Title: Congressional Access to Children's Detention Facilities Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Congressional Access to Children's Detention Facilities Act
This bill requires the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, or the Department of Health and Human Services to allow Members of Congress to tour any facility in which one or more foreign national minors (a noncitizen of the United States under age 18) are housed. The Departments must allow members of the press to accompany a visiting Member of Congress and may place limits on such tours based on the number of foreign national minors housed.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6256 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6256

  To require the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 
    Health and Human Services to allow Members of Congress to tour 
        detention facilities that house foreign national minors.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2018

  Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Shea-
 Porter, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Moore, Mr. Blumenauer, 
Ms. Norton, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Soto, Mr. 
   Lipinski, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Castor of Florida, and Mr. 
   Raskin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
    Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Homeland Security, 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 require the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 
    Health and Human Services to allow Members of Congress to tour 
        detention facilities that house foreign national minors.

    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 ``Congressional Access to Children's 
Detention Facilities Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means, as applicable--
                    (A) the Attorney General;
                    (B) the Secretary of Homeland Security; or
                    (C) the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
            (2) Foreign national minor.--The term ``foreign national 
        minor'' means an individual who is not a citizen of the United 
        States and is under 18 years of age.

SEC. 3. MANDATORY ACCESS TO DETENTION FACILITIES HOUSING UNACCOMPANIED 
              ALIEN CHILDREN.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary concerned 
shall allow a Member of Congress to tour any facility in which one or 
more foreign national minors are housed on a date and at a time between 
8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. requested by the Member of Congress if, not 
later than midnight on the date requested, the Secretary receives 
written notice from the Member of Congress that includes--
            (1) the name or location of the facility; and
            (2) the date on and time at which the Member of Congress 
        intends to tour the facility.
    (b) Accompanying Members of the Press.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary concerned shall allow one or 
        more members of the press chosen by the visiting Member of 
        Congress to accompany any Member of Congress on a tour of a 
        facility under this section.
            (2) Limitation.--The Secretary concerned shall not be 
        required to allow a member of the press accompanying a Member 
        of Congress under paragraph (1) to enter such facility with a 
        still or video camera.
    (c) Limitation.--The Secretary concerned may limit a tour under 
subsection (a) to--
            (1) in the case of a facility that houses fewer than 50 
        foreign national minors--
                    (A) not more than 5 Members of Congress; and
                    (B) accompanying members of the press under 
                subsection (b); and
            (2) in the case of a facility that houses not fewer than 50 
        foreign national minors--
                    (A) not more than 10 Members of Congress; and
                    (B) accompanying members of the press under 
                subsection (b).

SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede or modify 
applicable--
            (1) Federal child welfare law, including the Adoption and 
        Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-89); or
            (2) child welfare law of any State.
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