I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5850 
To provide a coordinated regional response to effectively manage the endemic 
violence and humanitarian crisis in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 14, 2016 
Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. 
BECERRA, Mrs. TORRES, Mr. NADLER, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, 
Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SIRES, 
and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Education and the 
Workforce, Armed Services, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide a coordinated regional response to effectively 
manage the endemic violence and humanitarian crisis 
in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Secure the Northern Triangle Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 4. Definitions. 
TITLE I—ADVANCING REFORMS IN CENTRAL AMERICA TO 
ADDRESS THE FACTORS DRIVING MIGRATION 
Subtitle A—Strengthening the Capacity of Central American Governments To 
Protect and Provide for Their Own People 
Sec. 111. Authorization of appropriations for United States strategy for en-
gagement in Central America. 
Sec. 112. Strengthening the rule of law and combating corruption. 
Sec. 113. Combating criminal violence and improving citizen security. 
Sec. 114. Tackling extreme poverty and advancing economic development. 
Subtitle B—Conditions, Limitations, and Certifications on United States 
Assistance 
Sec. 121. Assistance funding available without condition. 
Sec. 122. Conditions on assistance related to smuggling, screening, and safety 
of migrants. 
Sec. 123. Conditions on assistance related to progress on specific issues. 
Subtitle C—Effectively Coordinating United States Engagement in Central 
America 
Sec. 131. United States Coordinator for Engagement in Central America. 
Subtitle D—Targeting Assistance to Appropriate Communities in the 
Northern Triangle 
Sec. 141. Targeting assistance to appropriate communities. 
Subtitle E—Regional Millennium Challenge Corporation Compacts 
Sec. 151. MCC Compacts. 
Subtitle F—United States Leadership for Engaging International Donors and 
Partners 
Sec. 161. Requirement for strategy to secure support of international donors 
and partners. 
TITLE II—CRACKING DOWN ON SMUGGLERS, CARTELS, AND 
TRAFFICKERS EXPLOITING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES 
Subtitle A—Strengthening Cooperation Among Law Enforcement Agencies To 
Target Smugglers and Traffickers 
Sec. 211. Enhanced international cooperation to combat human smuggling and 
trafficking. 
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Sec. 212. Enhanced investigation and prosecution of human smuggling and 
trafficking. 
Sec. 213. Information campaign on dangers of migration. 
Subtitle B—Strengthening the Ability of the United States Government To 
Crack Down on Smugglers, Traffickers, and Drug Cartels 
Sec. 221. Enhanced penalties for organized smuggling schemes. 
Sec. 222. Expanding financial sanctions on narcotics trafficking and money 
laundering. 
TITLE III—MINIMIZING BORDER CROSSINGS BY EXPANDING 
PROCESSING OF REFUGEE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN-COUN-
TRY AND IN THE REGION 
Subtitle A—Providing Alternative Safe Havens in Mexico and the Region 
Sec. 311. Strengthening internal asylum systems in Mexico and other countries. 
Subtitle B—Expanding Refugee Processing in Mexico and Central America 
for Third Country Resettlement 
Sec. 321. Expanding refugee processing in Mexico and Central America for 
third country resettlement. 
Subtitle C—Improving the Efficiency of the Central American Minors 
Program 
Sec. 331. Expansion. 
Sec. 332. Expedited processing. 
Sec. 333. Referral to UNHCR. 
TITLE IV—MONITORING AND SUPPORTING UNACCOMPANIED 
ALIEN CHILDREN AFTER PROCESSING AT THE BORDER 
Sec. 401. Definitions; authorization of appropriations. 
Subtitle A—Strengthening the Government’s Ability To Oversee the Safety 
and Well-Being of Children 
Sec. 411. Background checks to ensure the safe placement of unaccompanied 
alien children. 
Sec. 412. Responsibility of sponsor for immigration court compliance and child 
well-being. 
Sec. 413. Monitoring unaccompanied alien children. 
Subtitle B—Funding to States and School Districts; Supporting Education 
and Safety 
Sec. 421. Funding to States to conduct State criminal checks and child abuse 
and neglect checks. 
Sec. 422. Funding to school districts for unaccompanied alien children. 
Sec. 423. Immediate enrollment of unaccompanied alien children in schools. 
TITLE V—ENSURING ORDERLY AND HUMANE MANAGEMENT OF 
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SEEKING PROTECTION 
Subtitle A—Providing a Fair and Efficient Legal Process for Children and 
Vulnerable Families Seeking Asylum 
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Sec. 511. Court appearance compliance and legal orientation. 
Sec. 512. Fair day in court for kids. 
Subtitle B—Reducing Significant Delays in Immigration Court 
Sec. 521. Eliminate immigration court backlogs. 
Sec. 522. Improved training for immigration judges and members of the Board 
of Immigration Appeals. 
Sec. 523. New technology to improve court efficiency. 
Subtitle C—Reducing the Likelihood of Remigration 
Sec. 531. Establishing reintegration and monitoring services for repatriating 
children. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Since 2006, incidents of murder, other vio-
lent crime, and corruption perpetrated by armed 
criminal gangs and illicit trafficking organizations 
have risen alarmingly in El Salvador, Guatemala 
and Honduras (referred to in this Act as the 
‘‘Northern Triangle’’). 
(2) In 2013, Honduras had the highest per cap-
ita homicide rate of any nation in the world, with 
90.4 murders for every 100,000 people in the coun-
try. El Salvador and Guatemala were in the top 5 
countries with the highest per capita homicide rates. 
(3) Since 2013, El Salvador’s murder rate rose 
sharply to become the highest of any country in the 
world in 2015 at 108.5 homicides for every 100,000 
people, following a dramatic escalation of violence 
between the country’s 2 largest armed criminal 
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(12) The presence of major drug trafficking or-
ganizations in the Northern Triangle contributes to 
violence, corruption, and criminality. The 2016 
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report pre-
pared by the Department of State estimated that 
‘‘approximately 90 percent of the cocaine trafficked 
to the United States in the first half of 2015 first 
transited through the Mexico/Central America cor-
ridor’’. 
(13) Widespread public sector corruption in the 
Northern Triangle undermines economic and social 
development and directly affects regional political 
stability, as demonstrated by the indictment and res-
ignation of former Guatemalan president Otto Perez 
Molina on corruption charges. 
(14) Human rights defenders, journalists, trade 
unionists, social leaders, and LGBT activists in the 
Northern Triangle face dire conditions, as evidenced 
by the March 2016 murder of Honduran activist 
Berta Ca´ceres and the targeted killing of more than 
200 such civil society leaders since 2006. Almost 
none of these cases have resulted in convictions. 
(15) The Northern Triangle struggles with high 
levels of economic insecurity. In 2014, more than 62 
percent of Hondurans, more than 59 percent of 
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Guatemalans, and more than 31 percent of Salva-
dorans lived below the poverty line. 
(16) Weak investment climates and low levels of 
educational opportunity are barriers to inclusive eco-
nomic growth and social development in the North-
ern Triangle. 
(17) Although the CAM Program has approval 
rates of nearly 98 percent, due to limited resources, 
of the 8,920 children that have applied for humani-
tarian protection, only 626 have been conditionally 
approved and only 368 have entered the United 
States. 
(18) Approximately 50 percent of unaccom-
panied minors facing United States immigration 
proceedings receive legal representation. Children 
with legal counsel appeared at their hearings more 
than 95 percent of the time. 
(19) As of May 2016, 492,978 cases were pend-
ing before immigration courts, with such cases tak-
ing an average of 553 days to reach a final decision. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the United States must address the violence 
and humanitarian crisis resulting in the elevated 
numbers of unaccompanied children, women, and 
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refugees from the Northern Triangle arriving at the 
Southwestern border of the United States; 
(2) the violence and humanitarian crisis has 
been prompted by the severe challenges posed by— 
(A) high rates of homicide, sexual violence, 
and violent crime perpetrated by armed crimi-
nal actors; 
(B) endemic corruption; and 
(C) the limited ability and the lack of polit-
ical will on the part of governments to protect 
their citizens and uphold the rule of law in the 
Northern Triangle; 
(3) the United States must work with inter-
national partners— 
(A) to address the complicated conditions 
in the Northern Triangle that contribute to the 
violence and humanitarian crisis; and 
(B) to protect vulnerable populations, par-
ticularly women and children, fleeing violence in 
the region; 
(4) the Plan of the Alliance for Prosperity in 
the Northern Triangle, which was developed by the 
Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Hon-
duras, with the technical assistance of the Inter- 
American Development Bank, represents a com-
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prehensive approach to address the complex situa-
tion in the Northern Triangle; 
(5) the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Cen-
tral America, as articulated by President Obama and 
Vice President Biden, provides important support 
for the Alliance for Prosperity and other United 
States national security priorities, including rule of 
law and anti-corruption initiatives; 
(6) combating corruption in the Northern Tri-
angle must remain a critical priority and the United 
Nation’s Commission Against Impunity in Guate-
mala (CICIG) and the Organization of American 
States’ Mission to Support the Fight Against Cor-
ruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) are 
important contributions to this effort; 
(7) the United States must continue to encour-
age the creation of a similar international commis-
sion to combat corruption and impunity in El Sal-
vador; 
(8) the governments of the Northern Triangle 
are urged to ensure that the Office of the Attorney 
General in each such country receives sufficient do-
mestic budget allocations to carry out their core re-
sponsibilities and that budgeted funds are delivered 
in a timely manner; 
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(9) the United States should work in coopera-
tion with the Government of Mexico in encouraging 
best practices consistent with international law and 
obligations regarding the protection of vulnerable 
populations such as women and children; 
(10) the CAM Program provides a safe, legal, 
and orderly alternative to children fleeing violence in 
the Northern Triangle; 
(11) the United States must— 
(A) expand the CAM Program to ensure 
the safe and orderly processing of refugee chil-
dren in the region; 
(B) strengthen internal asylum systems in 
Mexico and other countries in the region to pro-
tect and process eligible children and families, 
including establishing and expanding in-country 
reception centers; 
(C) expand access to legal representation 
for unaccompanied alien children facing United 
States immigration proceedings; and 
(D) reduce delays in immigration courts, 
which contribute to misinformation that mi-
grants who come to the United States will not 
be removed; and 
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