I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3497 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Director of 
the Office of Refugee Resettlements of the Department of Health and 
Human Services to establish additional procedures for making placement 
determinations for all unaccompanied alien children who are in Federal 
custody by reason of their immigration status, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2021 
Mr. GARBARINO (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct 
the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlements of 
the Department of Health and Human Services to estab-
lish additional procedures for making placement deter-
minations for all unaccompanied alien children who are 
in Federal custody by reason of their immigration status, 
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 ‘‘Protecting UACs 
Through Enhanced Sponsor Vetting Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES FOR PLACEMENT DECI-
SIONS FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL-
DREN. 
Section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 279) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (K), by striking ‘‘; 
and’’ at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (L), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(M) providing notification of the prospec-
tive placement of an unaccompanied alien child 
with a sponsor to the Governor of the State and 
the chief executive of the county in which the 
sponsor resides.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by amending subpara-
graph (A) to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) shall coordinate with appropriate ju-
venile justice professionals, the Director of the 
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Serv-
ices, the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of 
Border Security, the Director of the Federal 
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Bureau of Investigation, and appropriate State 
and local law enforcement officials to ensure 
that such determinations ensure that unaccom-
panied alien children described in such subpara-
graph— 
‘‘(i) are likely to appear for all hear-
ings or proceedings in which they are in-
volved; 
‘‘(ii) are protected from smugglers, 
traffickers, members of a designated trans-
national criminal organization, or others 
who might seek to victimize or otherwise 
engage them in criminal, harmful, or 
exploitive activity, including by conducting 
a thorough criminal history background 
check utilizing the Next Generation Identi-
fication System or its successor system on 
prospective sponsors; 
‘‘(iii) are placed in a setting in which 
they are not likely to pose a danger to 
themselves or others; and’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (h) and— 
(A) in paragraph (1) of such subsection, 
by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
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(B) in paragraph (2) of such subsection, 
by striking the period at the end and inserting 
‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) the term ‘transnational criminal organiza-
tion’ means a criminal organization that has been 
designated as a transnational criminal organization 
by the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the De-
partment of the Treasury.’’; and 
(4) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES FOR MAKING PLACE-
MENT DETERMINATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS.—The Direc-
tor shall coordinate with the Attorney General to 
conduct a thorough criminal history background 
check utilizing the Next Generation Identification 
System or its successor system for all prospective 
sponsors before placement of an unaccompanied 
alien child. 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION WITH RELEVANT LAW EN-
FORCEMENT ENTITIES.—The Director shall consult 
with relevant law enforcement entities, including 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement, prior to 
making a determination on whether it is appropriate 
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to place an unaccompanied alien child with a pro-
spective sponsor. This consultation will examine any 
criminal activity in which the prospective sponsor 
may have been, or is currently, involved. 
‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION TO STATE AND LOCAL GOV-
ERNMENTS.—The Director shall notify relevant 
State and local governments of the decision to place 
an unaccompanied alien child with a sponsor. This 
notification will include the Governor of the state 
where the sponsor resides, as well as the mayor or 
equivalent officeholder of the locality where the 
sponsor resides. 
‘‘(4) TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION 
INTELLIGENCE SHARING.—The Director shall pro-
vide to the Terrorist Screening Center information 
uncovered during the placement process of an unac-
companied alien child that establishes membership 
in, or affiliation with, a designated transnational 
criminal organization of either an unaccompanied 
alien child or a prospective sponsor.’’. 
Æ 
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