I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 495 
To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthor-
ization Act of 2008 to provide for the expedited removal of unaccom-
panied 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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 12, 2017 
Mr. CARTER of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on For-
eign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Pro-
tection 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protection of Children 
Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. REPATRIATION OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL-
DREN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 235 of the William Wil-
berforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 
Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by amending the heading to read 
as follows: ‘‘RULES FOR UNACCOMPANIED 
ALIEN CHILDREN.’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A); 
(I) 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’’; 
(II) in clause (i), by inserting 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(III) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; 
and’’ and inserting a period; and 
(IV) by striking clause (iii); 
(iii) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) in the matter preceding clause 
(i), by striking ‘‘(8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
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seq.) 
may—’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘(8 
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)—’’; 
(II) in clause (i), by inserting be-
fore ‘‘permit such child to withdraw’’ 
the following: ‘‘may’’; and 
(III) in clause (ii), by inserting 
before ‘‘return such child’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘shall’’; and 
(iv) in subparagraph (C)— 
(I) by amending the heading to 
read as follows: ‘‘AGREEMENTS WITH 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES.’’; and 
(II) in the matter preceding 
clause (i), by striking ‘‘The Secretary 
of State shall negotiate agreements 
between the United States and coun-
tries contiguous to the United States’’ 
and inserting ‘‘The Secretary of State 
may negotiate agreements between the 
United States and any foreign country 
that the Secretary determines appro-
priate’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (5)(D)— 
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 
by striking ‘‘, except for an unaccompanied 
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alien child from a contiguous country sub-
ject to the exceptions under subsection 
(a)(2),’’ and inserting ‘‘who does not meet 
the criteria listed in paragraph (2)(A)’’; 
and 
(ii) in clause (i), by inserting before 
the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, 
which shall include a hearing before an im-
migration judge not later than 14 days 
after being screened under paragraph (4)’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 
before the semicolon the following: ‘‘be-
lieved not to meet the criteria listed in sub-
section (a)(2)(A)’’; and 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 
before the period the following: ‘‘and does 
not meet the criteria listed in subsection 
(a)(2)(A)’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘an un-
accompanied alien child in custody shall’’ and 
all that follows, and inserting the following: ‘‘an 
unaccompanied alien child in custody— 
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‘‘(A) in the case of a child who does not 
meet the criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A), 
shall transfer the custody of such child to the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services not 
later than 30 days after determining that such 
child is an unaccompanied alien child who does 
not meet such criteria; or 
‘‘(B) in the case of child who meets the 
criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A), may 
transfer the custody of such child to the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services after de-
termining that such child is an unaccompanied 
alien child who meets such criteria.’’; and 
(3) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (3), by inserting at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(D) INFORMATION
ABOUT
INDIVIDUALS 
WITH WHOM CHILDREN ARE PLACED.— 
‘‘(i) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED 
TO HOMELAND SECURITY.—Before placing 
a child with an individual, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall provide 
to the Secretary of Homeland Security, re-
garding the individual with whom the child 
will be placed, the following information: 
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‘‘(I) The name of the individual. 
‘‘(II) The social security number 
of the individual. 
‘‘(III) The date of birth of the in-
dividual. 
‘‘(IV) The location of the individ-
ual’s residence where the child will be 
placed. 
‘‘(V) The immigration status of 
the individual, if known. 
‘‘(VI) Contact information for 
the individual. 
‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a 
child who was apprehended on or after 
June 15, 2012, and before the date of the 
enactment of the Protection of Children 
Act of 2017, who the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services placed with an indi-
vidual, the Secretary shall provide the in-
formation listed in clause (i) to the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security not later than 
90 days after the date of the enactment of 
the Protection of Children Act of 2017. 
‘‘(iii) ACTIVITIES OF THE SECRETARY 
OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Not later than 
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30 days after receiving the information 
listed in clause (i), the Secretary of Home-
land Security shall— 
‘‘(I) in the case that the immi-
gration status of an individual with 
whom a child is placed is unknown, 
investigate the immigration status of 
that individual; and 
‘‘(II) upon determining that an 
individual with whom a child is placed 
is unlawfully present in the United 
States, initiate removal proceedings 
pursuant to chapter 4 of title II of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1221 et seq.).’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (5)— 
(i) by inserting after ‘‘to the greatest 
extent practicable’’ the following: ‘‘(at no 
expense to the Government)’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘have counsel to rep-
resent them’’ and inserting ‘‘have access to 
counsel to represent them’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to any unauthorized alien child ap-
prehended on or after June 15, 2012. 
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SEC. 3. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS FOR IMMI-
GRANTS UNABLE TO REUNITE WITH EITHER 
PARENT. 
Section 101(a)(27)(J)(i) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)(i)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘1 or both of the immigrant’s parents’’ and in-
serting ‘‘either of the immigrant’s parents’’. 
SEC. 4. JURISDICTION OF ASYLUM APPLICATIONS. 
Section 208(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1158) is amended by striking subparagraph 
(C). 
Æ 
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