I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2624 
To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable unaccompanied alien 
children and female detainees. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 8, 2013 
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 
in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, 
and Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable 
unaccompanied alien children and female detainees. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Trafficking Vic-
tims Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTING CHILD TRAFFICKING VICTIMS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 
‘‘Child Trafficking Victims Protection Act’’. 
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(b) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘un-
accompanied alien children’’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(6 U.S.C. 279). 
(c) MANDATORY TRAINING.—The Secretary, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices and independent child welfare experts, shall mandate 
appropriate training of all personnel who come into con-
tact with unaccompanied alien children in the relevant 
legal authorities, policies, practices, and procedures per-
taining to this vulnerable population. 
(d) CARE AND TRANSPORTATION.—Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, the Secretary shall ensure that 
all unaccompanied alien children who will undergo any im-
migration proceedings before the Department or the Exec-
utive Office for Immigration Review are duly transported 
and placed in the care and legal and physical custody of 
the Office of Refugee Resettlement not later than 72 
hours after their apprehension absent exceptional cir-
cumstances, including a natural disaster or comparable 
emergency beyond the control of the Secretary or the Of-
fice of Refugee Resettlement. The Secretary, to the extent 
practicable, shall ensure that female officers are continu-
ously present during the transfer and transport of female 
detainees who are in the custody of the Department. 
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(e) QUALIFIED RESOURCES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
adequately trained and qualified staff and resources, 
including the accommodation of child welfare offi-
cials, in accordance with subsection (e), at U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Protection ports of entry and sta-
tions. 
(2) CHILD
WELFARE
PROFESSIONALS.—The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, in con-
sultation with the Secretary, shall hire, on a full- or 
part-time basis, child welfare professionals who will 
provide assistance, either in person or by other ap-
propriate methods of communication, in not fewer 
than 7 of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
offices or stations with the largest number of unac-
companied alien child apprehensions in the previous 
fiscal year. 
(f) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONALS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, shall ensure that qualified child welfare profes-
sionals with expertise in culturally competent, trau-
ma-centered, and developmentally appropriate inter-
viewing skills are available at ports of entry and sta-
tions as described in subsection (d). 
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(2) DUTIES.—Child welfare professionals de-
scribed in paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) develop guidelines for treatment of un-
accompanied alien children in the custody of the 
Department; 
(B) conduct screening of all unaccom-
panied alien children in accordance with section 
235(a)(4) of the William Wilberforce Traf-
ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 
of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(a)(4)); 
(C) notify the Department and the Office 
of Refugee Resettlement of children that poten-
tially meet the notification and transfer require-
ments set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of 
section 235 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1232); 
(D) interview adult relatives accompanying 
unaccompanied alien children; 
(E) provide an initial family relationship 
and trafficking assessment and recommenda-
tions regarding unaccompanied alien children’s 
initial placements to the Office of Refugee Re-
settlement, which shall be conducted in accord-
ance with the timeframe set forth in subsections 
(a)(4) and (b)(3) of section 235 of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1232); and 
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(F) ensure that each unaccompanied alien 
child in the custody of U.S. Customs and Bor-
der Protection— 
(i) receives emergency medical care 
when necessary; 
(ii) receives emergency medical and 
mental health care that complies with the 
standards adopted pursuant to section 8(c) 
of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 
2003 (42 U.S.C. 15607(c)) whenever nec-
essary, including in cases in which a child 
is at risk to harm himself, herself, or oth-
ers; 
(iii) is provided with climate appro-
priate clothing, shoes, basic personal hy-
giene and sanitary products, a pillow, lin-
ens, and sufficient blankets to rest at a 
comfortable temperature; 
(iv) receives adequate nutrition; 
(v) enjoys a safe and sanitary living 
environment; 
(vi) has access to daily recreational 
programs and activities if held for a period 
longer than 24 hours; 
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(vii) has access to legal services and 
consular officials; and 
(viii) is permitted to make supervised 
phone calls to family members. 
(3) FINAL
DETERMINATIONS.—The Office of 
Refugee Resettlement in accordance with applicable 
policies and procedures for sponsors, shall submit 
final determinations on family relationships to the 
Secretary, who shall consider such adult relatives for 
community-based support alternatives to detention. 
(4) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to 
Congress that— 
(A) describes the screening procedures 
used by the child welfare professionals to screen 
unaccompanied alien children; 
(B) assesses the effectiveness of such 
screenings; and 
(C) includes data on all unaccompanied 
alien children who were screened by child wel-
fare professionals. 
(g) IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall 
notify the Office of Refugee Resettlement of an unaccom-
panied alien child in the custody of the Department as 
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soon as practicable, but generally not later than 48 hours 
after the Department encounters the child, to effectively 
and efficiently coordinate the child’s transfer to and place-
ment with the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 
(h) NOTICE OF RIGHTS AND RIGHT TO ACCESS TO 
COUNSEL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that all unaccompanied alien children, upon appre-
hension, are provided— 
(A) an interview and screening with a child 
welfare professional described in subsection 
(e)(1); and 
(B) an orientation and oral and written 
notice of their rights under the Immigration 
and Nationality Act, including— 
(i) their right to relief from removal; 
(ii) their right to confer with counsel 
(as guaranteed under section 292 of such 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1362)), family, or friends 
while in the temporary custody of the De-
partment; and 
(iii) relevant complaint mechanisms to 
report any abuse or misconduct they may 
have experienced. 
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(2) LANGUAGES.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that— 
(A) the video orientation and written no-
tice of rights described in paragraph (1) is 
available in English and in the 5 most common 
native languages spoken by the unaccompanied 
children held in custody at that location during 
the preceding fiscal year; and 
(B) the oral notice of rights is available in 
English and in the most common native lan-
guage spoken by the unaccompanied children 
held in custody at that location during the pre-
ceding fiscal year. 
(i) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall maintain the privacy and confiden-
tiality of all information gathered in the course of pro-
viding care, custody, placement, and follow-up services to 
unaccompanied alien children, consistent with the best in-
terest of the unaccompanied alien child, by not disclosing 
such information to other government agencies or non-
parental third parties unless such disclosure is— 
(1) recorded in writing and placed in the child’s 
file; 
(2) in the child’s best interest; and 
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(3)(A) authorized by the child or by an ap-
proved sponsor in accordance with section 235 of the 
William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 
Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) and 
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability 
Act (Public Law 104–191); or 
(B) provided to a duly recognized law enforce-
ment entity to prevent imminent and serious harm 
to another individual. 
(j) OTHER POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The Sec-
retary shall adopt fundamental child protection policies 
and procedures— 
(1) for reliable age determinations of children, 
developed in consultation with medical and child wel-
fare experts, which exclude the use of fallible foren-
sic testing of children’s bone and teeth; 
(2) to utilize all legal authorities to defer the 
child’s removal if the child faces a risk of life-threat-
ening harm upon return including due to the child’s 
mental health or medical condition; and 
(3) to ensure, in accordance with the Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 
U.S.C. 5601 et seq.), that unaccompanied alien chil-
dren, while in detention, are— 
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(A) physically separated from any adult 
who is not an immediate family member; and 
(B) separated from— 
(i) immigration detainees and inmates 
with criminal convictions; 
(ii) pretrial inmates facing criminal 
prosecution; and 
(iii) inmates exhibiting violent behav-
ior. 
(k) REPATRIATION
AND
REINTEGRATION
PRO-
GRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Develop-
ment, in conjunction with the Secretary, the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, the Attorney 
General, international organizations, and nongovern-
mental organizations in the United States with ex-
pertise in repatriation and reintegration, shall en-
sure that programs in the United States and within 
the country of return support the safe and sustain-
able repatriation and reintegration of unaccom-
panied alien children into their country of nation-
ality or of last habitual residence, including place-
ment with their families, legal guardians, or other 
sponsoring agencies. 
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(2) REPORT
ON
REPATRIATION
AND
RE-
INTEGRATION
OF
UNACCOMPANIED
ALIEN
CHIL-
DREN.—Not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 
the Administrator of the Agency for International 
Development shall submit a substantive report to the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep-
resentatives on efforts to improve repatriation and 
reintegration programs for unaccompanied alien chil-
dren. 
(l) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary, in ac-
cordance with a written agreement between the Sec-
retary and the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, shall transfer such amounts as may be nec-
essary to carry out the duties described in subsection 
(f)(2) from amounts appropriated for U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection to the Department of Health 
and Human Services. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 15 days before 
any proposed transfer under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary, shall submit a detailed ex-
penditure plan that describes the actions proposed to 
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be taken with amounts transferred under such para-
graph to— 
(A) the Committee on Appropriations of 
the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives. 
Æ 
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