Title: Practical Alternatives to Detention Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Practical Alternatives to Detention Act
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to fully implement and use alternatives to detention programs for aliens who are not subject to mandatory detention. For such alternatives to detention programs, DHS shall prioritize certain aliens, such as those who are pregnant or have serious medical needs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9039 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9039

 To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to operate alternatives 
to detention programs, to prioritize certain vulnerable populations for 
those programs, and to require the Secretary to justify the allocation 
    of resources and decisions on whether to detain people based on 
   ensuring compliance with immigration proceedings in the most cost-
            effective ways possible, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 21, 2020

  Mr. Amash introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to operate alternatives 
to detention programs, to prioritize certain vulnerable populations for 
those programs, and to require the Secretary to justify the allocation 
    of resources and decisions on whether to detain people based on 
   ensuring compliance with immigration proceedings in the most cost-
            effective ways possible, 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 ```Practical Alternatives to Detention 
Act'''.

SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall fully 
implement and use alternatives to detention programs, including a 
family case management program, in accordance with this section.
    (b) Screening.--The Secretary shall screen aliens who are in the 
custody of the Department of Homeland Security to determine whether 
their compliance with the immigration laws (as such term is defined in 
section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)) and 
immigration court proceedings could likely be secured through 
participation in an alternatives to detention program, and shall enroll 
qualifying aliens in such programs in accordance with the program 
requirements described in subsection (d). The Secretary shall 
prioritize screening and enrolling in such programs the following 
aliens:
            (1) Aliens who are pregnant.
            (2) Aliens who have serious or ongoing medical or mental 
        health needs or a disability.
            (3) Aliens who are being detained with one or more of their 
        children who are under the age of 18, or who are caregivers for 
        any family member in the United States who has a serious or 
        ongoing medical or mental health need or a disability.
            (4) Asylum seekers and torture survivors who have 
        demonstrated a credible fear of persecution or a reasonable 
        fear of torture.
            (5) Any other aliens the Secretary determines appropriate 
        to prioritize.
            (6) During any declared public health emergency declared by 
        the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of 
        the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), aliens at 
        elevated risk of--
                    (A) death, injury, or serious illness from possible 
                exposure in detention to a disease related to the 
                public health emergency; or
                    (B) developing a disorder from possible exposure in 
                detention to a disease related to the public health 
                emergency.
    (c) Certain Aliens Ineligible.--An alien shall not be eligible for 
an alternatives to detention program under this section if--
            (1) the alien is subject to mandatory detention under 
        section 236A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1226a); or
            (2) the alien, in the discretion of the Secretary, presents 
        a flight risk, a risk to others, or a risk to national 
        security, and the risk cannot be reasonably mitigated through 
        an alternatives to detention program.
    (d) Program Requirements.--The alternatives to detention programs 
used pursuant to this section shall use evidence-based practices 
demonstrated to mitigate the risks described in subsection (c)(2) and 
promote compliance with the immigration laws in a cost efficient 
manner.
    (e) Quarterly Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees reports on the 
following:
            (1) Aliens who were detained in the custody of the 
        Department of Homeland Security at any point during the 
        previous 90-day period, including, with respect to such period, 
        the following information:
                    (A) The number of aliens subject to mandatory 
                detention under section 236A of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1226a) who were detained for 
                90 days or more, and a description of the reason or 
                reasons for each such detention.
                    (B) The number of aliens detained for 7 days or 
                more, and the number of such aliens who--
                            (i) had a serious or ongoing medical or 
                        mental health need or disability;
                            (ii) were detained with one or more 
                        children under the alien's care;
                            (iii) are asylum seekers or torture 
                        survivors who have demonstrated a credible fear 
                        of persecution or a reasonable fear of torture; 
                        or
                            (iv) were detained during a public health 
                        emergency declared by the Secretary of Health 
                        and Human Services under section 319 of the 
                        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), and 
                        were at elevated risk of--
                                    (I) death, injury, or serious 
                                illness from possible exposure in 
                                detention to a disease related to the 
                                public health emergency; or
                                    (II) developing a disorder from 
                                possible exposure in detention to a 
                                disease related to the public health 
                                emergency.
                    (C) A description of the reason for the detention 
                of each alien described in each of clauses (i), (ii), 
                (iii), and (iv) of subparagraph (B).
                    (D) The number of aliens detained for 48 hours or 
                more who were pregnant, the duration of each such 
                alien's detention, and a description of the reason or 
                reasons for each such detention.
                    (E) The number of aliens who suffered miscarriages 
                while detained, and a description of any medical 
                services made available to each such alien.
            (2) Alternatives to detention programs, including, for each 
        such program, with respect to the previous 90-day period, the 
        following information:
                    (A) The number of adults who participated in the 
                program, the number of their own children under their 
                care, and the number of any other children under their 
                care.
                    (B) The services provided and the levels of 
                monitoring maintained for aliens participating in the 
                program.
                    (C) The rates of participants' compliance with 
                immigration check-ins, court dates, and removal 
                proceedings.
                    (D) The number of participants who absconded.
                    (E) The per-participant costs of the program.
The Secretary shall ensure that any information collected, published, 
or otherwise made available under this subsection does not reveal 
personally identifiable information.
    (f) Annual Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter at the time of 
submission of the President's budget request, the Secretary shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy--
            (1) to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of different 
        elements and combinations of elements of alternatives to 
        detention programs for different groups of participants; and
            (2) to allocate resources for detention programs and 
        alternatives to detention programs in such a way as to minimize 
        costs to the Federal Government and maximize compliance with 
        the immigration laws.
    (g) Comptroller General Report.--Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the 
succeeding 5 years, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees the following:
            (1) A report on the effectiveness of the alternatives to 
        detention programs used pursuant to this section at mitigating 
        risks to public safety and national security and promoting 
        compliance with the immigration laws in a cost efficient 
        manner.
            (2) A report on the status of immigration court backlogs, 
        the causes for such backlogs, and recommendations for how many 
        additional immigration judges and support staff may be needed 
        to facilitate timely and fair immigration proceedings.
    (h) Contract Authority.--The Secretary may enter into contracts 
with qualified nongovernmental entities to implement the alternatives 
to detention programs required under this section.
    (i) Application to Unaccompanied Alien Children.--Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to modify the care and custody of 
unaccompanied alien children (as such term is defined in section 
462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2))).
    (j) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
        Oversight and Government Reform of the House of 
        Representatives, the Committee on Appropriations of the House 
        of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
        Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
        Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Appropriations of 
        the Senate.
            (2) Family case management program.--The term ``family case 
        management program'' means an alternatives to detention program 
        to support compliance of family units with immigration 
        proceedings by providing services, which may include the 
        following:
                    (A) Individualized family service plans.
                    (B) Information about options available to obtain 
                legal counsel.
                    (C) Education about the family's legal rights and 
                responsibilities.
                    (D) Tracking and monitoring of immigration 
                obligations, including attendance at immigration court 
                proceedings.
                    (E) Assistance with transportation logistics, in 
                the case of an emergency, to attend a required U.S. 
                Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in, a court 
                appearance, or to further removal.
                    (F) Reintegration planning for participants who are 
                returning to their home countries.
            (3) Effectiveness.--The term ``effectiveness'' means, with 
        respect to an alternatives to detention program, the rate of 
        success of the program at securing participants' attendance at 
        immigration check-ins, court dates, and removal proceedings.
            (4) Flight risk.--The term ``flight risk'' means, with 
        respect to an individual, that the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security has found, based on individualized facts, that the 
        individual is more likely than not to intentionally fail to 
        appear at required immigration court proceedings.
                                 <all>