Bipartisan Border Solutions Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1358 To establish regional processing centers, to improve the asylum and credible fear processes to promote fairness and efficiency, to require immigration court docketing priorities during irregular migration influx events, and to improve the capability of the Department of Homeland Security to manage migration flows, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 22, 2021 Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish regional processing centers, to improve the asy- lum and credible fear processes to promote fairness and efficiency, to require immigration court docketing prior- ities during irregular migration influx events, and to improve the capability of the Department of Homeland Security to manage migration flows, and for other pur- poses. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Bipartisan Border Solutions Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1358 IS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 1 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Regional processing centers. Sec. 4. Credible fear determination and asylum process improvement pilot pro- grams. Sec. 5. Immigration court docketing priorities during irregular migration influx events. Sec. 6. Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties impact assessment. Sec. 7. Plan to expand legal orientation program. Sec. 8. Modifications to U.S. Customs and Border Protection standards on transport, escort, detention, and search to conform with legal orientation program requirements. Sec. 9. Standard operating procedures; facilities standards. Sec. 10. Criminal background checks for sponsors of unaccompanied alien chil- dren. Sec. 11. Fraud in connection with the transfer of custody of unaccompanied alien children. Sec. 12. Accountability for children and taxpayers. Sec. 13. Hiring authority. Sec. 14. Reports to Congress. Sec. 15. Improving the ability to transport migrants. Sec. 16. Rule of construction. Sec. 17. Authorization of appropriations. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 2 In this Act: 3 (1) ALIEN.—The term ‘‘alien’’ has the meaning 4 given the term in section 101(a) of the Immigration 5 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 6 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE OF CONGRESS.— 7 The term ‘‘appropriate committee of Congress’’ 8 means— 9 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 10 and Governmental Affairs and the Committee 11 on the Judiciary of the Senate; and 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1358 IS (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 1 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 2 House of Representatives. 3 (3) IMMIGRATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘immigra- 4 tion laws’’ has the meaning given the term in section 5 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 6 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 7 (4) IRREGULAR MIGRATION INFLUX EVENT.— 8 The term ‘‘irregular migration influx event’’ means 9 a period during which there is a significant increase 10 in, or a sustained large number of, Department of 11 Homeland Security encounters with aliens who— 12 (A) do not use the formal immigration sys- 13 tem of the United States or the countries they 14 are traveling through; and 15 (B) intend to enter the United States. 16 (5) LEGALLY DETERMINATIVE ASPECT OF THE 17 ASYLUM PROCESS.—The term ‘‘legally determinative 18 aspect of the asylum process’’ means any stage of 19 the asylum process in which the alien is present and 20 evidence of an alien’s credible fear of persecution or 21 eligibility for asylum is gathered or considered, or a 22 determination of an alien’s credible fear of persecu- 23 tion or eligibility for asylum is made, including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1358 IS (A) a credibility determination under sec- 1 tion 208(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the Immigration and 2 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii)); 3 (B) an asylum interview and credible fear 4 determination under section 235(b)(1)(B) of 5 that Act; 6 (C) an immigration judge review of a nega- 7 tive credible fear determination under clause 8 (iii)(III) of that section; and 9 (D) a removal proceeding under section 10 240 of that Act. 11 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 13 (7) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILD.—The term 14 ‘‘unaccompanied alien child’’ has the meaning give 15 the term in section 462(g) of the Homeland Security 16 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)). 17 SEC. 3. REGIONAL PROCESSING CENTERS. 18 Subtitle C of title IV of the Homeland Security Act 19 of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended by adding at 20 the end the following: 21 ‘‘SEC. 437. REGIONAL PROCESSING CENTERS. 22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish not 23 fewer than 4 regional processing centers located in high 24 traffic sectors of U.S. Border Patrol, as determined by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1358 IS the Secretary, along the southern border land border of 1 the United States (referred to in this section as a ‘regional 2 processing center’). 3 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The regional processing centers 4 shall carry out processing and management activities, in- 5 cluding— 6 ‘‘(1) criminal history checks; 7 ‘‘(2) identity verification; 8 ‘‘(3) biometrics collection and analysis; 9 ‘‘(4) medical screenings; 10 ‘‘(5) asylum interviews and credible fear deter- 11 minations under section 235 of the Immigration and 12 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225) and reasonable fear 13 determinations under section 241(b)(3)(B) of that 14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)(B)); 15 ‘‘(6) facilitating coordination and communica- 16 tion between Federal entities and nongovernmental 17 organizations that are directly involved in providing 18 assistance to aliens; 19 ‘‘(7) legal orientation programming and com- 20 munication between aliens and outside legal counsel; 21 ‘‘(8) issuance of legal documents relating to im- 22 migration court proceedings of aliens; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1358 IS ‘‘(9) short-term detention of not more than 72 1 hours before release or transfer to another facility; 2 and 3 ‘‘(10) any other activity the Secretary considers 4 appropriate. 5 ‘‘(c) PERSONNEL AND LIVING CONDITIONS.—The re- 6 gional processing centers shall include— 7 ‘‘(1) personnel assigned from— 8 ‘‘(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 9 ‘‘(B) U.S. Immigration and Customs En- 10 forcement; 11 ‘‘(C) the Federal Emergency Management 12 Agency; 13 ‘‘(D) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 14 Services; and 15 ‘‘(E) the Office of Refugee Resettlement; 16 ‘‘(2) upon agreement with an applicable Federal 17 agency, personnel from such Federal agency who are 18 assigned to the regional processing center; 19 ‘‘(3) sufficient medical staff, including physi- 20 cians specializing in pediatric or family medicine, 21 nurse practitioners, and physician assistants; 22 ‘‘(4) licensed social workers; 23 ‘‘(5) mental health professionals; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1358 IS ‘‘(6) child advocates appointed by the Secretary 1 of Health and Human Services under section 2 235(c)(6)(B) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking 3 Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 4 U.S.C. 1232(c)(6)(B)); and 5 ‘‘(7) sufficient space to carry out the processing 6 and management activities described in subsection 7 (b). 8 ‘‘(d) CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS.—Each criminal 9 history check carried out under subsection (b)(1) shall be 10 conducted using a set of fingerprints or other biometric 11 identifier obtained from— 12 ‘‘(1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 13 ‘‘(2) the criminal history repositories of all 14 States that the individual listed as a current or 15 former residence; and 16 ‘‘(3) any other appropriate Federal or State 17 database resource or repository, as determined by 18 the Secretary. 19 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL PURPOSES.— 20 Subject to operational and spatial availability, in the event 21 of a major disaster or emergency declared under the Rob- 22 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 23 Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) or any homeland security 24 crisis requiring the establishment of a departmental Joint 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1358 IS Task Force under section 708(b), the Secretary may tem- 1 porarily utilize a regional processing center to carry out 2 operations relating to such declaration or crisis. 3 ‘‘(f) DONATIONS.—The Department may accept do- 4 nations from private entities, nongovernmental organiza- 5 tions, and other groups independent of the Federal Gov- 6 ernment for the care of children and family units detained 7 at a regional processing center, including— 8 ‘‘(1) medical goods and services; 9 ‘‘(2) school supplies; 10 ‘‘(3) toys; 11 ‘‘(4) clothing; and 12 ‘‘(5) any other item intended to promote the 13 well-being of such children and family units. 14 ‘‘(g) ACCESS TO FACILITIES FOR PRIVATE ENTITIES 15 AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Private entities and non- 17 governmental organizations that are directly involved 18 in providing humanitarian or legal assistance to 19 families and individuals encountered by the Depart- 20 ment along the southwest border of the United 21 States, or organizations that provide assistance to 22 detained individuals, shall have access to regional 23 processing centers for purposes of— 24 ‘‘(A) legal orientation programming; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1358 IS ‘‘(B) coordination with the Department 1 with respect to the care of families and individ- 2 uals held in regional processing centers, includ- 3 ing the care of families and individuals who are 4 released or scheduled to be released; 5 ‘‘(C) communication between aliens and 6 outside legal counsel; 7 ‘‘(D) the provision of humanitarian assist- 8 ance; and 9 ‘‘(E) any other purpose the Secretary con- 10 siders appropriate. 11 ‘‘(2) ACCESS PLAN.—Not later than 60 days 12 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 13 Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register pro- 14 cedures relating to access to regional processing cen- 15 ters under paragraph (1) that ensure— 16 ‘‘(A) the safety of personnel of, and aliens 17 detained in, regional processing centers; and 18 ‘‘(B) the orderly management and oper- 19 ation of regional processing centers. 20 ‘‘(h) LEGAL COUNSEL.—Aliens detained in a regional 21 processing center shall have access to legal counsel in ac- 22 cordance with section 292 of the Immigration and Nation- 23 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362), including the opportunity to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1358 IS consult with counsel before any legally determinative as- 1 pect of the asylum process occurs. 2 ‘‘(i) PROCEDURES TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION 3 WITH COUNSEL.—The Secretary shall develop written 4 procedures to permit aliens detained in a regional proc- 5 essing center to visit with, and make confidential tele- 6 phone calls to, legal representatives and legal services pro- 7 viders and to receive incoming calls from legal representa- 8 tives and legal services providers, in a private and con- 9 fidential space while in custody, for the purposes of retain- 10 ing or consulting with counsel or obtaining legal advice 11 from legal services providers. 12 ‘‘(j) LEGAL ORIENTATION.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An alien detained in a re- 14 gional processing center shall be provided the oppor- 15 tunity to receive a complete legal orientation presen- 16 tation administered by a nongovernmental organiza- 17 tion in cooperation with the Executive Office for Im- 18 migration Review. 19 ‘‘(2) TIMELINE.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 21 prioritize the provision of the legal orientation 22 presentation required by paragraph (1) to an 23 alien within 12 hours of apprehension. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1358 IS ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—In the case of an 1 alien who does not receive such legal orientation 2 presentation within 12 hours of apprehension, 3 the Secretary shall ensure that the alien re- 4 ceives the presentation— 5 ‘‘(i) not later than 24 hours after ap- 6 prehension; and 7 ‘‘(ii) not less than 24 hours before the 8 alien initially appears before an asylum of- 9 ficer or immigration judge in connection 10 with a claim for asylum. 11 ‘‘(k) MANAGEMENT OF REGIONAL PROCESSING CEN- 12 TERS.— 13 ‘‘(1) OPERATION.—The Commissioner of U.S. 14 Customs and Border Protection, in consultation with 15 the interagency coordinating council established 16 under paragraph (2), shall operate the regional proc- 17 essing centers. 18 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COM- 19 MITTEE.— 20 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab- 21 lished an interagency coordinating committee 22 for the purpose of coordinating operations and 23 management of the regional processing centers. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:51 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1358.IS S1358 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1358 IS ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The interagency co- 1 ordinating committee shall be chaired by the 2 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 3 Protection, or his or her designee, and shall in- 4 clude representatives designated by the heads of 5 the following agencies: 6 ‘‘(i) U.S. Immigration and Customs 7 Enforcement. 8 ‘‘(ii) The Federal Emergency Manage- 9 ment Agency. 10 ‘‘(iii) U.S. Citizenship and Immigra- 11 tion Services. 12 ‘‘(iv) The Office of Refugee Resettle- 13 ment. 14 ‘‘(v) Any other agen [Text truncated for display. 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