Title: Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend protective custody over alien children under age 18 who are accompanied by a parent and apprehended at the border or are seeking admission to the United States at a port of entry. DHS must temporarily house an alien child under age 18 in a family residential center during the pendency of civil or criminal proceedings.
DHS must increase the number of available beds in family residential centers. The Department of Justice must increase the number of immigration judge teams to conduct prioritized proceedings for accompanied alien children and families apprehended at the southwest border or who are seeking admission to the United States at a port of entry

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6190 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6190

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to address the protective 
    custody of alien children accompanied by parents, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 21, 2018

    Mr. Webster of Florida introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to address the protective 
    custody of alien children accompanied by parents, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``Keep Families Together and Enforce 
the Law Act''.

SEC. 2. FAMILY UNIFICATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1225) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Protective Custody of Arriving Alien Children Accompanied by 
Parents.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, including section 3142 of title 18, United States Code, 
        any judicial determination (including any judicial 
        determination made in Flores v. Sessions et. al., (9th Cir. 
        July 5, 2017; C.D. CA. July 24, 2015)), consent decree, or 
        settlement agreement issued before the date of enactment of the 
        Keep Families Together and Enforce the Law Act, and section 
        236.3 of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 
        regulation), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall not use 
        any appropriated funds or be required to implement the terms of 
        the stipulated settlement agreement filed on January 17, 1997, 
        in the United States District Court for the Central District of 
        California in Flores v. Reno, CV 85-4544-RJK, (commonly known 
        as the ``Flores settlement agreement'') in the case of an alien 
        child under the age of 18 years who is--
                    ``(A) accompanied by a parent; and
                    ``(B)(i) apprehended at or near the international 
                border of the United States; or
                    ``(ii) seeking admission to the United States at a 
                port of entry.
            ``(2) Family unit residential centers.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Homeland Security 
                shall temporarily house an alien child under the age of 
                18 years described in paragraph (1) together with the 
                parent of the child in a family residential center 
                maintained by the Secretary of Homeland Security during 
                the pendency of civil or criminal proceedings.
                    ``(B) Exception.--The Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall not temporarily house an alien child 
                described in subparagraph (A) in the manner described 
                in that subparagraph if the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security--
                            ``(i) is unable to verify that an 
                        individual accompanying the alien child is the 
                        parent of the alien child;
                            ``(ii) determines that the accompanying 
                        parent of the alien child--
                                    ``(I) has a violent criminal 
                                history; or
                                    ``(II) has committed or been 
                                convicted of--
                                            ``(aa) an aggravated felony 
                                        under section 101(a)(43);
                                            ``(bb) a crime involving 
                                        the attempted use of physical 
                                        force or threatened use of a 
                                        deadly weapon;
                                            ``(cc) an assault resulting 
                                        in bodily injury (as defined in 
                                        section 2266 of title 18, 
                                        United States Code); or
                                            ``(dd) an offense described 
                                        in section 212(a)(2) or 
                                        237(a)(2);
                            ``(iii) determines that the alien child is 
                        or has been a victim of domestic abuse or 
                        sexual abuse; or
                            ``(iv) the alien child is--
                                    ``(I) a victim of trafficking;
                                    ``(II) at risk of becoming a victim 
                                of trafficking;
                                    ``(III) in danger of abuse or 
                                neglect at the hands of the 
                                accompanying parent of the alien child; 
                                or
                                    ``(IV) a danger to himself or 
                                herself or to others.
                    ``(C) Conditions for custody.--The Secretary of 
                Homeland Security shall ensure that each--
                            ``(i) family residential facility is secure 
                        and safe; and
                            ``(ii) alien child and accompanying parent 
                        at a family residential facility has--
                                    ``(I) suitable living 
                                accommodations;
                                    ``(II) access to drinking water and 
                                food;
                                    ``(III) medical assistance in case 
                                of emergencies; and
                                    ``(IV) any other service necessary 
                                for the adequate care of a minor child.
            ``(3) Protective custody of accompanied alien children 
        ineligible for housing in a family residential center.--If an 
        alien child described in paragraph (1) may not be housed with 
        the accompanying parent of the alien child in a family 
        residential center under paragraph (2)(A), the alien child 
        shall be treated as an unaccompanied alien child under the 
        William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 
        Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232 et seq.).
            ``(4) Prioritization of accompanied minor and family unit 
        proceedings.--To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 
        of Homeland Security and the Attorney General shall prioritize 
        civil and criminal proceedings and decisions on requests for 
        relief from removal of accompanied alien children and families 
        who are in custody under this subsection.''.
    (b) Family Residential Facilities.--The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall enter into one or more interagency agreements with the 
Attorney General to secure additional family residential centers to 
house accompanied alien children and parents of such children under 
section 235(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act during the 
pendency of civil or criminal proceedings.
    (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this Act shall apply 
regardless of the date on which an action giving rise to the 
admissibility or custody of the accompanied child or parent occurs.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL FAMILY RESIDENTIAL CENTER CAPACITY.

    The Secretary of Homeland Security shall increase the number of 
available family residential beds by not less than 1,000, as compared 
to the number of beds available on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. EMERGENCY IMMIGRATION JUDGE RESOURCES.

    The Attorney General shall increase the number of immigration judge 
teams by not less than 225, as compared to the number of immigration 
judge teams on the date of enactment of this Act, including for the 
purpose of conducting prioritized proceedings for accompanied alien 
children and families--
            (1) apprehended at or near the southwest border of the 
        United States; or
            (2) who are seeking admission to the United States at a 
        port of entry.
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