Protecting UACs Through Enhanced Sponsor Vetting Act of 2021

I 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 estab- lish additional procedures for making placement deter- minations 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:29 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3497 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting UACs 2 Through Enhanced Sponsor Vetting Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES FOR PLACEMENT DECI- 4 SIONS FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL- 5 DREN. 6 Section 462 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 7 (6 U.S.C. 279) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 9 (A) in subparagraph (K), by striking ‘‘; 10 and’’ at the end; 11 (B) in subparagraph (L), by striking the 12 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(M) providing notification of the prospec- 15 tive placement of an unaccompanied alien child 16 with a sponsor to the Governor of the State and 17 the chief executive of the county in which the 18 sponsor resides.’’; 19 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by amending subpara- 20 graph (A) to read as follows: 21 ‘‘(A) shall coordinate with appropriate ju- 22 venile justice professionals, the Director of the 23 Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Serv- 24 ices, the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of 25 Border Security, the Director of the Federal 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:29 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3497 IH Bureau of Investigation, and appropriate State 1 and local law enforcement officials to ensure 2 that such determinations ensure that unaccom- 3 panied alien children described in such subpara- 4 graph— 5 ‘‘(i) are likely to appear for all hear- 6 ings or proceedings in which they are in- 7 volved; 8 ‘‘(ii) are protected from smugglers, 9 traffickers, members of a designated trans- 10 national criminal organization, or others 11 who might seek to victimize or otherwise 12 engage them in criminal, harmful, or 13 exploitive activity, including by conducting 14 a thorough criminal history background 15 check utilizing the Next Generation Identi- 16 fication System or its successor system on 17 prospective sponsors; 18 ‘‘(iii) are placed in a setting in which 19 they are not likely to pose a danger to 20 themselves or others; and’’; 21 (3) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub- 22 section (h) and— 23 (A) in paragraph (1) of such subsection, 24 by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:29 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3497 IH (B) in paragraph (2) of such subsection, 1 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 ‘‘; and’’; and 3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(3) the term ‘transnational criminal organiza- 5 tion’ means a criminal organization that has been 6 designated as a transnational criminal organization 7 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the De- 8 partment of the Treasury.’’; and 9 (4) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(g) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES FOR MAKING PLACE- 12 MENT DETERMINATIONS.— 13 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS.—The Direc- 14 tor shall coordinate with the Attorney General to 15 conduct a thorough criminal history background 16 check utilizing the Next Generation Identification 17 System or its successor system for all prospective 18 sponsors before placement of an unaccompanied 19 alien child. 20 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION WITH RELEVANT LAW EN- 21 FORCEMENT ENTITIES.—The Director shall consult 22 with relevant law enforcement entities, including 23 Federal, State, and local law enforcement, prior to 24 making a determination on whether it is appropriate 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:29 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3497 IH to place an unaccompanied alien child with a pro- 1 spective sponsor. This consultation will examine any 2 criminal activity in which the prospective sponsor 3 may have been, or is currently, involved. 4 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION TO STATE AND LOCAL GOV- 5 ERNMENTS.—The Director shall notify relevant 6 State and local governments of the decision to place 7 an unaccompanied alien child with a sponsor. This 8 notification will include the Governor of the state 9 where the sponsor resides, as well as the mayor or 10 equivalent officeholder of the locality where the 11 sponsor resides. 12 ‘‘(4) TRANSNATIONAL CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION 13 INTELLIGENCE SHARING.—The Director shall pro- 14 vide to the Terrorist Screening Center information 15 uncovered during the placement process of an unac- 16 companied alien child that establishes membership 17 in, or affiliation with, a designated transnational 18 criminal organization of either an unaccompanied 19 alien child or a prospective sponsor.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:29 Jun 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3497.IH H3497 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS