No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section defines terms used in the Act, including the Committee, Director, facility, immigration custody, influx facility, Flores settlement agreement, immigrant child, in-network facility, Office of Refugee Resettlement facility, Office of the Ombudsperson, Ombudsperson, out-of-network facility, unobstructed access, and Working Group.
This section establishes an independent Office of the Ombudsperson for Immigrant Children in Immigration Custody within the Department of Health and Human Services. The office endorses that family separation and detention are generally not in a child’s best interest; ensures children in custody are held only in the least restrictive setting; advocates for their quick release; and requires advocacy for concurrent release of a child and parent or legal guardian within 72 hours of apprehension when held together. The Ombudsperson, appointed by and reporting to the HHS Secretary with expertise in immigration law and child welfare, monitors compliance with the Flores settlement agreement, section 235 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, and other standards through monthly site visits to influx and unlicensed facilities, investigates abuse and complaints, and oversees Office of Refugee Resettlement placement review panels.
This section requires the Ombudsperson to regularly review real-time custody and detention data on immigrant children held by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, including location, biographical details, transfer history, and facility access. It directs the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement to create a data collection system that tracks total children in custody, average and median lengths of stay, time-to-release, sponsor categories, facility capacity, special needs populations, and home study and post-release services, all disaggregated by placement level, facility, age, race, and citizenship. The section mandates public release of the prior month’s data on the Office of Refugee Resettlement website by the 15th of each month and prohibits any use of the data for immigration enforcement or law enforcement purposes while requiring de-identification and privacy protections.
This section establishes an expert advisory committee within 90 days of enactment to assist the Ombudsperson in identifying trends for immigrant children in custody, conducting facility investigations, and ensuring compliance with applicable law. The committee consists of subject-matter experts appointed by the Ombudsperson, meets at least quarterly, reviews compliance with the Flores settlement agreement and section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, and submits recommendations. It also requires monthly comprehensive onsite visits to each facility to assess compliance with all standards including the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, evaluate health care and legal services access, and conduct private interviews with detained children.
This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Ombudsperson to enter into a memorandum of understanding on the date of enactment that provides the Ombudsperson real-time information on every immigrant child in Department of Homeland Security custody, including location, biographical details, detention history, booking times, and reasons for custody beyond 72 hours. It grants the Ombudsperson and the Committee full access to Department facilities and policies for monitoring compliance with custody standards, while limiting information sharing back to the Department to case-by-case instances with the child's consent. It establishes an interagency working group of representatives from the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and relevant oversight offices that meets at least quarterly and provides summaries to the Ombudsperson. It directs the Comptroller General to evaluate the memorandum's sufficiency within two years and recommend improvements if coordination remains inadequate.
This section preserves the authority of Flores settlement agreement class counsel to conduct independent investigations and seek enforcement actions for violations of the agreement in any appropriate federal district court.