Unaccompanied Alien Children Assistance Control Act
Bill: H.R.193 | Sponsor: Rep. Burgess, Michael C. (R-TX)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Unaccompanied Alien Children Assistance Control Act
This bill directs the President to reduce foreign assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras based on how many unaccompanied alien children from each of those countries are placed in custody for immigration status. For each unaccompanied alien child placed in custody who is a citizen or national of one of these countries, the President shall reduce assistance to that country by $30,000 the following fiscal year.

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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Gang violence, poverty, and corruption are the main 
        drivers of illegal immigration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and 
        Honduras to the United States.
            (2) According to an independent task force report by the 
        Atlantic Council's Latin America Center--
                    (A) systemic corruption stagnates economic growth;
                    (B) eight in ten poll respondents see corruption as 
                widespread;
                    (C) citizens in El Salvador, Guatemala, and 
                Honduras do not trust the government institutions 
                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 assistance from 
        the United States to be misused by central government officials 
        in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras in order to reduce the 
        success of anti-corruption efforts.
            (4) Systemic corruption in El Salvador, Guatemala, 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 unaccompanied 
        alien children from El Salvador, Guatemala, 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 unaccompanied 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 unaccompanied 
        alien child in ORR custody is $30,000 per child and 
        $1,352,760,000 per year for all children.

SEC. 3. REDUCTION OF AMOUNT OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE TO EL SALVADOR, 
              GUATEMALA, AND HONDURAS.

    (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 country 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 immigration status; 
                multiplied by
            (2) $30,000.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``covered country'' means El Salvador, 
        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 Act of 1961 or any other Act for 
fiscal year 2022 and each subsequent fiscal year.
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