(3) an additional 55 judges during fiscal year 
2020. 
(b) QUALIFICATIONS OF IMMIGRATION JUDGES.— 
The Attorney General shall ensure that all newly hired im-
migration judges are highly qualified and trained to con-
duct fair, impartial hearings consistent with due process 
and that all newly hired immigration judges represent a 
diverse pool of individuals that includes a balance of indi-
viduals with nongovernmental, private bar, or academic 
experience in addition to government experience. 
(c) NECESSARY SUPPORT STAFF FOR IMMIGRATION 
JUDGES.—To address the shortage of support staff for 
immigration judges, the Attorney General shall ensure 
that each immigration judge has sufficient support staff, 
adequate technological and security resources, and appro-
priate courtroom facilities. 
(d) ANNUAL INCREASES IN BOARD OF IMMIGRATION 
APPEALS PERSONNEL.—The Attorney General shall in-
crease the number of Board of Immigration Appeals staff 
attorneys (including necessary additional support staff) to 
efficiently process cases by at least— 
(1) 23 attorneys during fiscal year 2018; 
(2) an additional 23 attorneys during fiscal 
year 2019; and 
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(3) an additional 23 attorneys during fiscal 
year 2020. 
(e) GAO REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall— 
(1) conduct a study of the hurdles to efficient 
hiring of immigration court judges within the De-
partment of Justice; and 
(2) propose solutions to Congress for improving 
the efficiency of the hiring process. 
SEC. 302. IMPROVED TRAINING FOR IMMIGRATION JUDGES 
AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF IMMIGRA-
TION APPEALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—To ensure efficient and fair pro-
ceedings, the Director of the Executive Office for Immi-
gration Review shall facilitate robust training programs 
for immigration judges and members of the Board of Im-
migration Appeals. 
(b) MANDATORY
TRAINING.—Training facilitated 
under subsection (a) shall include— 
(1) an expansion of the training program for 
new immigration judges and Board members; 
(2) continuing education regarding current de-
velopments in immigration law through regularly 
available training resources and an annual con-
ference; 
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(3) methods to ensure that immigration judges 
are trained on properly crafting and dictating deci-
sions and standards of review, including improved 
on-bench reference materials and decision templates; 
(4) specialized training to handle cases involv-
ing other vulnerable populations including survivors 
of domestic violence/sexual assault/trafficking and 
individuals with mental disabilities in partnership 
with the National Council of Juvenile and Family 
Court Judges; and 
(5) specialized training in child interviewing, 
child psychology, and child trauma in partnership 
with the National Council of Juvenile and Family 
Court Judges for Immigration Judges. 
SEC. 303. NEW TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE COURT EFFI-
CIENCY. 
The Director of the Executive Office for Immigration 
Review shall modernize its case management and related 
electronic systems, including allowing for electronic filing, 
to improve efficiency in the processing of immigration pro-
ceedings. 
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TITLE IV—ADVANCING REFORMS 
IN CENTRAL AMERICA TO AD-
DRESS THE FACTORS DRIV-
ING MIGRATION 
SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) NORTHERN TRIANGLE.—The term ‘‘North-
ern Triangle’’ means the countries of El Salvador, 
Guatemala, and Honduras. 
(2) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Plan 
of the Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Tri-
angle, developed by the Governments of El Salvador, 
Guatemala, and Honduras, with the technical assist-
ance of the Inter-American Development Bank, and 
representing a comprehensive approach to address 
the complex situation in the Northern Triangle. 
Subtitle 
A—Effectively 
Coordi-
nating United States Engage-
ment in Central America 
SEC. 411. UNITED STATES COORDINATOR FOR ENGAGE-
MENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA. 
(a) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 30 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall des-
ignate a senior official to coordinate the efforts of the Fed-
eral Government under this title and the efforts of inter-
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national partners to strengthen citizen security, the rule 
of law, and economic prosperity in Central America and 
to protect vulnerable populations in the region. 
(b) SUPERVISION.—The official designated under 
subsection (a) shall report directly to the President. 
(c) DUTIES.—The official designated under sub-
section (a) shall coordinate the efforts, activities, and pro-
grams related to United States engagement in Central 
America under this title, including— 
(1) coordinating with the Department of State, 
the Department of Justice (including the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation), the Department of Home-
land Security, the intelligence community, and inter-
national partners regarding United States efforts to 
confront armed criminal gangs, illicit trafficking net-
works, and organized crime responsible for high lev-
els of violence, extortion, and corruption in Central 
America; 
(2) coordinating with the Department of State, 
the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment, and international partners regarding United 
States efforts to prevent and mitigate the effects of 
violent criminal gangs and transnational criminal or-
ganizations on vulnerable Central American popu-
lations, including women and children; 
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(3) coordinating with the Department of State, 
the Department of Homeland Security, and inter-
national partners regarding United States efforts to 
counter human smugglers illegally transporting Cen-
tral American migrants to the United States; 
(4) coordinating with the Department of State, 
the Department of Homeland Security, the United 
States Agency for International Development, and 
international partners, including the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Refugees, to increase protec-
tions for vulnerable Central American populations, 
improve refugee processing, and strengthen asylum 
systems throughout the region; 
(5) coordinating with the Department of State, 
the Department of Defense, the Department of Jus-
tice (including the Drug Enforcement Administra-
tion), the Department of the Treasury, the intel-
ligence community, and international partners re-
garding United States efforts to combat illicit nar-
cotics traffickers, interdict transshipments of illicit 
narcotics, and disrupt the financing of the illicit nar-
cotics trade; 
(6) coordinating with the Department of State, 
the Department of the Treasury, the Department of 
Justice, the intelligence community, the United 
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Subtitle B—Targeting Assistance to 
Appropriate Communities in the 
Northern Triangle 
SEC. 421. TARGETING ASSISTANCE TO APPROPRIATE COM-
MUNITIES. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and annually thereafter for each of the 
five succeeding years, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate a report that contains the following: 
(1) Raw data on the number of children migrat-
ing to the United States from each community or 
geographic area in the Northern Triangle. 
(2) An assessment of whether United States 
foreign assistance to the Northern Triangle is effec-
tively reaching the communities and geographic 
areas from which children are migrating. 
(3) An assessment of the extent to which the 
State Department and the United States Agency for 
International Development are adjusting program-
ming in the Northern Triangle as migration patterns 
shift. 
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Subtitle C—Regional Millennium 
Challenge Corporation Compacts 
SEC. 431. MCC COMPACTS. 
(a) CONCURRENT COMPACTS.—Section 609 of the 
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7708) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following new sentence: ‘‘The Board may enter into 
a Compact with more than one eligible country in a 
region if the Board determines that a regional devel-
opment strategy would further regional development 
objectives.’’; 
(2) in subsection (k)— 
(A) by striking the first sentence; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘the existing’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘an existing’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(l) CONCURRENT COMPACTS.—In accordance with 
the requirements of this Act, an eligible country and the 
United States may enter into and have in effect more than 
one Compact at any given time, including a concurrent 
Compact for purposes of regional economic integration or 
cross-border collaborations, only if the Board determines 
that such country is making considerable and demon-
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strable progress in implementing the terms of the existing 
Compact and any supplementary agreements thereto.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Millennium 
Challenge Act of 2003 is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b) of section 609 (22 U.S.C. 
7708)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in the matter preceding subpara-
graph (A), by striking ‘‘the national devel-
opment strategy of the eligible country’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the national or regional de-
velopment strategy of the country or coun-
tries’’; and 
(ii) in each of subparagraphs (A), (B), 
(E), and (J), by striking ‘‘the country’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘the 
country or countries’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by inserting ‘‘or regional develop-
ment strategy’’ after ‘‘national develop-
ment strategy’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or governments of 
the countries in the case of regional invest-
ments’’ after ‘‘government of the country’’; 
and 
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(2) in subparagraph (A) of section 613(b)(2) of 
such Act (22 U.S.C. 7712(b)(2)) by striking ‘‘the 
Compact’’ and inserting ‘‘any Compact’’. 
Subtitle D—United States Leader-
ship for Engaging International 
Donors and Partners 
SEC. 441. REQUIREMENT FOR STRATEGY TO SECURE SUP-
PORT 
OF 
INTERNATIONAL 
DONORS 
AND 
PARTNERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a three-year strategy that— 
(1) describes how the United States will secure 
support from international donors and regional part-
ners (including Colombia and Mexico) for the imple-
mentation of the Plan; 
(2) identifies governments that are willing to 
provide financial and technical assistance for the im-
plementation of the Plan and a description of such 
assistance; and 
(3) identifies the financial and technical assist-
ance to be provided by multilateral institutions, in-
cluding the Inter-American Development Bank, the 
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the 
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Andean 
Development 
Corporation–Development 
Bank of Latin America, and the Organization of 
American States, and a description of such assist-
ance. 
(b) DIPLOMATIC
ENGAGEMENT
AND
COORDINA-
TION.—The Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
Secretary of the Treasury, as appropriate, shall— 
(1) carry out diplomatic engagement to secure 
contributions of financial and technical assistance 
from international donors and partners in support of 
the Plan; and 
(2) take all necessary steps to ensure effective 
cooperation among international donors and part-
ners supporting the Plan. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after submit-
ting the strategy required under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary of State shall submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a report that describes— 
(1) the progress made in implementing the 
strategy; and 
(2) the financial and technical assistance pro-
vided by international donors and partners, includ-
ing the multilateral institutions specified in sub-
section (a)(3). 
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(d) BRIEFINGS.—Upon a request from any of the ap-
propriate congressional committees, the Secretary of State 
shall provide a briefing to such committee that describes 
the progress made in implementing the strategy required 
under subsection (a). 
(e) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap-
propriate congressional committees’’ means— 
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate; 
(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate; 
(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives; and 
(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives. 
Æ 
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