,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #chh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,february #g1       
#bjai,ms4 ,harris 7for herself1 ,mr4    
,wyden1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4          
,blumenthal1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,mr4    
,sanders1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,ms4 ,cortez    
,masto1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 and
 ,ms4 ,klobuchar7 introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to reduce the   
ability of ,u4,s4 ,immigration and      
,customs ,enforcement to engage in      
inappropriate civil immigration         
enforcement actions that harm           
unaccompanied alien children and to     
ensure the safety and welfare of        
unaccompanied alien children4  #a4      
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,families1 ,not ,facilities ,act of 
#bjai4  #b4 ,findings ,congress makes   
the following findings3  7#a7 ,on ,may  
#ac1 #bjah1 a ,memorandum of ,agreement 
between ,u4,s4 ,immigration and ,customs

 ,enforcement1 ,u4,s4 ,customs and      
,border ,patrol of the ,department of   
,homeland ,security1 and the ,office of 
,refugee ,resettlement of the           
,department of ,health and ,human       
,services went into effect to allow for 
intergovernmental sharing of personal   
information about unaccompanied alien   
children1 their prospective sponsors1   
and adult members of sponsor households4
  7#b7 ,u4,s4 ,immigration and ,customs 
,enforcement is using information       
obtained under the ,memorandum of       
,agreement to conduct civil immigration 
enforcement actions against individuals 
residing in the homes of prospective    
sponsors of unaccompanied alien         
children4  7#c7 ,these civil immigration
 enforcement actions have discouraged   
prospective sponsors of unaccompanied   
alien children1 including family        
members1 from coming forward to resettle
 children in the community as they      
pursue lawful claims for humanitarian   
protection4  7#d7 ,as a result of the   

lack of qualified sponsors1             
unprecedented numbers of unaccompanied  
alien children 7approximately #ad1fjj in
 ,december #bjah7 are being held in     
shelters overseen by the ,office of     
,refugee ,resettlement as of the date of
 enactment of this ,act4  7#e7 ,the     
,office of ,refugee ,resettlement is    
struggling to accommodate the growing   
number of unaccompanied alien children  
in its shelter network1 resorting to    
placing children in temporary emergency 
influx shelters4 ,the ,office contracted
 with ,,bcfs to care for more than      
#f1bjj children between ,june #bjah and 
,january #bjai in a temporary shelter at
 the ,tornillo-,guadalupe ,land ,port of
 ,entry in ,texas1 a facility that the  
,new ,york ,times and other media       
sources described as a tent city1 and   
announced plans in ,january #bjai to    
nearly double the number of children    
held in a previously closed temporary   
shelter in ,homestead1 ,florida4  7#f7  
,temporary shelters are inappropriate   

locations to hold unaccompanied alien   
children because such shelters--  7,a7  
have reduced standards of care1         
including insufficient educational      
services2  7,b7 offer limited access to 
clinical and legal services2 and  7,c7  
are not cost-effective1 resulting in the
 expenditure of more than #gej per day  
in taxpayer funds for each child housed 
in ,tornillo shelter1 for example4  7#g7
 ,facilities operated under a contract  
with the ,office of ,refugee            
,resettlement have faced unacceptable   
allegations of abuse and neglect of     
unaccompanied alien children that merit 
additional investigation and oversight4 
7#h7 ,the ,office of ,refugee           
,resettlement is legally required to    
place children in the least restrictive 
setting that is in the best interest of 
the child4  7#i7 ,services offered at   
facilities funded by the ,office of     
,refugee ,resettlement are required to  
include classroom education1 mental and 
medical health services1 case           

management1 socialization and recreation
 activities1 and family reunification   
services that facilitate the safe and   
timely release of unaccompanied alien   
children to family members or other     
sponsors that can care for them4  7#aj7 
,providing legal and case management    
services to all children while they are 
housed in a facility funded by the      
,office of ,refugee ,resettlement and   
after their release from such a facility
 is a cost-effective and humane way of  
ensuring that the ,office of ,refugee   
,resettlement meets its statutory       
obligation to place children in least   
restrictive settings4  #c4 ,use of      
sponsorship information  7a7 ,in general
 ,section #bce7;c77#c7 of the ,william  
,wilberforce ,trafficking ,victims      
,protection ,reauthorization ,act of    
#bjjh 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abcb7;c77#c77 is   
amended--  7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by
 inserting ,in making such a            
determination1 the ,secretary may not   
consider the immigration status of the  

proposed custodian4 after well-being42  
and  7#b7 by adding at the end the      
following3  7,d7 ,prohibiting use of    
certain information ,the ,secretary of  
,homeland ,security may not use         
information provided by an unaccompanied
 alien child or information initially   
obtained by the ,secretary of ,health   
and ,human ,services to make a          
suitability determination under         
subparagraph 7,a71 a home study         
determination under subparagraph 7,b71  
or a secure facility determination under
 paragraph 7#b77;,a7 for the purpose of 
apprehending1 detaining1 or removing    
from the ,united ,states--  7i7 the     
unaccompanied alien child2  7ii7 the    
proposed custodian or current custodian2
  7iii7 a resident of the home in which 
the proposed custodian or current       
custodian resides2  7iv7 the proposed   
sponsor or current sponsor2 or  7v7 a   
resident of the home in which the       
proposed sponsor or current sponsor     
resides4  4  7b7 ,rules of construction 

7#a7 ,flores settlement agreement ,the  
amendments made by subsection 7a7 may   
not be construed to supersede the terms 
of the stipulated settlement agreement  
filed on ,january #ag1 #aiig1 in the    
,united ,states ,district ,court for the
 ,central ,district of ,california in   
,flores v4 ,reno1 ,,cv #he-dedd-,,rjk1  
7commonly known as the ,flores          
settlement agreement74  7#b7 ,child     
welfare ,the amendments made by         
subsection 7a7 may not be construed to  
prevent the ,secretary of ,homeland     
,security from using information        
obtained by the ,secretary of ,health   
and ,human ,services to investigate or  
report to the appropriate law           
enforcement agency or child welfare     
agency instances of trafficking1 abuse1 
or neglect4  #d4 ,limitation on use of  
funds for enforcement1 detention1 and   
removal operations ,no ,federal funds   
may be used by ,u4,s4 ,immigration and  
,customs ,enforcement for any           
enforcement1 detention1 or removal      

activity that violates section          
#bce7;c77#c7 of the ,william            
,wilberforce ,trafficking ,victims      
,protection ,reauthorization ,act of    
#bjjh1 as amended by section #c7;a74    
#e4 ,transfer of ,u4,s4 ,immigration and
 ,customs ,enforcement funding ,of the  
amount appropriated for fiscal year     
#bjai to ,u4,s4 ,immigration and        
,customs ,enforcement for enforcement   
and removal operations--  7#a7          
#cj1jjj1jjj shall be transferred to the 
,department of ,justice to expand the   
efforts of the ,federal ,bureau of      
,investigation's ,violent ,crimes       
,against ,children program to           
investigate criminal networks involved  
in child trafficking2  7#b7 #ahj1jjj1jjj
 shall be transferred to the ,office of 
,refugee ,resettlement to provide the   
post-release legal1 case management1 and
 child advocate services described in   
section #f2 and  7#c7 #aj1jjj1jjj shall 
be transferred to the ,administration   
for ,children and ,families to bolster  

the efforts of the ,task ,force to      
,prevent and ,end ,human ,trafficking4  
#f4 ,ensuring the safety of             
unaccompanied alien children  7a7       
,defined term ,in this section1 the term
 post-release case management services  
means services that-- 7#a7 are provided 
by a social worker1 employed by a       
nonprofit entity1 who meets with the    
child individually and with the family  
to develop an individualized service    
plan2 and  7#b7 allow children to       
successfully transition into their      
communities by-- 7,a7 assisting with    
school enrollment and acculturation2    
7,b7 locating medical and therapeutic   
services2  7,c7 making referrals to area
 legal services2 and  7,d7 navigating   
new family settings and other individual
 needs4  7b7 ,required services ,the    
,office of ,refugee ,resettlement       
shall--  7#a7 provide post-release case 
management to all children upon release 
or as the need arises for the duration  
of their immigration proceedings2 and   

7#b7 facilitate efforts to connect every
 unaccompanied child1 including each    
child with a sponsor1 with legal        
representation for his or her           
immigration proceedings4  7c7 ,the      
,office of ,refugee ,resettlement       
,advisory ,committee on ,shelters for   
,unaccompanied ,alien ,children  7#a7   
,establishment ,the ,secretary of       
,health and ,human ,services1 in        
compliance with the ,federal ,advisory  
,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app471   
shall immediately establish the         
,advisory ,committee on ,shelters for   
,unaccompanied ,alien ,children         
7referred to in this subsection as the  
,advisory ,committee7 to advise the     
,office of ,refugee ,resettlement on    
matters regarding shelters and          
placements for unaccompanied alien      
children relating to education1         
immigration law1 physical and mental    
health1 trauma-informed social work     
services1 youth shelter management1 and 
immigration detention reform4  7#b7     

,composition and term  7,a7 ,appointment
 ,the ,secretary shall appoint #ad      
individuals to serve on the ,advisory   
,committee for #b-year terms4  7,b7     
,prerequisites  7i7 ,in general ,each   
member of the ,advisory ,committee shall
 be employed by a nonprofit entities in 
the field of--  7,i7 education2  7,,ii7 
immigration law2  7,,iii7 physical and  
mental health of children and youth2    
7,,iv7 trauma-informed child welfare    
social work services2  7,v7 youth       
shelter management2  7,,vi7 cultural    
competency2 or  7,,vii7 immigration     
detention reform4  7ii7 ,representation 
,at least #b members of the ,advisory   
,committee shall represent each of the  
fields set forth in clause 7i74  7#c7   
,investigative authority  7,a7          
,inspections ,members of the ,advisory  
,committee may conduct unannounced      
inspections of all shelters contracted  
with the ,office of ,refugee            
,resettlement to hold unaccompanied     
alien children4  7,b7 ,information      

sharing ,the ,office of ,refugee        
,resettlement shall provide the         
,advisory ,committee with access to such
 materials as may be necessary to       
effectively advocate for the best       
interest of children in the custody of  
the ,office of ,refugee ,resettlement1  
subject to applicable statutes and      
regulations4  7#d7 ,consultations ,the  
,advisory ,committee shall consult with1
 and receive recommendations from-- 7,a7
 the ,american ,medical ,association2   
7,b7 the ,american ,academy of          
,pediatrics2  7,c7 the ,national        
,association of ,social ,workers2  7,d7 
the ,american ,bar ,association ,center 
on ,children and the ,law2  7,e7 the    
,american ,immigration ,lawyers         
,association2 and  7,f7 other medical1  
child welfare1 and legal experts4  7#e7 
,reports  7,a7 ,interim report ,not     
later than #f months after the          
establishment of the ,advisory          
,committee under paragraph 7#a71 the    
,advisory ,committee shall release to   

the public an interim report outlining  
the ,advisory ,committee's              
investigations and recommendations      
regarding ,office of ,refugee           
,resettlement shelters for unaccompanied
 alien children and submit such report  
to--  7i7 the ,secretary of ,health and 
,human ,services2  7ii7 the ,committee  
on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and     
,pensions of the ,senate2  7iii7 the    
,committee on ,homeland ,security and   
,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate2  
7iv7 the ,committee on the ,judiciary of
 the ,senate2  7v7 the ,committee on    
,energy and ,commerce of the ,house of  
,representatives2  7vi7 the ,committee  
on ,oversight and ,reform of the ,house 
of ,representatives2 and  7vii7 the     
,committee on the ,judiciary of the     
,house of ,representatives4  7,b7 ,final
 report ,not later than #a year after   
the establishment of the ,advisory      
,committee under paragraph 7#a71 the    
,advisory ,committee shall release to   
the public1 and submit to the recipients

 of the interim report under            
subparagraph 7,a71 a final report that  
outlines the ,advisory ,committee's     
investigations and recommendations      
regarding ,office of ,refugee           
,resettlement shelters for unaccompanied
 alien children4  7#f7 ,savings         
provision ,nothing in this subsection   
may be construed to preempt any ,federal
 agency from investigating allegations  
of mistreatment and abuse of            
unaccompanied alien children in         
facilities overseen by the ,department  
of ,health and ,human ,services4