Federal

PARENT Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 341 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes how the federal government handles unaccompanied alien children (children who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian). It requires federal agencies to transfer custody of these children within 72 hours to either the child's verified parent or legal guardian, or to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the head of the federal health department).

Who It Affects

Federal government agencies that take custody of unaccompanied alien children, unaccompanied alien children themselves, parents and legal guardians of these children, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Key Provisions

• Federal agencies must transfer custody of unaccompanied alien children within 72 hours of determining a child is unaccompanied (Sec. 2) • Custody transfers can only go to the child's verified parent or legal guardian, or to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Sec. 2)

What Changes

The bill amends Section 235(b)(3) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. This creates a new rule requiring the 72-hour transfer timeline and limiting where federal agencies can place unaccompanied alien children.

Important Definitions

Not specified in bill text

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1537 To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2008 to transfer the custody of an unaccompanied alien child to the Secretary of Health and Human Services or such child’s parent or legal guardian. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2023 Mr. BURGESS (for himself, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. WEBER of Texas, and Mr. CRENSHAW) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Pro- tection Act of 2008 to transfer the custody of an unac- companied alien child to the Secretary of Health and Human Services or such child’s parent or legal guardian. 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 ‘‘Protecting an Alien 4 child’s Reasonable Expectation of No Trafficking Act of 5 2023’’ or the ‘‘PARENT Act of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1537.IH H1537 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1537 IH SEC. 2. PROVIDING SAFE AND SECURE PLACEMENTS FOR 1 CHILDREN. 2 Section 235(b)(3) of the William Wilberforce Traf- 3 ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 4 U.S.C. 1232(b)(3)) shall be amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(3) TRANSFERS OF UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN 6 CHILDREN.—Not later than 72 hours after deter- 7 mining that a child is an unaccompanied alien child, 8 any department or agency of the Federal Govern- 9 ment that has an unaccompanied alien child in cus- 10 tody shall only transfer the custody of such child to 11 such child’s verified parent or legal guardian or to 12 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.’’. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1537.IH H1537 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.