Immigrants’ Mental Health Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2480 To expand and improve access to trauma-informed mental health interventions for newly arriving immigrants at the border, to alleviate the stress of and provide education for border agents, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 13, 2021 Mrs. NAPOLITANO (for herself, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. SIRES, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. CA´RDENAS, and Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To expand and improve access to trauma-informed mental health interventions for newly arriving immigrants at the border, to alleviate the stress of and provide edu- cation for border agents, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immigrants’ Mental 4 Health Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2480.IH H2480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2480 IH SEC. 2. TRAINING FOR CERTAIN CBP PERSONNEL IN MEN- 1 TAL HEALTH ISSUES. 2 (a) TRAINING TO IDENTIFY RISK FACTORS AND 3 WARNING SIGNS IN IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of U.S. 5 Customs and Border Protection, in consultation with 6 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Sub- 7 stance Use, the Administrator of the Health Re- 8 sources and Services Administration, and nongovern- 9 mental experts in the delivery of health care in hu- 10 manitarian crises and in the delivery of health care 11 to children, shall develop and implement a training 12 curriculum for U.S. Customs and Border Protection 13 agents and officers assigned to U.S. Customs and 14 Border Protection facilities to enable such agents 15 and officers to identify the risk factors and warning 16 signs in immigrants and refugees of mental health 17 issues relating to trauma. 18 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The training curriculum 19 described in paragraph (1) shall— 20 (A) apply to all U.S. Customs and Border 21 Protection agents and officers working at U.S. 22 Customs and Border Protection facilities; 23 (B) provide for crisis intervention using a 24 trauma-informed approach; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2480.IH H2480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2480 IH (C) provide for mental health screenings 1 for immigrants and refugees arriving at the 2 border in their preferred language or with ap- 3 propriate language assistance. 4 (b) TRAINING TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH AND 5 WELLNESS OF CBP AGENTS AND OFFICERS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of U.S. 7 Customs and Border Protection, in consultation with 8 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Sub- 9 stance Use, the Administrator of the Health Re- 10 sources and Services Administration, and nongovern- 11 mental experts in the delivery of mental health care, 12 shall develop and implement a training curriculum 13 for U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and 14 officers assigned to U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 15 tection facilities to address the mental health and 16 wellness of individuals working at such facilities. 17 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The training curriculum 18 described in paragraph (1) shall be designed to help 19 U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and of- 20 ficers working at U.S. Customs and Border Protec- 21 tion facilities to— 22 (A) better manage their own stress and the 23 stress of their coworkers; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2480.IH H2480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2480 IH (B) be more aware of the psychological 1 pressures experienced during their jobs. 2 (c) ANNUAL REVIEW OF TRAINING.—Beginning with 3 respect to fiscal year 2023, the Assistant Secretary for 4 Mental Health and Substance Use shall— 5 (1) conduct an annual review of the training 6 implemented pursuant to subsections (a) and (b); 7 and 8 (2) submit the results of each such review, in- 9 cluding any recommendations for improvement of 10 such training, to— 11 (A) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 12 and Border Protection; and 13 (B) the Committees on Appropriations, 14 Energy and Commerce, Homeland Security, 15 and the Judiciary of the House of Representa- 16 tives and the Committees on Appropriations, 17 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and 18 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 19 of the Senate. 20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 21 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated— 22 (1) for fiscal year 2022, $50,000 to develop the 23 training under subsections (a) and (b); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2480.IH H2480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2480 IH (2) for each of fiscal years 2023 through 1 2027— 2 (A) $20,000 to implement such training 3 pursuant to subsections (a) and (b); and 4 (B) such sums as may be necessary to re- 5 view and make recommendations for such train- 6 ing pursuant to subsection (c). 7 SEC. 3. STAFFING BORDER FACILITIES AND DETENTION 8 CENTERS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—To adequately evaluate the men- 10 tal health needs of immigrants, refugees, border patrol 11 agents, and staff, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 12 Border Protection shall assign at least one qualified men- 13 tal or behavioral health expert to each U.S. Customs and 14 Border Protection facility. 15 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be qualified for purposes 16 of subsection (a), a mental or behavioral health expert 17 shall be— 18 (1) bilingual; 19 (2) well-versed in culturally appropriate and 20 trauma-informed interventions; and 21 (3) have particular expertise in child or adoles- 22 cent mental health or family mental health. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2480.IH H2480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2480 IH (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 1 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 2 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 3 SEC. 4. NO SHARING OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 4 HUMAN SERVICES MENTAL HEALTH INFOR- 5 MATION FOR ASYLUM DETERMINATIONS, IM- 6 MIGRATION HEARINGS, OR DEPORTATION 7 PROCEEDINGS. 8 The officers, employees, and agents of the Depart- 9 ment of Health and Human Services, including the Office 10 of Refugee Resettlement, may not share with the Depart- 11 ment of Homeland Security, and the officers, employees, 12 and agents of the Department of Homeland Security may 13 not request or receive from the Department of Health and 14 Human Services, for the purposes of an asylum deter- 15 mination, immigration hearing, or deportation proceeding, 16 any information or record that— 17 (1) concerns the mental health of an alien; and 18 (2) was obtained or produced by a mental or 19 behavioral health professional while the alien was in 20 a shelter or otherwise in the custody of the Federal 21 Government. 22 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this Act: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2480.IH H2480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2480 IH (1) The term ‘‘U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 1 tection facility’’ means any of the following facilities 2 that typically detain migrants on behalf of U.S. Cus- 3 toms and Border Protection: 4 (A) U.S. Border Patrol stations. 5 (B) Ports of entry. 6 (C) Checkpoints. 7 (D) Forward operating bases. 8 (E) Secondary inspection areas. 9 (F) Short-term custody facilities. 10 (2) The term ‘‘forward operating base’’ means 11 a permanent facility established by U.S. Customs 12 and Border Protection in forward or remote loca- 13 tions, and designated as such by U.S. Customs and 14 Border Protection. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2480.IH H2480 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS