II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 44 

To provide for the expedited processing of unaccompanied alien children 

illegally entering the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 7, 2015 

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the expedited processing of unaccompanied 

alien children illegally entering the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. EQUAL TREATMENT OF UNACCOMPANIED 

4 ALIEN CHILDREN. 

5 Section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking 

6 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 

7 1232) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) by amending the paragraph head2 ing to read as follows: ‘‘RULES FOR UNAC3 COMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN’’; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 ‘‘who is a national or habitual resident of 

6 a country that is contiguous with the 

7 United States’’; 

8 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

10 (i), by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘shall’’; and 

12 (II) in clause (ii), by inserting 

13 ‘‘not later than 72 hours after the 

14 child is screened under paragraph (4) 

15 by placing the child on the next avail16 able flight to such country, subject to 

17 determinations of cost, feasibility and 

18 any repatriation agreements with such 

19 country’’ before the period at the end; 

20 and 

21 (iv) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

22 ‘‘countries contiguous to the United 

23 States’’ and inserting ‘‘countries from 

24 which large numbers of unaccompanied 


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1 alien children are unlawfully entering the 

2 United States’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘Within 48 hours of’’ 

5 and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48 

7 hours after’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘Nothing in this para9 graph’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(B) GANG AFFILIATION.—If an immigra11 tion officer determines that an unaccompanied 

12 alien child is, or has been, affiliated with a 

13 criminal street gang (as defined in section 

14 521(a) of title 18, United States Code), the 

15 child shall be treated in accordance with para16 graph (2)(B). 

17 ‘‘(C) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

18 this paragraph’’; and 

19 (C) in paragraph (5)(D), by striking ‘‘from 

20 a contiguous country subject to exceptions 

21 under subsection (a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘de22 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (c)— 

24 (A) by striking paragraphs (2) through 

25 (4); 


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1 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 

2 (6) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 

3 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(2) MANDATORY DETENTION FOR UNACCOM6 PANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.—An unaccompanied alien 

7 child who is apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol or 

8 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall 

9 be detained and remain in the custody of the De10 partment of Homeland Security until the child— 

11 ‘‘(A) voluntarily departs from the United 

12 States in accordance with section 240B of the 

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

14 1229c); 

15 ‘‘(B) is expeditiously removed from the 

16 United States in accordance with— 

17 ‘‘(i) an order of removal issued in ac18 cordance with section 235(b)(1) of such 

19 Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) a final order of removal issued at 

21 the conclusion of special removal pro22 ceedings conducted pursuant to section 

23 240 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a); or 

24 ‘‘(C) is legally admitted into the United 

25 States as— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a refugee under section 207 of 

2 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1157); or 

3 ‘‘(ii) an asylee under section 208 of 

4 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1158).’’. 

5 SEC. 2. EXPEDITED DUE PROCESS AND SCREENING OF UN6 ACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of the Immigration and 

8 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is amended by 

9 inserting after section 235A the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 235B. HUMANE AND EXPEDITED INSPECTION AND 

11 SCREENING FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN 

12 CHILDREN. 

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

14 ‘‘(1) ASYLUM OFFICER.—The term ‘asylum offi15 cer’ means an immigration officer who— 

16 ‘‘(A) has had professional training in coun17 try conditions, asylum law, and interview tech18 niques comparable to that provided to full-time 

19 adjudicators of applications under section 208, 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) is supervised by an officer who— 

22 ‘‘(i) meets the condition described in 

23 subparagraph (A); and 

24 ‘‘(ii) has had substantial experience 

25 adjudicating asylum applications. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SUBSTANTIATED FEAR OF PERSECU2 TION.—The term ‘substantiated fear of persecution’ 

3 means, after taking into account the credibility of 

4 the statements made by the alien in support of the 

5 alien’s claim and such other facts as are known to 

6 the officer, there is a significant possibility that the 

7 alien could establish eligibility for asylum under sec8 tion 208. 

9 ‘‘(b) PROCEEDING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days after 

11 the screening of an unaccompanied alien child under 

12 section 235(a)(4) of the William Wilberforce Traf13 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 

14 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(a)(4)), an immigration judge 

15 shall conduct a proceeding to inspect, screen, and 

16 determine the status of an unaccompanied alien 

17 child who is an applicant for admission to the 

18 United States. 

19 ‘‘(2) BIOMETRIC DATA COLLECTION.—The in20 spection and screening required under paragraph (1) 

21 shall include the collection of biometric data from 

22 each unaccompanied alien child, including photo23 graphs and fingerprints. 

24 ‘‘(3) TIME LIMIT.—Not later than 72 hours 

25 after the conclusion of a proceeding with respect to 


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1 an unaccompanied alien child under this section, the 

2 immigration judge who conducted such proceeding 

3 shall issue an order pursuant to subsection (e). 

4 ‘‘(c) CONDUCT OF PROCEEDING.— 

5 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF IMMIGRATION JUDGE.— 

6 The immigration judge conducting a proceeding 

7 under this section— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall administer oaths, receive evi9 dence, and interrogate, examine, and cross-ex10 amine the alien and any witnesses; 

11 ‘‘(B) may issue subpoenas for the attend12 ance of witnesses and presentation of evidence; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(C) is authorized to sanction by civil 

15 money penalty any action (or inaction) in con16 tempt of the judge’s proper exercise of author17 ity under this Act. 

18 ‘‘(2) FORM OF PROCEEDING.—A proceeding 

19 under this section may take place— 

20 ‘‘(A) in person; 

21 ‘‘(B) at a location agreed to by the parties, 

22 in the absence of the alien; 

23 ‘‘(C) through video conference; or 

24 ‘‘(D) through telephone conference. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PRESENCE OF ALIEN.—If it is impracti2 cable by reason of an alien’s mental incompetency 

3 for the alien to be present at the proceeding, the At4 torney General shall prescribe safeguards to protect 

5 the rights and privileges of the alien. 

6 ‘‘(4) RIGHTS OF THE ALIEN.—In a proceeding 

7 under this section— 

8 ‘‘(A) the alien shall be given the privilege 

9 of being represented, at no expense to the Gov10 ernment, by counsel of the alien’s choosing who 

11 is authorized to practice in such proceedings; 

12 ‘‘(B) the alien shall be given a reasonable 

13 opportunity— 

14 ‘‘(i) to examine the evidence against 

15 the alien; 

16 ‘‘(ii) to present evidence on the alien’s 

17 own behalf; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) to cross-examine witnesses pre19 sented by the Government; 

20 ‘‘(C) the rights set forth in subparagraph 

21 (B) shall not entitle the alien— 

22 ‘‘(i) to examine such national security 

23 information as the Government may prof24 fer in opposition to the alien’s admission to 

25 the United States; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to an application by the alien for 

2 discretionary relief under this Act; and 

3 ‘‘(D) a complete record shall be kept of all 

4 testimony and evidence produced at the pro5 ceeding. 

6 ‘‘(5) WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION FOR AD7 MISSION.—In the discretion of the Attorney General, 

8 an alien applying for admission to the United States 

9 may, and at any time, be permitted to withdraw 

10 such application and immediately be returned to the 

11 alien’s country of nationality or country of last ha12 bitual residence. 

13 ‘‘(d) DECISION AND BURDEN OF PROOF.— 

14 ‘‘(1) DECISION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the conclusion of a 

16 proceeding under this section, the immigration 

17 judge shall determine whether an unaccom18 panied alien child is likely to be— 

19 ‘‘(i) admissible to the United States; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(ii) eligible for any form of relief 

22 from removal under this Act. 

23 ‘‘(B) EVIDENCE.—The determination of 

24 the immigration judge under subparagraph (A) 


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1 shall be based only on the evidence produced at 

2 the hearing. 

3 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF PROOF.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In a proceeding under 

5 this section, an alien who is an applicant for 

6 admission has the burden of establishing, by a 

7 preponderance of the evidence, that the alien— 

8 ‘‘(i) is likely to be entitled to be law9 fully admitted to the United States or eli10 gible for any form of relief from removal 

11 under this Act; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) is lawfully present in the United 

13 States pursuant to a prior admission. 

14 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS.—In meeting 

15 the burden of proof under subparagraph (A)(ii), 

16 the alien shall be given access to— 

17 ‘‘(i) the alien’s visa or other entry 

18 document, if any; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) any other records and docu20 ments, not considered by the Attorney 

21 General to be confidential, pertaining to 

22 the alien’s admission or presence in the 

23 United States. 

24 ‘‘(e) ORDERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PLACEMENT IN FURTHER PRO2 CEEDINGS.—If an immigration judge determines 

3 that the unaccompanied alien child has met the bur4 den of proof under subsection (d)(2), the judge shall 

5 order the alien to be placed in further proceedings 

6 in accordance with section 240. 

7 ‘‘(2) ORDERS OF REMOVAL.—If an immigration 

8 judge determines that the unaccompanied alien child 

9 has not met the burden of proof required under sub10 section (d)(2), the judge shall order the alien re11 moved from the United States without further hear12 ing or review unless the alien claims— 

13 ‘‘(A) an intention to apply for asylum 

14 under section 208; or 

15 ‘‘(B) a substantiated fear of persecution. 

16 ‘‘(3) CLAIMS FOR ASYLUM.—If an unaccom17 panied alien child described in paragraph (2) claims 

18 an intention to apply for asylum under section 208 

19 or a substantiated fear of persecution, the officer 

20 shall order the alien referred for an interview by an 

21 asylum officer under subsection (f). 

22 ‘‘(f) ASYLUM INTERVIEWS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) CONDUCT BY ASYLUM OFFICER.—An asy24 lum officer shall conduct interviews of aliens referred 

25 under subsection (e)(3). 


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1 ‘‘(2) REFERRAL OF CERTAIN ALIENS.—If the 

2 officer determines at the time of the interview that 

3 an alien has a substantiated fear of persecution, the 

4 alien shall be held in the custody of the Secretary 

5 of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 

6 235(b) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Vic7 tims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 

8 U.S.C. 1232(b)) during further consideration of the 

9 application for asylum. 

10 ‘‘(3) REMOVAL WITHOUT FURTHER REVIEW IF

11 NO SUBSTANTIATED FEAR OF PERSECUTION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (C), if the asylum officer determines that 

14 an alien does not have a substantiated fear of 

15 persecution, the officer shall order the alien re16 moved from the United States without further 

17 hearing or review. 

18 ‘‘(B) RECORD OF DETERMINATION.—The 

19 officer shall prepare a written record of a deter20 mination under subparagraph (A), which shall 

21 include— 

22 ‘‘(i) a summary of the material facts 

23 as stated by the applicant; 

24 ‘‘(ii) such additional facts (if any) re25 lied upon by the officer; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the officer’s analysis of why, in 

2 light of such facts, the alien has not estab3 lished a substantiated fear of persecution; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(iv) a copy of the officer’s interview 

6 notes. 

7 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF DETERMINATION.— 

8 ‘‘(i) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney 

9 General shall establish, by regulation, a 

10 process by which an immigration judge will 

11 conduct a prompt review, upon the alien’s 

12 request, of a determination under subpara13 graph (A) that the alien does not have a 

14 substantiated fear of persecution. 

15 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY COMPONENTS.— 

16 The review described in clause (i)— 

17 ‘‘(I) shall include an opportunity 

18 for the alien to be heard and ques19 tioned by the immigration judge, ei20 ther in person or by telephonic or 

21 video connection; and 

22 ‘‘(II) shall be conducted— 

23 ‘‘(aa) as expeditiously as 

24 possible; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) within the 24-hour pe2 riod beginning at the time the 

3 asylum officer makes a deter4 mination under subparagraph 

5 (A), to the maximum extent 

6 practicable; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) in no case later than 7 

8 days after such determination. 

9 ‘‘(D) MANDATORY PROTECTIVE CUS10 TODY.—Any alien subject to the procedures 

11 under this paragraph shall be held in the cus12 tody of the Department of Homeland Secu13 rity— 

14 ‘‘(i) pending a final determination of 

15 substantiated fear of persecution; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) after a determination that the 

17 alien does not have such a fear, until the 

18 alien is removed. 

19 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2) and subsection (f)(4)(C), a removal order 

22 entered in accordance with subsection (e)(2) or 

23 (f)(4)(A) is not subject to administrative appeal. 

24 ‘‘(2) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General 

25 shall establish, by regulation, a process for the 


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1 prompt review of an order under subsection (e)(2) 

2 against an alien who claims under oath, or as per3 mitted under penalty of perjury under section 1746 

4 of title 28, United States Code, after having been 

5 warned of the penal ties for falsely making such 

6 claim under such conditions to have been— 

7 ‘‘(A) lawfully admitted for permanent resi8 dence; 

9 ‘‘(B) admitted as a refugee under section 

10 207; or 

11 ‘‘(C) granted asylum under section 208.’’. 

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

13 for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

14 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

15 to section 235A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 235B. Humane and expedited inspection and screening for unaccompanied alien children.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. ASYLUM SEEKERS. 

17 (a) REFUGEE DEFINED.—Section 101(a)(42) of the 

18 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)) 

19 is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘because 

21 of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution 

22 on account of’’ and inserting ‘‘the alien’s life or free23 dom would be threatened in that country because of 

24 the alien’s’’; and 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘who is 

2 persecuted or who has a well-founded fear of perse3 cution on account of’’ and inserting ‘‘the person’s 

4 life or freedom is threatened if the person remains 

5 in that country because of the person’s’’. 

6 (b) MANDATORY DETENTION.—Section 208(d) of the 

7 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(d)) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(8) DETENTION.—The Secretary of Homeland 

10 Security shall detain any alien seeking asylum under 

11 this section until the alien— 

12 ‘‘(A) is removed from the United States in 

13 accordance with— 

14 ‘‘(i) an order of removal issued in ac15 cordance with section 235(b)(1); or 

16 ‘‘(ii) a final order of removal issued at 

17 the conclusion of special removal pro18 ceedings conducted pursuant to section 

19 240; or 

20 ‘‘(B) granted asylum under subsection 

21 (b).’’. 

22 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF BAR TO REENTRY. 

23 Section 212(a)(9) of the Immigration and Nationality 

24 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking ‘‘5 

2 years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’; and 

3 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i)(I), by striking ‘‘3 

4 years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 

5 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

6 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit an 

7 annual report to Congress that identifies, for the previous 

8 12-month period— 

9 (1) the number of aliens unlawfully present in 

10 the United States who were apprehended by, or 

11 placed in the physical custody of, U.S. Border Patrol 

12 or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; 

13 (2) the number of aliens described in paragraph 

14 (1) who were deported from the United States pur15 suant to a final order of removal; 

16 (3) the number of aliens described in paragraph 

17 (1) who departed from the United States without an 

18 order of removal (voluntary departures); and 

19 (4) the number of aliens who were granted ref20 ugee status or asylum. 

Æ 


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