118th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to provide for the expedited removal of unaccompanied alien children who are not victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and who do not have a fear of returning to their country of nationality or last habitual residence, and for other purposes.
March 30, 2023
Mr. Carter of Texas (for himself, Mr. Biggs, and Mr. Nehls) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
To the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to provide for the expedited removal of unaccompanied alien children who are not victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and who do not have a fear of returning to their country of nationality or last habitual residence, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Protection of Children Act of 2023”.
SEC. 2. Repatriation of unaccompanied alien children.
(a) In general.—Section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) is amended—
(i) by amending the heading to read as follows: “Rules for unaccompanied alien children.—”;
(I) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “who is a national or habitual resident of a country that is contiguous with the United States”;
(II) in clause (i), by inserting “and” at the end;
(III) in clause (ii), by striking “; and” and inserting a period; and
(IV) by striking clause (iii); and
(I) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “(8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) may—” and inserting “(8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)—”;
(II) in clause (i), by inserting before “permit such child to withdraw” the following: “may”; and
(III) in clause (ii), by inserting before “return such child” the following: “shall”; and
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “, except for an unaccompanied alien child from a contiguous country subject to the exceptions under subsection (a)(2),” and inserting “who does not meet the criteria listed in paragraph (2)(A)”; and
(ii) in clause (i), by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: “, which shall include a hearing before an immigration judge not later than 14 days after being screened under paragraph (4)”;
(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the semicolon the following: “believed not to meet the criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A)”; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the period the following: “and does not meet the criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A)”; and
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking “an unaccompanied alien child in custody shall” and all that follows, and inserting the following: an unaccompanied alien child in custody—
“(A) in the case of a child who does not meet the criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A), shall transfer the custody of such child to the Secretary of Health and Human Services not later than 30 days after determining that such child is an unaccompanied alien child who does not meet such criteria; or
“(B) in the case of a child who meets the criteria listed in subsection (a)(2)(A), may transfer the custody of such child to the Secretary of Health and Human Services after determining that such child is an unaccompanied alien child who meets such criteria.”; and
(A) in paragraph (3), by inserting at the end the following:
“(D) INFORMATION ABOUT INDIVIDUALS WITH WHOM CHILDREN ARE PLACED.—
“(i) INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED TO HOMELAND SECURITY.—Before placing a child with an individual, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide to the Secretary of Homeland Security, regarding the individual with whom the child will be placed, the following information:
“(I) The name of the individual.
“(II) The social security number of the individual.
“(III) The date of birth of the individual.
“(IV) The location of the individual’s residence where the child will be placed.
“(V) The immigration status of the individual, if known.
“(VI) Contact information for the individual.
“(ii) ACTIVITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Not later than 30 days after receiving the information listed in clause (i), the Secretary of Homeland Security, upon determining that an individual with whom a child is placed is unlawfully present in the United States and not in removal proceedings pursuant to chapter 4 of title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.), shall initiate such removal proceedings.”; and
(i) by inserting after “to the greatest extent practicable” the following: “(at no expense to the Government)”; and
(ii) by striking “have counsel to represent them” and inserting “have access to counsel to represent them”.
(b) Effective date.—The amendments made by this section shall apply to any unaccompanied alien child apprehended on or after the date that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. Special immigrant juvenile status for immigrants unable to reunite with either parent.
Section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)) is amended—
(1) in clause (i), by striking “, and whose reunification with 1 or both of the immigrant's parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found under State law”; and
(A) in subclause (I), by striking “and” at the end;
(B) in subclause (II), by inserting “and” after the semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
“(III) an alien may not be granted special immigrant status under this subparagraph if the alien’s reunification with any one parent or legal guardian is not precluded by abuse, neglect, abandonment, or any similar cause under State law;”.