HELP Separated Children Act

To provide protection for children affected by the immigration laws of the United States, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act HELP Separated Children Act 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Apprehension The term apprehension (2) Child The term child (3) Child welfare agency The term child welfare agency 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq. (4) Cooperating entity The term cooperating entity (5) Department The term Department (6) Detention facility The term detention facility (7) Immigration enforcement action The term immigration enforcement action (8) NGO The term NGO (9) Parent The term parent (10) Secretary The term Secretary 3. Apprehension procedures for immigration enforcement-related activities (a) Apprehension procedures In any immigration enforcement action, the Secretary and cooperating entities shall— (1) as soon as possible, but generally not later than 2 hours after an immigration enforcement action, inquire whether an individual is a parent or primary caregiver of a child in the United States and notify any such individual, in a language that he or she understands, that he or she is entitled to— (A) the opportunity to make a minimum of 2 telephone calls to arrange for the care of such child in the individual’s absence; and (B) contact information for— (i) child welfare agencies and family courts in the same jurisdiction as the child; and (ii) consulates, attorneys, and legal service providers capable of providing free legal advice or representation regarding child welfare, child custody determinations, and immigration matters; (2) notify the child welfare agency with jurisdiction over the child if the child’s parent or primary caregiver is unable to make care arrangements for the child or if the child is in imminent risk of serious harm; (3) ensure that personnel of the Department and cooperating entities do not, absent medical necessity or extraordinary circumstances, interview individuals in the immediate presence of children over the age of 2 unless the parent or primary caregiver gives permission, or compel or request children to interpret or translate for interviews of their parents or of other individuals who are encountered as part of an immigration enforcement action; (4) ensure that any parent or primary caregiver of a child in the United States— (A) absent medical necessity or extraordinary circumstances, is not transferred from his or her area of apprehension until the individual— (i) has made arrangements for the care of such child; or (ii) if such arrangements are unavailable or the individual is unable to make such arrangements, is informed of the care arrangements made for the child and of a means to maintain communication with the child; (B) absent medical necessity or extraordinary circumstances is placed in a detention facility either— (i) proximate to the location of apprehension; or (ii) proximate to the individual’s habitual place of residence; and (iii) absent medical necessity or extraordinary circumstances, is not transferred from such facility unless necessary to facilitate participation in child welfare proceedings; and (C) receives due consideration of the best interests of such child in any decision or action relating to his or her detention, release, or transfer between detention facilities; and (5) issue guidance prohibiting personnel of the Department and cooperating entities from apprehending persons on the premises or in the immediate vicinity of day care centers, head start centers, schools, school bus stops, recreation centers, legal service providers, courts, funeral homes, cemeteries, colleges, victim services agencies, social service agencies, hospitals, health care clinics, community centers, and places of worship, absent exceptional circumstances. (b) Requests to local and State entities If the Secretary requests a State or local entity to hold in custody an individual who the Department has reason to believe is removable pending transfer of that individual to the custody of the Secretary or to a detention facility, the Secretary shall also request that the State or local entity provide the individual the protections specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), if that individual is found to be the parent or primary caregiver of a child in the United States. (c) Protections against trafficking preserved The provisions of this section shall not be construed to impede, delay, or in any way limit the obligations of the Secretary, the Attorney General, or the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 ( 8 U.S.C. 1232 6 U.S.C. 279 4. Access to children, State and local courts, child welfare agencies, and consular officials (a) In general The Secretary shall ensure that all detention facilities operated by or under agreement with the Department implement procedures to ensure that the best interest of the child, including a preference for family unity wherever appropriate, can be considered in any decision and action relating to the custody of children whose parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver is detained as the result of an immigration enforcement action. (b) Detention procedures At all detention facilities, the Secretary shall— (1) prominently post in a manner accessible to detainees and visitors and include in detainee handbooks information on the protections of this Act as well as information on potential eligibility for parole or release; (2) absent extraordinary circumstances, ensure that individuals who are detained by the Department and are parents of children in the United States are— (A) permitted regular phone calls and contact visits with their children; (B) provided with contact information for child welfare agencies and family courts in the relevant jurisdictions; (C) able to participate fully, and to the extent possible in-person, in all family court proceedings and any other proceedings that may impact their right to custody of their children; (D) granted free and confidential telephone calls to relevant child welfare agencies and family courts as often as is necessary to ensure that the best interest of their children, including a preference for family unity whenever appropriate, can be considered in child welfare agency or family court proceedings; (E) able to fully comply with all family court or child welfare agency orders impacting custody of their children; (F) provided access to United States passport applications or other relevant travel document applications for the purpose of obtaining travel documents for their children; (G) afforded timely access to a notary public for the purpose of applying for a passport for their children or executing guardianship or other agreements to ensure the safety of their children; and (H) granted adequate time before removal to obtain passports, apostilled birth certificates, travel documents, and other necessary records, including health and school records, on behalf of their children if such children will accompany them on their return to their country of origin or join them in their country of origin; and (3) where doing so would not impact public safety or national security, facilitate the ability of detained alien parents and primary caregivers to reunify with their children by sharing information regarding travel arrangements with their consulate, children, child welfare agencies, or other caregivers in advance of the detained alien individual’s departure from the United States. 5. Memoranda of understanding The Secretary, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services, shall develop and implement memoranda of understanding or protocols with child welfare agencies and NGOs regarding the best ways to cooperate and facilitate ongoing communication between all relevant entities in cases involving a child whose parent, legal guardian, or primary caregiver has been apprehended or detained in an immigration enforcement action to protect the best interests of the child, including a preference for family unity whenever appropriate. 6. Mandatory training The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and independent child welfare and family law experts, shall develop and provide training on the protections required under sections 3 and 4 to all personnel of the Department, cooperating entities, and detention facilities operated by or under agreement with the Department who regularly engage in immigration enforcement actions and in the course of such actions come into contact with individuals who are parents or primary caregivers of children in the United States. 7. Rulemaking Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to implement sections 3 and 4 of this Act. 8. Severability If any provision of this Act or amendment made by this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions and amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 9. Report on protections for children impacted by immigration enforcement activities (a) Requirement for report Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes the impact of immigration enforcement activities on children, including children who are citizens of the United States. (b) Content The report submitted under subsection (a) shall include for the previous 1-year period an assessment of— (1) the number of individuals removed from the United States who are the parent of a child who is a citizen of the United States; (2) the number of occasions in which both parents or the primary caretaker of such a child was removed from the United States; and (3) the number of children who are citizens of the United States who leave the United States with parents who are removed.

Summary: Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act or the HELP Separated Children Act - Sets forth apprehension procedures for immigration enforcement-related activities engaged in by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and cooperating entities, Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) require DHS detention facilities to implement procedures to ensure that child custody and family interests can be considered in any immigration detention action, (2) develop memoranda of understanding with child welfare agencies and community organizations that protect the best interests of children of detained individuals, and (3) provide DHS personnel with appropriate training.