I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5240
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide temporary pro-
tected status to certain unaccompanied alien children, to provide for
the adjustment of status of aliens unlawfully present in the United
States who are under 18 years of age, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 21, 2000
Mr. WU (for himself, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms.
ROS-LEHTINEN, and Mr. DIAZ-BALART) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide
temporary protected status to certain unaccompanied
alien children, to provide for the adjustment of status
of aliens unlawfully present in the United States who
are under 18 years of age, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Alien Children Protec-
tion Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. USE OF APPROPRIATE FACILITIES FOR THE DETEN-
TION OF ALIEN CHILDREN.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection
(b), in the case of any alien under 18 years of age who
is awaiting final adjudication of the alien’s immigration
status and who does not have a parent, guardian, or rel-
ative in the United States into whose custody the alien
may be released, the Attorney General shall place such
alien in a facility appropriate for children not later than
72 hours after the Attorney General has taken custody
of the alien.
(b) EXCEPTION.—The provisions of subsection (a) do
not apply to any alien under 18 years of age who the At-
torney General finds has engaged in delinquent behavior,
is an escape risk, or has a security need greater than that
provided in a facility appropriate for children.
(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘facility
appropriate for children’’ means a facility, such as foster
care or group homes, operated by a private nonprofit orga-
nization, or by a local governmental entity, with experience
and expertise in providing for the legal, psychological, edu-
cational, physical, social, nutritional, and health require-
ments of children. The term ‘‘facility appropriate for chil-
dren’’ does not include any facility used primarily to house
adults or delinquent minors.
SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENT TO PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS.
Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1255) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(l)(1) The Attorney General may, in the Attorney
General’s discretion, adjust the status of an alien under
18 years of age (or who was under 18 years of age when
taken into Government custody) who has no lawful immi-
gration status in the United States to that of an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence if—
‘‘(A)(i) the alien (or a parent or legal guardian
acting on the alien’s behalf) has applied for the sta-
tus; and
‘‘(ii) the alien has resided in the United States
for a period of 5 consecutive years; or
‘‘(B)(i) no parent or legal guardian requests the
alien’s return to the country of the parent’s or
guardian’s domicile, or with respect to whom the At-
torney General finds that returning the child to his
or her country of origin would subject the child to
mental or physical abuse; and
‘‘(ii) the Attorney General determines that it is
in the best interests of the alien to remain in the
United States notwithstanding the fact that the
alien is not eligible for asylum protection under sec-
tion 208 or protection under section 101(a)(27)(J).
‘‘(2) The Attorney General shall make a determina-
tion under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) based on input from a
person or entity that is not employed by or a part of the
Service and that is qualified to evaluate children and opine
as to what is in their best interest in a given situation.
‘‘(3) Upon the approval of adjustment of status of
an alien under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall
record the alien’s lawful admission for permanent resi-
dence as of the date of such approval, and the Secretary
of State shall reduce by one the number of visas author-
ized to be issued under sections 201(d) and 203(b)(4) for
the fiscal year then current.
‘‘(4) Not more than 500 aliens may be granted per-
manent resident status under this subsection in any fiscal
year.’’.
SEC. 4. ASSIGNMENT OF GUARDIANS AD LITEM TO ALIEN
CHILDREN.
(a) ASSIGNMENT.—Whenever a covered alien is a
party to an immigration proceeding, the Attorney General
shall assign such covered alien a child welfare professional
or other individual who has received training in child wel-
fare matters and who is recognized by the Attorney Gen-
eral as being qualified to serve as a guardian ad litem (in
this section referred to as the ‘‘guardian’’). The guardian
shall not be an employee of the Immigration and Natu-
ralization Service.
(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The guardian shall ensure
that—
(1) the covered alien’s best interests are pro-
moted while the covered alien participates in, or is
subject to, the immigration proceeding; and
(2) the covered alien understands the pro-
ceeding.
(c) REQUIREMENTS ON THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—
The Attorney General shall serve notice of all matters af-
fecting a covered alien’s immigration status (including all
papers filed in an immigration proceeding) on the covered
alien’s guardian.
(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered
alien’’ means an alien—
(1) who is under 18 years of age;
(2) who has no lawful immigration status in the
United States and is not within the physical custody
of a parent or legal guardian; and
(3) whom no parent or legal guardian requests
the person’s return to the country of the parent’s or
guardian’s domicile or with respect to whom the At-
torney General finds that returning the child to his
or her country of origin would subject the child to
physical or mental abuse.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
Congress commends the Immigration and Naturaliza-
tion Service for its issuance of its ‘‘Guidelines for Chil-
dren’s Asylum Claims’’, dated December 1998, and en-
courages and supports the Service’s implementation of
such guidelines in an effort to facilitate the handling of
children’s asylum claims.
SEC. 6. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REPORT.
The General Accounting Office shall prepare a report
to Congress regarding whether and to what extent U.S.
Embassy and consular officials are fulfilling their obliga-
tion to reunify, on a priority basis, children in foreign
countries whose parent or parents are legally present in
the United States.
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