,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ijci ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #ba1 #bjbj,mr4 ,amash introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security to operate alternatives to detention programs1 to prioritize certain vulnerable populations for those programs1 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 possible1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,practical ,alternatives to ,detention ,act4 #b4 ,alternatives to detention 7a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall fully implement and use alternatives to detention programs1 including a family case management program1 in accordance with this section4 7b7 ,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 7as such term is defined in section #aja of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja77 and immigration court proceedings could likely be secured through participation in an alternatives to detention program1 and shall enroll qualifying aliens in such programs in accordance with the program requirements described in subsection 7d74 ,the ,secretary shall prioritize screening and enrolling in such programs the following aliens3 7#a7 ,aliens who are pregnant4 7#b7 ,aliens who have serious or ongoing medical or mental health needs or a disability4 7#c7 ,aliens who are being detained with one or more of their children who are under the age of #ah1 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 disability4 7#d7 ,asylum seekers and torture survivors who have demonstrated a credible fear of persecution or a reasonable fear of torture4 7#e7 ,any other aliens the ,secretary determines appropriate to prioritize4 7#f7 ,during any declared public health emergency declared by the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services under section #cai of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d71 aliens at elevated risk of-- 7,a7 death1 injury1 or serious illness from possible exposure in detention to a disease related to the public health emergency2 or 7,b7 developing a disorder from possible exposure in detention to a disease related to the public health emergency4 7c7 ,certain aliens ineligible ,an alien shall not be eligible for an alternatives to detention program under this section if-- 7#a7 the alien is subject to mandatory detention under section #bcf;,a of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abbf;a72 or 7#b7 the alien1 in the discretion of the ,secretary1 presents a flight risk1 a risk to others1 or a risk to national security1 and the risk cannot be reasonably mitigated through an alternatives to detention program4 7d7 ,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 7c77#b7 and promote compliance with the immigration laws in a cost efficient manner4 7e7 ,quarterly reports ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every #ij days thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees reports on the following3 7#a7 ,aliens who were detained in the custody of the ,department of ,homeland ,security at any point during the previous #ij-;day period1 including1 with respect to such period1 the following information3 7,a7 ,the number of aliens subject to mandatory detention under section #bcf;,a of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abbf;a7 who were detained for #ij days or more1 and a description of the reason or reasons for each such detention4 7,b7 ,the number of aliens detained for #g days or more1 and the number of such aliens who-- 7i7 had a serious or ongoing medical or mental health need or disability2 7ii7 were detained with one or more children under the alien's care2 7iii7 are asylum seekers or torture survivors who have demonstrated a credible fear of persecution or a reasonable fear of torture2 or 7iv7 were detained during a public health emergency declared by the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services under section #cai of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d71 and were at elevated risk of-- 7,i7 death1 injury1 or serious illness from possible exposure in detention to a disease related to the public health emergency2 or 7,,ii7 developing a disorder from possible exposure in detention to a disease related to the public health emergency4 7,c7 ,a description of the reason for the detention of each alien described in each of clauses 7i71 7ii71 7iii71 and 7iv7 of subparagraph 7,b74 7,d7 ,the number of aliens detained for #dh hours or more who were pregnant1 the duration of each such alien's detention1 and a description of the reason or reasons for each such detention4 7,e7 ,the number of aliens who suffered miscarriages while detained1 and a description of any medical services made available to each such alien4 7#b7 ,alternatives to detention programs1 including1 for each such program1 with respect to the previous #ij-;day period1 the following information3 7,a7 ,the number of adults who participated in the program1 the number of their own children under their care1 and the number of any other children under their care4 7,b7 ,the services provided and the levels of monitoring maintained for aliens participating in the program4 7,c7 ,the rates of participants' compliance with immigration check-ins1 court dates1 and removal proceedings4 7,d7 ,the number of participants who absconded4 7,e7 ,the per-participant costs of the program4 ,the ,secretary shall ensure that any information collected1 published1 or otherwise made available under this subsection does not reveal personally identifiable information4 7f7 ,annual report ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter at the time of submission of the ,president's budget request1 the ,secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy-- 7#a7 to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of different elements and combinations of elements of alternatives to detention programs for different groups of participants2 and 7#b7 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 laws4 7g7 ,comptroller ,general report ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and annually thereafter for the succeeding #e years1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees the following3 7#a7 ,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 manner4 7#b7 ,a report on the status of immigration court backlogs1 the causes for such backlogs1 and recommendations for how many additional immigration judges and support staff may be needed to facilitate timely and fair immigration proceedings4 7h7 ,contract authority ,the ,secretary may enter into contracts with qualified nongovernmental entities to implement the alternatives to detention programs required under this section4 7i7 ,application to unaccompanied alien children ,nothing in this section shall be construed to modify the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children 7as such term is defined in section #dfb7;g77#b7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #bgi7;g77#b7774 7j7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,house of ,representatives1 the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives1 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives1 the ,committee on the ,judiciary of the ,senate1 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,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 services1 which may include the following3 7,a7 ,individualized family service plans4 7,b7 ,information about options available to obtain legal counsel4 7,c7 ,education about the family's legal rights and responsibilities4 7,d7 ,tracking and monitoring of immigration obligations1 including attendance at immigration court proceedings4 7,e7 ,assistance with transportation logistics1 in the case of an emergency1 to attend a required ,u4,s4 ,immigration and ,customs ,enforcement check-in1 a court appearance1 or to further removal4 7,f7 ,reintegration planning for participants who are returning to their home countries4 7#c7 ,effectiveness ,the term effectiveness means1 with respect to an alternatives to detention program1 the rate of success of the program at securing participants' attendance at immigration check-ins1 court dates1 and removal proceedings4 7#d7 ,flight risk ,the term flight risk means1 with respect to an individual1 that the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security has found1 based on individualized facts1 that the individual is more likely than not to intentionally fail to appear at required immigration court proceedings4