Child Trafficking Victims Protection and Welfare Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 661 To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable alien children, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 5, 2019 Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for enhanced protections for vulnerable alien children, 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 ‘‘Child Trafficking Vic- 4 tims Protection and Welfare Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 661 IS (1) APPREHENDED PARENT OR LEGAL GUARD- 1 IAN.—The term ‘‘apprehended parent or legal 2 guardian’’ means an individual who is— 3 (A) the parent or legal guardian of a child; 4 and 5 (B) apprehended by the Secretary or the 6 personnel of a cooperating entity. 7 (2) BORDER.—The term ‘‘border’’ means an 8 international border of the United States. 9 (3) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi- 10 vidual who— 11 (A) has not reached the age of 18 years; 12 and 13 (B) has no permanent immigration status 14 in the United States. 15 (4) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONAL.—The 16 term ‘‘child welfare professional’’ means an indi- 17 vidual who— 18 (A) is licensed in social work by the State 19 welfare agency, and, if applicable, county wel- 20 fare agency, of the State and county in which 21 the port of entry or Border Patrol station at 22 which such individual available pursuant to sec- 23 tion 3 is located; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 661 IS (B) has direct experience working with 1 children; and 2 (C) is proficient in one or more of the most 3 common languages spoken by children appre- 4 hended at the applicable port of entry or Bor- 5 der Patrol station. 6 (5) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis- 7 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 8 and Border Protection. 9 (6) COOPERATING ENTITY.—The term ‘‘cooper- 10 ating entity’’ means a State or local entity acting 11 pursuant to an agreement with the Secretary. 12 (7) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 13 means the Department of Homeland Security. 14 (8) EXPERT IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT.—The 15 term ‘‘expert in child development’’ means an indi- 16 vidual who has significant education and expertise 17 on infant, child, and adolescent development, and on 18 the effects of trauma on children. 19 (9) EXPERT IN CHILD WELFARE.—The term 20 ‘‘expert in child welfare’’ means an individual who 21 has— 22 (A) knowledge of Federal and State child 23 welfare laws and standards; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 661 IS (B) not less than 15 years of experience in 1 the field of child and adolescent development or 2 child welfare. 3 (10) EXPERT IN PEDIATRIC MEDICINE.—The 4 term ‘‘expert in pediatric medicine’’ means— 5 (A) an individual who is board-certified in 6 pediatric medicine in one or more States; or 7 (B) an individual with an advanced degree 8 in pediatric medicine on the faculty of an insti- 9 tution of higher education in the United States. 10 (11) MIGRATION DETERRENCE PROGRAM.—The 11 term ‘‘migration deterrence program’’ means an ac- 12 tion relating to the repatriation or referral for pros- 13 ecution of one or more individuals apprehended by 14 the Secretary or a cooperating entity for a suspected 15 or confirmed violation of the Immigration and Na- 16 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 17 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 18 means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 19 (13) UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILD.—The 20 term ‘‘unaccompanied alien child’’ has the meaning 21 given the term in section 462(g) of the Homeland 22 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 661 IS SEC. 3. CHILD WELFARE AT THE BORDER. 1 (a) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary, in consultation 2 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, experts 3 in child development, experts in child welfare, experts in 4 pediatric medicine, and the American Bar Association 5 Center on Children and the Law, shall develop guidelines 6 for the treatment of children in the custody of the Com- 7 missioner. 8 (b) MANDATORY TRAINING.—The Secretary, in con- 9 sultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 10 ices, shall— 11 (1) require all U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 12 tection personnel, and cooperating entity personnel, 13 who have contact with a child at a port of entry or 14 Border Patrol station to undergo appropriate train- 15 ing, which shall include live training, on— 16 (A) the applicable legal authorities, poli- 17 cies, practices, and procedures relating to chil- 18 dren; and 19 (B) child development, trauma, and the 20 manner in which trauma affects the health and 21 behavior of children; and 22 (2) require U.S. Customs and Border Protec- 23 tion personnel, not less frequently than annually, to 24 undertake continuing training on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 661 IS (A) identifying and responding to common 1 signs and symptoms of medical distress in chil- 2 dren; 3 (B) best practices with respect to the 4 guidelines developed under subsection (a); and 5 (C) changes in the legal authorities, poli- 6 cies, and procedures described in paragraph 7 (1)(A). 8 (c) QUALIFIED RESOURCES.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with sub- 10 section (d), the Secretary shall provide resources and 11 staff, including child welfare professionals, who are 12 adequately trained and qualified to address the 13 needs of children at each port of entry and Border 14 Patrol station. 15 (2) SUFFICIENT STAFFING.—The Secretary 16 shall ensure that sufficient qualified child welfare 17 professionals and qualified experts in pediatric medi- 18 cine are available at each port of entry and Border 19 Patrol station to accomplish the duties described in 20 this section without prolonging the time children and 21 apprehended parents and legal guardians remain in 22 the custody of the Commissioner. 23 (3) CHILD WELFARE EXPERTISE.—The Sec- 24 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 661 IS and Human Services, shall hire, or seek to enter into 1 contracts with, independent child welfare profes- 2 sionals in order to do the following: 3 (A) To provide child welfare expertise on- 4 site on a full-time basis at any port of entry or 5 Border Patrol station that has had not fewer 6 than 25 children in custody— 7 (i) on any day during the preceding 8 fiscal year; or 9 (ii) during the current fiscal year, 10 based on a review of monthly statistical re- 11 ports during the current fiscal year. 12 (B) To provide child welfare expertise by 13 telephone on an on-call basis, and on-site as 14 necessary, to U.S. Customs and Border Protec- 15 tion staff at any port of entry or Border Patrol 16 station that is not described in subparagraph 17 (A). 18 (C) With respect to a port of entry or Bor- 19 der Patrol station that is described in subpara- 20 graph (A) but is without on-site expertise as re- 21 quired by such subparagraph during a period of 22 not more than 90 days in which the Secretary, 23 in consultation with the Secretary of Health 24 and Human Services, is in the process of hiring 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 661 IS or seeking to enter into a contract with an on- 1 site independent child welfare professional, to 2 provide child welfare expertise by telephone on 3 an on-call basis to U.S. Customs and Border 4 Protection staff. 5 (d) CHILD WELFARE PROFESSIONALS AND EXPERTS 6 IN PEDIATRIC MEDICINE.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta- 8 tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 9 ices, shall ensure the availability at each port of 10 entry and Border Patrol station of not fewer than— 11 (A) one qualified child welfare professional 12 with expertise in culturally competent, trauma- 13 centered, and developmentally appropriate 14 interviewing skills; and 15 (B) one qualified expert in pediatric medi- 16 cine. 17 (2) MEDICAL ASSESSMENTS.—On obtaining 18 custody of a child, the Commissioner shall ensure 19 that the child undergoes a medical assessment car- 20 ried out by, or in consultation with, the expert in pe- 21 diatric medicine at the applicable port of entry or 22 Border Patrol Station, in accordance with the guide- 23 lines developed under subsection (a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 661 IS (3) INTERPRETER REQUIRED.—In the case of a 1 child welfare professional or an expert in pediatric 2 medicine at a port of entry or Border Patrol station 3 who does not speak the language of a child in cus- 4 tody at such port of entry or station, the Secretary 5 shall provide an interpreter. 6 (4) DUTIES.—A child welfare professional de- 7 scribed in paragraph (1)(A) shall— 8 (A) ensure that— 9 (i) any allegation of abuse or mis- 10 treatment of a child in the custody of the 11 Commissioner is referred to the appro- 12 priate Federal and State authorities; 13 (ii) any investigation of an allegation 14 described in clause (i)— 15 (I) receives support from the 16 child welfare professional, who shall 17 follow up on the referral under that 18 clause and coordinate with the inves- 19 tigation until the completion of the in- 20 vestigation; and 21 (II) is conducted by a multidisci- 22 plinary team that uses a trauma-in- 23 formed approach to investigation, 24 such as Children’s Advocacy Centers, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 661 IS to the maximum extent practicable; 1 and 2 (iii) the Commissioner and the Direc- 3 tor of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 4 comply with applicable child abuse report- 5 ing laws, including by— 6 (I) ensuring that children in such 7 custody have access to applicable com- 8 plaint mechanisms to report abuse or 9 misconduct; 10 (II) reporting any allegation of 11 abuse or mistreatment to— 12 (aa) the applicable Federal 13 and State authorities; 14 (bb) the Office of Inspector 15 General of the Department; 16 (cc) the Office for Civil 17 Rights and Civil Liberties of the 18 Department; 19 (dd) the Internal Affairs Of- 20 fice of U.S. Customs and Border 21 Protection; and 22 (ee) the Office of Refugee 23 Resettlement; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 661 IS (III) providing notice to federally 1 subcontracted legal service providers 2 in the applicable geographical area 3 with respect to any child in such cus- 4 tody who has made an allegation of 5 abuse or mistreatment; and 6 (IV) directing the legal service 7 providers described in subclause (III) 8 to relevant information relating to the 9 availability of immigration and admin- 10 istrative relief for individuals with 11 pending civil rights complaints; 12 (B) conduct screening of each child in such 13 custody in accordance with section 235(a)(4) of 14 the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 15 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 16 U.S.C. 1232(a)(4)); 17 (C) with respect to a child who may meet 18 the notification and transfer requirements 19 under subsections (a) and (b) of section 235 of 20 the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 21 Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 22 U.S.C. 1232), including a child for whom a de- 23 termination cannot be made, notify the Sec- 24 retary and the Director of the Office of Refugee 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 661 IS Resettlement of the presence of such child at 1 the port of entry or Border Patrol station; 2 (D) provide to the Director of U.S. Immi- 3 gration and Customs Enforcement a best inter- 4 est placement recommendation for each accom- 5 panied child and family that— 6 (i) considers— 7 (I) the best interests of the child; 8 and 9 (II) applicable law; and 10 (ii) favors a policy of release; 11 (E) interview any adult relative accom- 12 panying a child, including any sibling, grand- 13 parent, aunt, uncle, or cousin of the child; 14 (F) for each unaccompanied alien child in 15 such custody, provide to the Director of the Of- 16 fice of Refugee Resettlement— 17 (i) an initial family relationship and 18 trafficking assessment, which shall be con- 19 ducted in accordance with the timeframe 20 under subsections (a)(4) and (b)(3) of sec- 21 tion 235 of the William Wilberforce Traf- 22 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 23 Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:15 Mar 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 661 IS (ii) recommendations for the initial 1 placement of the child; 2 (G) pursuant to procedures developed by 3 the Secretary, maintain the best interests of 4 children in any migration deterrence program 5 for family units carried out at a border, includ- 6 ing by— 7 (i) inquiring whether a child is trav- 8 eling with a parent, sibling, or legal guard- 9 ian; 10 (ii) ascertaining whether the detention 11 or removal from the United States of an 12 apprehended parent or legal guardian of a 13 child presents a humanitarian concern or a 14 concern relating to the physical safety of 15 the apprehended parent or legal guardian; 16 (iii) in the case of a family separation, 17 ensuring that— 18 (I) each member of the family is 19 provided with a telephone number for 20 each other member of the family; 21 (II) t [Text truncated for display. 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