[Pages S1088-S1089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1974. Ms. SMITH submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
her to the bill H.R. 2579, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
to allow the premium tax credit with respect to unsubsidized COBRA 
continuation coverage; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SECTION __. HELPING SEPARATED CHILDREN.

       (a) Short Titles.--This section may be cited as the 
     ``Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated 
     Children Act'' or the ``HELP Separated Children Act''.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Apprehension.--The term ``apprehension'' means the 
     detention or arrest by officials of the Department or 
     cooperating entities.
       (2) Child.--The term ``child'' means an individual who is 
     younger than 18 years of age.
       (3) Child welfare agency.--The term ``child welfare 
     agency'' means a State or local agency responsible for child 
     welfare services under subtitles B and E of title IV of the 
     Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
       (4) Cooperating entity.--The term ``cooperating entity'' 
     means a State or local entity acting under agreement with the 
     Secretary.
       (5) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
     Department of Homeland Security.
       (6) Detention facility.--The term ``detention facility'' 
     means a Federal, State, or local government facility, or a 
     privately owned and operated facility, that is used, in whole 
     or in part, to hold individuals under the authority of the 
     Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 
     including facilities that hold such individuals under a 
     contract or agreement with the Director.
       (7) Immigration enforcement action.--The term ``immigration 
     enforcement action'' means the apprehension of one or more 
     individuals whom the Department has reason to believe are 
     removable from the United States by the Secretary or a 
     cooperating entity.
       (8) Parent.--The term ``parent'' means a biological or 
     adoptive parent of a child, whose parental rights have not 
     been relinquished or terminated under State law or the law of 
     a foreign country, or a legal guardian under State law or the 
     law of a foreign country.
       (9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Homeland Security.
       (c) Apprehension Procedures for Immigration Enforcement-
     related Activities.--
       (1) Apprehension procedures.--In any immigration 
     enforcement action, the Secretary and cooperating entities 
     shall--
       (A) as soon as possible, but generally not later than 2 
     hours after an immigration enforcement action, inquire 
     whether an individual is a parent or primary caregiver of a 
     child in the United States and provide any such individuals 
     with--
       (i) the opportunity to make a minimum of 2 telephone calls 
     to arrange for the care of such child in the individual's 
     absence; and
       (ii) contact information for--

       (I) child welfare agencies and family courts in the same 
     jurisdiction as the child; and
       (II) consulates, attorneys, and legal service providers 
     capable of providing free legal advice or representation 
     regarding child welfare, child custody determinations, and 
     immigration matters;

       (B) notify the child welfare agency with jurisdiction over 
     the child if the child's parent or primary caregiver is 
     unable to make care arrangements for the child or if the 
     child is in imminent risk of serious harm;
       (C) ensure that personnel of the Department and cooperating 
     entities do not, absent medical necessity or extraordinary 
     circumstances, compel or request children to interpret or 
     translate for interviews of their parents or of other 
     individuals who are encountered as part of an immigration 
     enforcement action; and
       (D) ensure that any parent or primary caregiver of a child 
     in the United States--
       (i) absent medical necessity or extraordinary 
     circumstances, is not transferred from his or her area of 
     apprehension until the individual--

       (I) has made arrangements for the care of such child; or
       (II) if such arrangements are unavailable or the individual 
     is unable to make such arrangements, is informed of the care 
     arrangements made for the child and of a means to maintain 
     communication with the child;

       (ii) absent medical necessity or extraordinary 
     circumstances, and to the extent practicable, is placed in a 
     detention facility that is--

       (I) proximate to the location of apprehension; and
       (II) proximate to the child's habitual place of residence; 
     and

       (iii) receives due consideration of the best interests of 
     such child in any decision or action relating to his or her 
     detention, release, or transfer between detention facilities.
       (2) Requests to state and local entities.--If the Secretary 
     requests a State or local entity to hold in custody an 
     individual whom the Department has reason to believe is 
     removable pending transfer of that individual to the custody 
     of the Secretary or to a detention facility, the Secretary 
     shall also request that the State or local entity provide the 
     individual the protections specified in subparagraphs (A) and 
     (B) of paragraph (1) if that individual is found to be the 
     parent or primary caregiver of a child in the United States.
       (3) Protections against trafficking preserved.--Nothing in 
     this subsection may be construed to impede, delay, or limit 
     the obligations of the Secretary, the Attorney General, or 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 235 
     of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 
     Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232), section 462 of 
     the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279), or the 
     Stipulated Settlement Agreement filed in the United States 
     District Court for the Central District of California on 
     January 17, 1997 (CV 85-4544-RJK) (commonly known as the 
     ``Flores Settlement Agreement'').
       (d) Access to Children, State and Local Courts, Child 
     Welfare Agencies, and Consular Officials.--At all detention 
     facilities, the Secretary shall--
       (1) prominently post in a manner accessible to detainees 
     and visitors and include in detainee handbooks information on 
     the protections of this subtitle as well as information on 
     potential eligibility for parole or release;
       (2) absent extraordinary circumstances, ensure that 
     individuals who are detained by the Department and are 
     parents of children in the United States are--
       (A) permitted regular phone calls and contact visits with 
     their children;
       (B) provided with contact information for child welfare 
     agencies and family courts in the relevant jurisdictions;
       (C) able to participate fully and, to the extent possible, 
     in person in all family court proceedings and any other 
     proceedings that may impact their right to custody of their 
     children;
       (D) granted free and confidential telephone calls to 
     relevant child welfare agencies and family courts as often as 
     is necessary to ensure that the best interest of their 
     children, including a preference for family unity whenever 
     appropriate, can be considered in child welfare agency or 
     family court proceedings;
       (E) able to fully comply with all family court or child 
     welfare agency orders impacting custody of their children;
       (F) provided access to United States passport applications 
     or other relevant travel document applications for the 
     purpose of obtaining travel documents for their children;
       (G) afforded timely access to a notary public for the 
     purpose of applying for a passport for their children or 
     executing guardianship or other agreements to ensure the 
     safety of their children; and
       (H) granted adequate time before removal to obtain 
     passports, apostilled birth certificates, travel documents, 
     and other necessary records on behalf of their children if 
     such children will accompany them on their return to their 
     country of origin or join them in their country of origin; 
     and
       (3) if doing so would not impact public safety or national 
     security, facilitate the ability of detained alien parents 
     and primary caregivers to share information regarding travel 
     arrangements with their consulate, children, child welfare 
     agencies, or other caregivers in advance of the detained 
     alien individual's departure from the United States.
       (e) Mandatory Training.--The Secretary, in consultation 
     with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and 
     independent child welfare and family law experts, shall 
     develop and provide training on the protections required 
     under subsections (c) and (d) to all personnel of the 
     Department, cooperating entities, and detention facilities 
     operated by or under agreement with the Department who 
     regularly engage in immigration enforcement actions, 
     including detention, and

[[Page S1089]]

     in the course of such actions come into contact with 
     individuals who are parents or primary caregivers of children 
     in the United States.
       (f) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate 
     regulations to implement subsections (c) and (d).
       (g) Severability.--If any provision of this section, any 
     amendment made by this section, or the application of any 
     such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is 
     held to be unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this 
     section, the remaining amendments made by this section, and 
     the application of such provisions and amendments to any 
     person or circumstance shall not be affected by such holding.
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