I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2049 
To reduce the amount of foreign assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, 
and Honduras based on the number of unaccompanied alien children 
who are nationals or citizens of such countries and who in the preceding 
fiscal year are placed in Federal custody by reason of their immigration 
status. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 3, 2019 
Mr. BURGESS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To reduce the amount of foreign assistance to El Salvador, 
Guatemala, and Honduras based on the number of unac-
companied alien children who are nationals or citizens 
of such countries and who in the preceding fiscal year 
are placed in Federal custody by reason of their immigra-
tion status. 
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 ‘‘Unaccompanied Alien 
Children Assistance Control Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Gang violence, poverty, and corruption are 
the main drivers of illegal immigration from El Sal-
vador, Guatemala, and Honduras to the United 
States. 
(2) According to an independent task force re-
port by the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Cen-
ter— 
(A) systemic corruption stagnates eco-
nomic growth; 
(B) eight in ten poll respondents see cor-
ruption as widespread; 
(C) citizens in El Salvador, Guatemala, 
and Honduras do not trust the government in-
stitutions responsible for curtailing corruption; 
and 
(D) investigations have revealed massive 
networks dedicated to co-opting public funds for 
the personal enrichment of government officials. 
(3) There exists the potential for foreign assist-
ance from the United States to be misused by cen-
tral government officials in El Salvador, Guatemala, 
and Honduras in order to reduce the success of anti- 
corruption efforts. 
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(4) Systemic corruption in El Salvador, Guate-
mala, and Honduras undermines efforts to address 
the driving causes of illegal immigration into the 
United States from such countries. 
(5) The United States provided more than 
$2,600,000,000 in foreign assistance to Central 
American countries during fiscal years 2015 through 
2018, and Congress appropriated over $500,000,000 
in such assistance for fiscal year 2019. 
(6) For the past 5 fiscal years, 225,463 unac-
companied alien children from El Salvador, Guate-
mala, and Honduras were referred to the Office of 
Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the Department of 
Health and Human Services, an average of 45,092 
per year. 
(7) On average, providing care for unaccom-
panied alien children in ORR custody costs $500 per 
child, per day. 
(8) In fiscal year 2018, the average length of 
stay in ORR custody for an unaccompanied alien 
child was 60 days. 
(9) On average, the total cost of care for an un-
accompanied alien child in ORR custody is $30,000 
per child and $1,352,760,000 per year for all chil-
dren. 
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SEC. 3. REDUCTION OF AMOUNT OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE 
TO EL SALVADOR, GUATEMALA, AND HON-
DURAS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall reduce from 
amounts made available under the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961 or any other Act and allocated for a covered coun-
try for a fiscal year an amount equal to— 
(1) the number of unaccompanied alien children 
who— 
(A) are nationals or citizens of the covered 
country; and 
(B) in the preceding fiscal year are placed 
in Federal custody by reason of their immigra-
tion status; multiplied by 
(2) $30,000. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘covered country’’ means El Sal-
vador, Guatemala, or Honduras; and 
(2) the term ‘‘unaccompanied alien child’’ has 
the meaning given the term in section 462(g)(2) of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
279(g)(2)). 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act takes effect on the 
date of the enactment of this Act and applies with respect 
to amounts made available under the Foreign Assistance 
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Act of 1961 or any other Act for fiscal year 2020 and 
each subsequent fiscal year. 
Æ 
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