Expedited Family Reunification Act of 2016

To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to provide for the expedited removal of unaccompanied alien children who are not victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and who do not have a fear of returning to their country of nationality or last habitual residence, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Expedited Family Reunification Act of 2016 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) President Obama, on June 15, 2012, during the Rose Garden speech, announced a unilateral administrative change in United States immigration policy that the administration will not enforce broad swaths of immigration laws, including that the administration would not deport illegal immigrants brought to the United States as young children. (2) Over 176,000 unaccompanied alien children have been apprehended in the United States since the President’s speech (most of them from Central America) with many more expected to arrive. (3) These children are targeted by human traffickers, drug cartels, and other criminal organizations, and run the risk of being kidnapped, raped, killed, or otherwise harmed. (4) Returning these illegal immigrants to their families in their home countries would allow them to be safe, free from harm, and help reduce future flow. 3. Repatriation of unaccompanied alien children Section 235(a) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 ( 8 U.S.C. 1232 (1) in paragraph (2)— (A) by amending the heading to read as follows: Rules for unaccompanied alien children. (B) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking who is a national or habitual resident of a country that is contiguous with the United States (C) in subparagraph (C)— (i) by amending the heading to read as follows: Agreements with foreign countries (ii) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting after countries contiguous to the United States , as well as Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and any other foreign country that the Secretary determines appropriate, (2) in paragraph (5)(D), in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking , except for an unaccompanied alien child from a contiguous country subject to the exceptions under subsection (a)(2), who does not meet the criteria listed in paragraph (2)(A) 4. Applicability The amendments made by section 2 shall apply to any unaccompanied alien child who was apprehended on or after June 15, 2012.

Summary: Expedited Family Reunification Act of 2016 This bill amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to provide that any unaccompanied alien child (UAC) who has not been a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons or does not have a credible fear of persecution on returning to his or her country of nationality or of last habitual residence shall be: placed in removal proceedings, eligible for voluntary departure at no cost to the child, and provided with access to counsel. (Currently such expedited removal requirements apply to unaccompanied children from countries that are contiguous to the United States.) The Department of State shall negotiate agreements, in addition to countries contiguous to the United States, between the United States and Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and any other appropriate country regarding the repatriation of children. The requirements of this Act are applied to any UAC apprehended on or after June 15, 2012.