Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-119
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2005-01-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Adoption
Age
Agriculture and Food
Aliens
Armed Forces and National Security
Authorization
Border patrols
Canada
Child abuse
Child health
Child safety
Child sexual abuse
Child welfare
Children's rights
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Congress
Congress and foreign policy
Congressional reporting requirements
Correctional institutions
Court records
Crime and Law Enforcement
Criminal aliens
Criminal investigation
Curricula
Custody of children
Damages
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Deportation
Detention of persons
Diet
Disciplining of employees
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Employee training
Evidence (Law)
Families
Federal employees
Federal law enforcement officers
Finance and Financial Sector
Fines (Penalties)
Foster home care
Government Operations and Politics
Government service contracts
Grants-in-aid
Group homes
Guardian and ward
Health
Human rights
Illegal aliens
Immigrant education
Immigrant health
Immigrants
International Affairs
Juvenile delinquency
Labor and Employment
Language and languages
Latin America
Law
Legal aid
Legal education
Legal ethics
Legal fees
Legal services
Licenses
Limitation of actions
Local officials
Mental health services
Mexicans
Mexico
Nonprofit organizations
Parent and child
Parole
Political persecution
Prosecution
Recruiting of employees
Refugees
Religion
Repatriation
Right of asylum
Right of privacy
Right to counsel
Smuggling
Social Welfare
Social work
Standards
State officials
Subcontractors
Surety and fidelity
Teacher education
Translating and interpreting
Trauma care
Visas
Witnesses

Summary:
action_date: 2005-01-24
text: 
Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2005 - Addresses the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children, defined as children under the age of 18 with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody.
 
Directs immigration officers who find such children at U.S. land borders or ports of entry to permit them to withdraw their applications for admission and return to their country of nationality or last habitual residence in certain circumstances. States that such children shall have the right to consult with a consular officer prior to repatriation and with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (the Office) at the Department of Health and Human Services.
 
Gives the Office jurisdiction over the care and custody of all other such children, including trafficking victims, except those charged with or convicted of felonies (excluding offenses proscribed by the Immigration and Nationality Act) or who threaten national security, whose custody and care is vested in the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security (the Directorate) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
 
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary) to notify the Office promptly of the apprehension or discovery of such children.
 
Specifies the order of preference for placing such children, subject to the discretion of the Director of the Office (the Director) and a suitability assessment by the State of the child's proposed residence or a voluntary agency contracted with the Office.
 
Prohibits the placement of such children in adult detention facilities or in facilities housing delinquent children unless they exhibit violent or criminal behavior.
 
Requires the Director and the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations incorporating standards for the conditions of detention of such children; and (2) develop procedures prohibiting the unreasonable use of restraints, solitary confinement, or pat or strip searches.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. Government should undertake efforts to ensure that it does not repatriate children in its custody into settings that would threaten their life and safety. 
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary of State to include in each year's State Department Country Report on Human Rights an assessment of the degree to which each country protects children from smugglers and traffickers; and (2) the Directorate to consult that report and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report in assessing whether to repatriate an unaccompanied alien child. 
 
Requires the Director to develop procedures for promptly determining the age of aliens in the custody of DHS or the Office when age is at issue. 
 
Authorizes the Director to appoint qualified and duly trained guardians ad litem for such children. Specifies the duties and powers of such guardians ad litem. 
 
Requires the Director to: (1) provide professional training for such guardians ad litem; and (2) implement a pilot program for their appointment.
 
States that the Director should ensure that all such children in the Custody of the Office or the Directorate, except those being repatriated to a contiguous country, have competent counsel to represent them in immigration proceedings or matters. 
 
Requires the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to develop and implement model guidelines for the legal representation of alien children in immigration proceedings.
 
States that counsel shall: (1) have reasonable access to such children; (2) be given 24 hours advance notice of a transfer absent compelling and unusual circumstances; and (3) except in emergency situations involving the child's physical safety, be given prompt and adequate notice of all immigration matters affecting or involving such children.
 
Bars such children in the custody of the Office from consenting to immigration actions, including voluntary departure, unless first afforded an opportunity to consult with counsel.
 
Makes such guardian ad litem and counsel provisions applicable to all such children in Federal custody on, before, or after the effective date of this Act.
 
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to specify that: (1) aliens seeking special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) status must be 18 years of age and under on the date of application; (2) court orders declaring such aliens dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States or placing them in the custody of a State entity due to abuse, neglect, abandonment or similar grounds shall be binding on the Secretary for purposes of SIJ adjudications; and (3) the Office must certify to the Director that SIJ classifications with respect to alien children in Federal custody have not been made solely to provide immigration benefits. 
 
Excludes presence without admission or parole as a ground for inadmissibility with regard to aliens seeking SIJ status. Authorizes the Secretary to waive certain additional grounds of inadmissibility. 
 
Makes the SIJ-related amendments of this Act applicable to all aliens who were in the United States before, on, or after enactment of this Act.
 
Commends the (former) Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for its issuance of the Guidelines for Children's Asylum Claims and encourages implementation of such guidelines by INS and its successor. Calls upon EOIR to adopt such guidelines in its handling of children's asylum claims.
 
Requires the Secretary to provide periodic comprehensive training under such guidelines. 
 
Requires such children apprehended by the Directorate, except those subject to contiguous country rules, to be placed in removal proceedings. Exempts such children from certain bars to seeking asylum. 
 
Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA) to make the Director responsible for: (1) continued assessments of the suitability of placements of such children; and (2) ensuring that minimum standards of care are met with regard to such children who reside in settings that are alternatives to detention.
 
States that the amendments to HSA made by this Act shall be effective as if enacted as part of HSA.

action_date: 2005-04-14
text: 
Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2005 - 
Title I: Custody, Release, Family Reunification, and Detention
 - (Sec. 101) Addresses the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children, defined as children under the age of 18 with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody.
 
Directs immigration officers who find such children at U.S. land borders or ports of entry to permit them to withdraw their applications for admission and return to their country of nationality or last habitual residence in certain circumstances. States that such children shall have the right to consult with a consular officer prior to repatriation and with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (the Office) at the Department of Health and Human Services.
 
Gives the Office jurisdiction over the care and custody of all other such children, including trafficking victims, except those charged with or convicted of felonies (excluding offenses proscribed by the Immigration and Nationality Act) or who threaten national security, whose custody and care is vested in the Directorate of Border and Transportation Security (the Directorate) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
 
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary) to notify the Office promptly of the apprehension or discovery of such children.
 
(Sec. 102) Specifies the order of preference for placing such children (subject to the discretion of the Director of the Office [the Director] and a suitability assessment by the State of the child's proposed residence or a voluntary agency contracted with the Office) as follows: (1) parent seeking to establish custody; (2) legal guardian seeking to establish custody; (3) adult relative; (4) individual or entity designated by the parent or legal guardian that is capable and willing to care for the child's well-being; (5) State-licensed juvenile shelter, group home, or foster care program; or (6) qualified adult or entity seeking custody of the child when there is no other likely alternative to long-term detention and family reunification is not a reasonable alternative.
 
(Sec. 103) Prohibits the placement of such children in adult detention facilities or in facilities housing delinquent children unless they exhibit violent or criminal behavior.
 
Requires the Director and the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations incorporating standards for the conditions of detention of such children; (2) notify such children of such standards in their native language; and (3) develop procedures prohibiting the unreasonable use of restraints, solitary confinement, or pat or strip searches.
 
(Sec. 104) Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. Government should undertake efforts to ensure that it does not repatriate children in its custody into settings that would threaten their life and safety. 
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary of State to include in each year's State Department Country Report on Human Rights an assessment of the degree to which each country protects children from smugglers and traffickers; (2) the Directorate to consult that report and the Trafficking in Persons Report in assessing whether to repatriate an unaccompanied alien child; and (3) the Secretary to submit annual reports to the Judiciary Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate on efforts to repatriate such children. 
 
(Sec. 105) Requires the Director to develop procedures for promptly determining the age of aliens in the custody of DHS or the Office when age is at issue. Prohibits the use of radiographs or an alien's attestation as the sole means of determining age. 
 

Title II: Access By Unaccompanied Alien Children to Guardians Ad Litem and Counsel
 - (Sec. 201) Authorizes the Director to appoint qualified and duly trained guardians ad litem for such children. Specifies the duties and powers of such guardians ad litem. 
 
Requires the Director to: (1) provide professional training for such guardians ad litem; and (2) implement a pilot program for their appointment.
 
(Sec. 202) States that the Director should ensure that all such children in the custody of the Office or the Directorate, except those being repatriated to a contiguous country, have competent counsel to represent them in immigration proceedings or matters. 
 
Requires the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to develop and implement model guidelines for the legal representation of alien children in immigration proceedings.
 
States that counsel shall: (1) have reasonable access to such children; (2) be given 24 hours advance notice of a transfer absent compelling and unusual circumstances; and (3) except in emergency situations involving the child's physical safety, be given prompt and adequate notice of all immigration matters affecting or involving such children.
 
Bars such children in the custody of the Office from consenting to immigration actions, including voluntary departure, unless first afforded an opportunity to consult with counsel.
 
States that nothing in this Act requires the United States to pay for counsel for such children.
 
(Sec. 203) Makes such guardian ad litem and counsel provisions applicable to all such children in Federal custody on, before, or after the effective date of this Act.
 

Title III: Strengthening Policies for Permanent Protection of Alien Children 
- (Sec. 301) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to specify that: (1) aliens seeking special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) status must be 18 years of age and under on the date of application; (2) court orders declaring such aliens dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States or placing them in the custody of a State entity due to abuse, neglect, abandonment or similar grounds shall be binding on the Secretary for purposes of SIJ adjudications; and (3) the Office must certify to the Director that SIJ classifications with respect to alien children in Federal custody have not been made solely to provide immigration benefits. 
 
Excludes presence without admission or parole as a ground for inadmissibility with regard to aliens seeking SIJ status. Authorizes the Secretary to waive certain additional grounds of inadmissibility. 
 
(Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting jointly with the Secretary, to provide appropriate training on immigration matters for specified individuals who come into contact with such children.
 
(Sec. 303) Requires the Secretary of HHS to submit annual reports to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on matters related to such children.
 
(Sec. 304) Makes the SIJ-related amendments of this Act applicable to all aliens who were in the United States before, on, or after enactment of this Act.
 

Title IV: Children Refugee and Asylum Seekers
 - (Sec. 401) Commends the (former) Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for its issuance of the Guidelines for Children's Asylum Claims and encourages implementation of such guidelines by INS and its successor. Calls upon EOIR to adopt such guidelines in its handling of children's asylum claims.
 
Requires the Secretary to provide periodic comprehensive training under such guidelines. 
 
(Sec. 402) Directs the President, during required consultations on refugee admissions, to provide members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees with an analysis of the worldwide situation faced by such children.
 
(Sec. 403) Requires such children apprehended by the Directorate, except those subject to contiguous country rules, to be placed in removal proceedings. Exempts such children from certain bars to seeking asylum. 
 

Title V: Authorization of Appropriations
 - (Sec. 501) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act and sections of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA) concerning such children.
 

Title VI: Amendments to the Homeland Security Act of 2002
 - (Sec. 601) Amends HSA to make the Director responsible for: (1) continued assessments of the suitability of placements of such children; and (2) ensuring that minimum standards of care are met with regard to such children who reside in settings that are alternatives to detention.
 
(Sec. 602) States that HSA, as so amended, may not be construed to require the posting of bond for such children who are released to a qualified sponsor.
 
(Sec. 603) States that amendments to HSA made by this Act shall be effective as if enacted as part of HSA.

action_date: 2005-12-22
text: 
Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2005 - 
Title I: Custody, Release, Family Reunification, and Detention
 - (Sec. 101) Addresses the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children (children), defined as children under the age of 18 with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody.
 
Directs immigration officers who find such children at U.S. land borders or ports of entry to permit them to withdraw their applications for admission and return to their country of nationality or last habitual residence in certain circumstances. States that such children shall have the right to consult with a consular officer prior to repatriation and with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (the Office) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
 
Gives the Office jurisdiction over the care and custody of all other such children, including trafficking victims, except those charged with or convicted of felonies (excluding offenses proscribed by the Immigration and Nationality Act) or who threaten national security, whose custody and care is vested in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
 
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to: (1) notify the Office promptly of the apprehension or discovery of such children; and (2) permit the Office to have access to a child if necessary to determine such child's age. 
 
(Sec. 102) Specifies the order of child placement preference (and requires a suitability assessment prior to placement) as follows: (1) parent seeking to establish custody; (2) legal guardian seeking to establish custody; (3) adult relative; (4) individual or entity designated by the parent or legal guardian that is capable and willing to care for the child's well-being; (5) state-licensed juvenile shelter, group home, or foster care program; or (6) qualified adult or entity seeking custody of the child when there is no other likely alternative to long-term detention and family reunification is not a reasonable alternative.
 
Sets forth suitability assessment provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) special needs children; and (2) contract authority.
 
Requires the Director of the Office (Director) to establish programs (which may include witness protection programs) to protect children from smugglers, traffickers, or other persons seeking to engage such children in criminal, harmful, or exploitative activity. 
 
Requires DHS employees, grantees, or contractors who suspect that individuals, including attorneys, are involved in such activities to report the individuals to federal, state, or state bar authorities.
 
Authorizes the Director to: (1) award grants to carry out this section; and (2) reimburse states for costs incurred respecting such children.
 
Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of HHS to disclose information under this section to law enforcement or coroner personnel in connection with a prosecution. Establishes a monetary penalty for misuse of such information.
 
(Sec. 103) Prohibits the placement of such children in adult detention facilities or in facilities housing delinquent children unless they exhibit violent or criminal behavior.
 
Requires the Director and the Secretary to: (1) promulgate detention regulations for such children; (2) notify such children of these standards in their native language; and (3) develop procedures prohibiting the unreasonable use of restraints, solitary confinement, or pat or strip searches.
 
(Sec. 104) Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. government should undertake efforts to ensure that it does not repatriate children in its custody into settings that would threaten their life and safety. 
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary of State to include in each year's State Department Country Report on Human Rights an assessment of the degree to which each country protects children from smugglers and traffickers; (2) DHS to consult that report and the Trafficking in Persons Report in assessing whether to repatriate a child; and (3) the Secretary to submit annual reports to the Judiciary Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate on efforts to repatriate such children. 
 
(Sec. 105) Requires the Director to develop procedures for promptly determining the age of aliens in the custody of DHS or the Office when age is at issue. Prohibits the use of radiographs or an alien's attestation as the sole means of determining age. 
 

Title II: Access By Unaccompanied Alien Children to Child Advocates and Counsel
 - (Sec. 201) Authorizes the Director to appoint qualified and duly trained child advocates (advocate) for such children. Specifies advocates' duties and powers. 
 
Requires the Director to provide advocate training, and implement a pilot program for their appointment.
 
(Sec. 202) States that the Director should ensure that all such children in the custody of the Office or DHS, except those being repatriated to a contiguous country, have competent immigration counsel. 
 
Requires the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to develop and implement model guidelines for the legal representation of alien children in immigration proceedings.
 
States that counsel shall: (1) have reasonable access to such children; (2) be given 24 hours advance notice of a transfer absent compelling and unusual circumstances; and (3) except in emergency situations involving the child's physical safety, be given prompt and adequate notice of all immigration matters affecting or involving such children.
 
Bars such children in Office custody from consenting to immigration actions, including voluntary departure, unless first afforded an opportunity to consult with counsel.
 
States that nothing in this Act requires the United States to pay for counsel for such children.
 
(Sec. 203) States that the appointed advocate or counsel shall not interfere with federal investigators or prosecutors in a federal criminal investigation or prosecution in which the child is a victim or witness. 
 
(Sec. 204) Makes such advocate and counsel provisions applicable to all such children in federal custody on, before, or after the effective date of this Act.
 

Title III: Strengthening Policies for Permanent Protection of Alien Children 
- (Sec. 301) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to specify that: (1) aliens seeking special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) status must be 18 years of age and under on the date of application; (2) court orders declaring such aliens dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States or placing them in the custody of a state entity due to abuse, neglect, abandonment or similar grounds shall be binding on the Secretary for purposes of SIJ adjudications; and (3) the Office must certify to the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that SIJ classifications with respect to alien children in federal custody have not been made solely to provide immigration benefits. 
 
Excludes presence without admission or parole as a ground for inadmissibility with regard to aliens seeking SIJ status. Authorizes the Secretary to waive certain additional grounds of inadmissibility. 
 
(Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary of HHS, acting jointly with the Secretary, to provide appropriate training materials (and direct training upon request) on immigration matters for specified individuals who come into contact with such children.
 
(Sec. 303) Requires the Secretary of HHS to submit annual reports to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on matters related to such children.
 
(Sec. 304) Makes the SIJ-related amendments of this Act applicable to all aliens who were in the United States before, on, or after enactment of this Act.
 

Title IV: Children Refugee and Asylum Seekers
 - (Sec. 401) Commends the (former) Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for its issuance of the Guidelines for Children's Asylum Claims and encourages implementation of such guidelines by INS and its successor. Calls upon EOIR to adopt such guidelines in its handling of children's asylum claims.
 
Requires periodic training under such guidelines for immigration officers and immigration judges.
 
(Sec. 402) Directs the President, during required consultations on refugee admissions, to provide members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees with an analysis of the worldwide situation faced by such children.
 
(Sec. 403) Requires such children apprehended by DHS, except those subject to contiguous country rules, to be placed in removal proceedings. Exempts such children from certain bars to seeking asylum. 
 

Title V: Authorization of Appropriations
 - (Sec. 501) Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act and sections of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA) concerning such children.
 

Title VI: Amendments to the Homeland Security Act of 2002
 - (Sec. 601) Amends HSA to make the Director responsible for: (1) continued assessments of the suitability of placements of such children; and (2) ensuring that minimum standards of care are met with regard to such children who reside in settings that are alternatives to detention.
 
Authorizes the Director to: (1) contract for certain services required under titles I and II of this Act; and (2) compel compliance with certain detention provisions under this Act.
 
(Sec. 602) States that HSA, as amended, may not be construed to require the posting of bond for children who are released to a qualified sponsor.
 
(Sec. 603) States that amendments to HSA made by this Act shall be effective as if enacted as part of HSA.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-02-06
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims.
action_date: 2005-12-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2005-12-22
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2005-12-22
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2005-12-22
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2005-12-22
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2005-12-22
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S14408)
action_date: 2005-04-14
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 74.
action_date: 2005-04-14
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Specter with an amendment. Without written report.
action_date: 2005-04-14
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Specter with an amendment. Without written report.
action_date: 2005-04-14
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
action_date: 2005-01-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S304-309)
action_date: 2005-01-24
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S303-304)
action_date: 2005-01-24
text: Introduced in Senate