel, if the 

24 alien is represented— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has received the documents required 

2 under paragraph (4)(C); and 

3 ‘‘(B) has been provided at least 10 days to 

4 review and assess such documents.’’. 

5 (b) CLARIFICATION REGARDING THE AUTHORITY OF

6 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO APPOINT COUNSEL TO

7 ALIENS IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 292 of the Immigra9 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362) is amend10 ed to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 292. RIGHT TO COUNSEL. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub13 sections (b) and (c), in any removal proceeding and in any 

14 appeal proceeding before the Attorney General from any 

15 such removal proceeding, the subject of the proceeding 

16 shall have the privilege of being represented by such coun17 sel as may be authorized to practice in such proceeding 

18 as he or she may choose. This subsection shall not apply 

19 to screening proceedings described in section 

20 235(b)(1)(A). 

21 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO COUNSEL FOR UNACCOMPANIED

22 ALIEN CHILDREN.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any removal proceeding 

24 and in any appeal proceeding before the Attorney 

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1 companied alien child (as defined in section 462(g) 

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

3 279(g))) shall be represented by Government-ap4 pointed counsel, at Government expense. 

5 ‘‘(2) LENGTH OF REPRESENTATION.—Once a 

6 child is designated as an unaccompanied alien child 

7 under paragraph (1), the child shall be represented 

8 by counsel at every stage of the proceedings from 

9 the child’s initial appearance through the termi10 nation of immigration proceedings, and any ancillary 

11 matters appropriate to such proceedings even if the 

12 child attains 18 years of age or is reunified with a 

13 parent or legal guardian while the proceedings are 

14 pending. 

15 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—Not later than 72 hours after 

16 an unaccompanied alien child is taken into Federal 

17 custody, the alien shall be notified that he or she will 

18 be provided with legal counsel in accordance with 

19 this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(4) WITHIN DETENTION FACILITIES.—The 

21 Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that 

22 unaccompanied alien children have access to counsel 

23 inside all detention, holding, and border facilities. 

24 ‘‘(c) PRO BONO REPRESENTATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent 

2 practicable, the Attorney General should make every 

3 effort to utilize the services of competent counsel 

4 who agree to provide representation to such children 

5 under subsection (b) without charge. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF NECESSARY INFRA7 STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS.—The Attorney General 

8 shall develop the necessary mechanisms to identify 

9 counsel available to provide pro bono legal assistance 

10 and representation to children under subsection (b) 

11 and to recruit such counsel. 

12 ‘‘(d) CONTRACTS; GRANTS.—The Attorney General 

13 may enter into contracts with, or award grants to, non14 profit agencies with relevant expertise in the delivery of 

15 immigration-related legal services to children to carry out 

16 the responsibilities under this section, including providing 

17 legal orientation, screening cases for referral, recruiting, 

18 training, and overseeing pro bono attorneys. Nonprofit 

19 agencies may enter into subcontracts with, or award 

20 grants to, private voluntary agencies with relevant exper21 tise in the delivery of immigration related legal services 

22 to children in order to carry out this section. 

23 ‘‘(e) MODEL GUIDELINES ON LEGAL REPRESENTA24 TION OF CHILDREN.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES.—The Ex2 ecutive Office for Immigration Review, in consulta3 tion with voluntary agencies and national experts, 

4 shall develop model guidelines for the legal represen5 tation of alien children in immigration proceedings, 

6 which shall be based on the children’s asylum guide7 lines, the American Bar Association Model Rules of 

8 Professional Conduct, and other relevant domestic or 

9 international sources. 

10 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE OF GUIDELINES.—The guide11 lines developed under paragraph (1) shall be de12 signed to help protect each child from any individual 

13 suspected of involvement in any criminal, harmful, 

14 or exploitative activity associated with the smuggling 

15 or trafficking of children, while ensuring the fairness 

16 of the removal proceeding in which the child is in17 volved. 

18 ‘‘(f) DUTIES OF COUNSEL.—Counsel provided under 

19 this section shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) represent the unaccompanied alien child in 

21 all proceedings and matters relating to the immigra22 tion status of the child or other actions involving the 

23 Department of Homeland Security; 

24 ‘‘(2) appear in person for all individual merits 

25 hearings before the Executive Office for Immigration 


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1 Review and interviews involving the Department of 

2 Homeland Security; 

3 ‘‘(3) owe the same duties of undivided loyalty, 

4 confidentiality, and competent representation to the 

5 child as is due to an adult client; and 

6 ‘‘(4) carry out other such duties as may be pro7 scribed by the Attorney General or the Executive Of8 fice for Immigration Review. 

9 ‘‘(g) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

10 may be construed to supersede— 

11 ‘‘(1) any duties, responsibilities, disciplinary, or 

12 ethical responsibilities an attorney may have to his 

13 or her client under State law; 

14 ‘‘(2) the admission requirements under State 

15 law; or 

16 ‘‘(3) any other State law pertaining to the ad17 mission to the practice of law in a particular juris18 diction.’’. 

19 (2) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General shall 

20 promulgate regulations to implement section 292 of 

21 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

22 paragraph (1), in accordance with the requirements 

23 set forth in section 3006A of title 18, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 SEC. 513. ACCESS TO COUNSEL AND LEGAL ORIENTATION 

2 AT DETENTION FACILITIES. 

3 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide ac4 cess to counsel for all aliens detained in a facility under 

5 the supervision of U.S. Immigration and Customs En6 forcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or the 

7 Department of Health and Human Services, or in any pri8 vate facility that contracts with the Federal Government 

9 to house, detain, or hold aliens. 

10 SEC. 514. REPORT ON ACCESS TO COUNSEL. 

11 (a) REPORT.—Not later than December 31 of each 

12 year, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

13 with the Attorney General, shall prepare and submit a re14 port to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

15 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep16 resentatives regarding the extent to which aliens described 

17 in section 292(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

18 as added by section 512(b), have been provided access to 

19 counsel. 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under para21 graph (a) shall include, for the immediately preceding 1- 

22 year period— 

23 (1) the number and percentage of aliens de24 scribed in section 292(b) of the Immigration and 

25 Nationality Act, as added by section 512(b), who 


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1 were represented by counsel, including information 

2 specifying— 

3 (A) the stage of the legal process at which 

4 each such alien was represented; 

5 (B) whether the alien was in government 

6 custody; and 

7 (C) the nationality and ages of such aliens; 

8 and 

9 (2) the number and percentage of aliens who 

10 received legal orientation presentations, including 

11 the nationality and ages of such aliens. 

12 SEC. 515. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro14 priated to the Executive Office of Immigration Review of 

15 the Department of Justice such sums as may be necessary 

16 to carry out sections 512 through 514. 

17 (b) BUDGETARY EFFECTS.—The budgetary effects of 

18 this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory 

19 Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by ref20 erence to the latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects 

21 of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, submitted for print22 ing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the 

23 Senate Budget Committee, provided that such statement 

24 has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. 


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1 Subtitle B—Reducing Significant 

2 Delays in Immigration Court 

3 SEC. 521. ELIMINATE IMMIGRATION COURT BACKLOGS. 

4 (a) ANNUAL INCREASES IN IMMIGRATION JUDGES.— 

5 The Attorney General shall increase the total number of 

6 immigration judges to adjudicate pending cases and effi7 ciently process future cases by at least 75 judges during 

8 each of the fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

9 (b) QUALIFICATION; SELECTION.—The Attorney 

10 General shall— 

11 (1) ensure that all newly hired immigration 

12 judges and Board of Immigration Appeals members 

13 are highly qualified and trained to conduct fair, im14 partial adjudications in accordance with applicable 

15 due process requirements; and 

16 (2) in selecting immigration judges, may not 

17 give any preference to candidates with prior govern18 ment experience compared to equivalent subject-mat19 ter expertise resulting from nonprofit, private bar, or 

20 academic experience. 

21 (c) NECESSARY SUPPORT STAFF FOR IMMIGRATION

22 JUDGES.—To address the shortage of support staff for 

23 immigration judges, the Attorney General shall ensure 

24 that each immigration judge has sufficient support staff, 


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1 adequate technological and security resources, and appro2 priate courtroom facilities. 

3 (d) ANNUAL INCREASES IN BOARD OF IMMIGRATION

4 APPEALS PERSONNEL.—The Attorney General shall in5 crease the number of Board of Immigration Appeals staff 

6 attorneys (including necessary additional support staff) to 

7 efficiently process cases by at least— 

8 (1) 23 attorneys during fiscal year 2019; 

9 (2) an additional 23 attorneys during fiscal 

10 year 2020; and 

11 (3) an additional 23 attorneys during fiscal 

12 year 2021. 

13 (e) GAO REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the 

14 United States shall— 

15 (1) conduct a study of the hurdles to efficient 

16 hiring of immigration court judges within the De17 partment of Justice; and 

18 (2) propose solutions to Congress for improving 

19 the efficiency of the hiring process. 

20 SEC. 522. IMPROVED TRAINING FOR IMMIGRATION JUDGES 

21 AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF IMMIGRA22 TION APPEALS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure efficient and fair pro24 ceedings, the Director of the Executive Office for Immi25 gration Review shall facilitate robust training programs 


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1 for immigration judges and members of the Board of Im2 migration Appeals. 

3 (b) MANDATORY TRAINING.—Training facilitated 

4 under subsection (a) shall include— 

5 (1) expanding the training program for new im6 migration judges and Board members; 

7 (2) continuing education regarding current de8 velopments in immigration law through regularly 

9 available training resources and an annual con10 ference; and 

11 (3) methods to ensure that immigration judges 

12 are trained on properly crafting and dictating deci13 sions and standards of review, including improved 

14 on-bench reference materials and decision templates. 

15 SEC. 523. NEW TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE COURT EFFI16 CIENCY. 

17 The Director of the Executive Office for Immigration 

18 Review will modernize its case management and related 

19 electronic systems, including allowing for electronic filing, 

20 to improve efficiency in the processing of immigration pro21 ceedings. 


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1 Subtitle C—Reducing the Likeli2 hood of Repeated Migration to 

3 the United States 

4 SEC. 531. ESTABLISHING REINTEGRATION AND MONI5 TORING SERVICES FOR REPATRIATING CHIL6 DREN. 

7 (a) CONSULTATION WITH UNHCR.—The Secretary 

8 of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services, and the Secretary of State shall consult 

10 with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 

11 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘UNHCR’’), Central 

12 American governments, and nongovernmental organiza13 tions with expertise in child welfare and unaccompanied 

14 migrant children to develop a child-centered repatriation 

15 process for unaccompanied children being returned to 

16 their country of origin that requires a determination of 

17 the best interest of the child before the child is repatriated 

18 to his or her country of origin. 

19 (b) COLLABORATION WITH REGIONAL GOVERN20 MENTS AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.—The 

21 Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 

22 States Agency for International Development, in coordina23 tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall col24 laborate with regional governments and international and 


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1 domestic nongovernmental organizations to reduce chil2 dren’s need to emigrate again by— 

3 (1) establishing and expanding comprehensive 

4 long-term reintegration services at the municipal 

5 level for repatriated unaccompanied children once re6 turned to their communities of origin; 

7 (2) establishing monitoring and verification 

8 services to determine the well-being of repatriated 

9 children in order to determine if United States pro10 tection and screening functioned effectively in identi11 fying persecuted and trafficked children; 

12 (3) providing emergency referrals to the 

13 UNHCR for registration and safe passage to an es14 tablished emergency transit center for refugees for 

15 any repatriated children who are facing immediate 

16 risk of harm; and 

17 (4) ensuring that international and domestic 

18 civil society organizations with expertise in child wel19 fare, unaccompanied migrant children, and inter20 national protection needs have access to government 

21 run reception centers for repatriated children— 

22 (A) to identify children with protection 

23 needs; and 


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1 (B) to offer child services following their 

2 return to their communities. 

Æ 


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