[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3497 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3497
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Director of
the Office of Refugee Resettlements of the Department of Health and
Human Services to establish additional procedures for making placement
determinations for all unaccompanied alien children who are in Federal
custody by reason of their immigration status, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 25, 2021
Mr. Garbarino (for himself, Mr. McCaul, and Mr. Higgins of Louisiana)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Director of
the Office of Refugee Resettlements of the Department of Health and
Human Services to establish additional procedures for making placement
determinations for all unaccompanied alien children who are in Federal
custody by reason of their immigration status, 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 ``Protecting UACs Through Enhanced
Sponsor Vetting Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES FOR PLACEMENT DECISIONS FOR UNACCOMPANIED
ALIEN CHILDREN.
Section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (K), by striking ``; and'' at
the end;
(B) in subparagraph (L), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(M) providing notification of the prospective
placement of an unaccompanied alien child with a
sponsor to the Governor of the State and the chief
executive of the county in which the sponsor
resides.'';
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by amending subparagraph (A) to
read as follows:
``(A) shall coordinate with appropriate juvenile
justice professionals, the Director of the Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Assistant
Secretary of the Bureau of Border Security, the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and
appropriate State and local law enforcement officials
to ensure that such determinations ensure that
unaccompanied alien children described in such
subparagraph--
``(i) are likely to appear for all hearings
or proceedings in which they are involved;
``(ii) are protected from smugglers,
traffickers, members of a designated
transnational criminal organization, or others
who might seek to victimize or otherwise engage
them in criminal, harmful, or exploitive
activity, including by conducting a thorough
criminal history background check utilizing the
Next Generation Identification System or its
successor system on prospective sponsors;
``(iii) are placed in a setting in which
they are not likely to pose a danger to
themselves or others; and'';
(3) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h) and--
(A) in paragraph (1) of such subsection, by
striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in paragraph (2) of such subsection, by
striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and'';
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) the term `transnational criminal organization' means
a criminal organization that has been designated as a
transnational criminal organization by the Office of Foreign
Assets Control at the Department of the Treasury.''; and
(4) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
``(g) Additional Procedures for Making Placement Determinations.--
``(1) Criminal records checks.--The Director shall
coordinate with the Attorney General to conduct a thorough
criminal history background check utilizing the Next Generation
Identification System or its successor system for all
prospective sponsors before placement of an unaccompanied alien
child.
``(2) Consultation with relevant law enforcement
entities.--The Director shall consult with relevant law
enforcement entities, including Federal, State, and local law
enforcement, prior to making a determination on whether it is
appropriate to place an unaccompanied alien child with a
prospective sponsor. This consultation will examine any
criminal activity in which the prospective sponsor may have
been, or is currently, involved.
``(3) Notification to state and local governments.--The
Director shall notify relevant State and local governments of
the decision to place an unaccompanied alien child with a
sponsor. This notification will include the Governor of the
state where the sponsor resides, as well as the mayor or
equivalent officeholder of the locality where the sponsor
resides.
``(4) Transnational criminal organization intelligence
sharing.--The Director shall provide to the Terrorist Screening
Center information uncovered during the placement process of an
unaccompanied alien child that establishes membership in, or
affiliation with, a designated transnational criminal
organization of either an unaccompanied alien child or a
prospective sponsor.''.
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