VOICE Restoration Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 47 To establish the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office within the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 9, 2023 Mr. BERGMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office within the Department of Homeland Security, 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 ‘‘Victims Of Immigra- 4 tion Crime Engagement Restoration Act’’ or as the 5 ‘‘VOICE Restoration Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 (1) In April 2017, the United States Depart- 9 ment of Homeland Security launched the U.S. Im- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H47.IH H47 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 47 IH migration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Victims 1 of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE) 2 in response to the Executive Order 13768 issued by 3 President Donald J. Trump entitled Enhancing 4 Public Safety in the Interior of the United States, 5 which directed DHS to create an office to support 6 victims of crimes committed by criminal aliens. 7 (2) In June 2021, the United States Depart- 8 ment of Homeland Security terminated VOICE pur- 9 suant to the Executive order on the Revision of Civil 10 Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities 11 issued by President R. Joseph Jr. 12 SEC. 3. VICTIMS OF IMMIGRATION CRIME ENGAGEMENT 13 OFFICE. 14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Vic- 15 tims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (herein- 16 after in this Act referred to as ‘‘VOICE’’) within the U.S. 17 Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which shall pro- 18 vide assistance to victims of crimes committed by aliens 19 present in the United States without lawful status under 20 the immigration laws, in addition to witnesses and legal 21 representatives of individuals acting at the request of a 22 victim or witness. 23 (b) DUTIES.—The duties of VOICE are to do the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H47.IH H47 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 47 IH (1) Use a victim-centered approach to acknowl- 1 edge and support persons who are victims or wit- 2 nesses described in subsection (a) and their families. 3 (2) Promote awareness of available services to 4 such persons. 5 (3) Build collaborative partnerships with com- 6 munity stakeholders assisting such persons. 7 (c) ASSISTANCE.—The types of assistance authorized 8 to be provided by VOICE to such persons impacted by 9 crimes committed by aliens described in subsection (a) in- 10 cludes— 11 (1) the establishment and operation of a dedi- 12 cated toll-free VOICE Hotline to answer questions 13 from victims; 14 (2) local contacts to help with unique requests 15 from such persons; 16 (3) access to social service professionals able to 17 refer victims to resources and service providers; 18 (4) assistance signing up to receive automated 19 custody status information regarding an alien de- 20 scribed in subsection (a) held in custody; and 21 (5) additional criminal or immigration history 22 may be available about an illegal alien to victims or 23 their families. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H47.IH H47 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 47 IH (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 1 of the enactment of this Act, VOICE shall publish quar- 2 terly reports to Congress, the Secretary of Homeland Se- 3 curity, and the President of the United States studying 4 the effects of the victimization by aliens described in sub- 5 section (a) present in the United States. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Jan 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H47.IH H47 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS