Protect Kids and Parents Act

A child shall remain in the custody of and be detained in the same facility as the Asylum Applicant who is the child’s parent or legal guardian during the pendency of the Asylum Applicant’s asylum or withholding of removal proceedings.

If a child has multiple parents or legal guardians who are Asylum Applicants, that child shall remain in the custody of and be detained in the same facility as all of the child’s parents and legal guardians during the pendency of the Asylum Applicants’ asylum or withholding of removal proceedings; unless one of the child’s parents or legal guardians is present in the United States and not in any form of detention, in which case the child shall be placed in the custody of that parent or legal guardian.

The designated agencies shall maintain facilities for the joint detention of Asylum Applicants who retain custody of a child and the child. These facilities shall only contain individuals who are under the age of 18 or are the parents or legal guardians of individuals under the age of 18.

Funding— There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

Increase in immigration judges— The Attorney General of the United States shall increase the total number of immigration judges to adjudicate pending cases and efficiently process future cases by 375 judges.

Necessary support staff for immigration judges— To address the shortage of support staff for immigration judges, the Attorney General shall ensure that each immigration judge has sufficient support staff, adequate technological and security resources, and appropriate courtroom facilities.

Increase in board of immigration appeals attorneys— The Attorney General shall increase the number of Board of Immigration Appeals staff attorneys by sixty attorneys.

Necessary support staff for board of immigration appeals— To address the shortage of support staff for the Board of Immigration appeals, the Attorney General shall ensure that the Board of Immigration Appeals and its staff attorneys has sufficient support staff and adequate technological and security resources.

Prioritization of asylum applicants— Any immigration judges, Board of Immigration Appeals staff attorneys, and support staff hired under the authority of this section shall prioritize asylum applications that are filed by Asylum Applicants.

Funding— There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

Increase in department of homeland security personnel— The Secretary of Homeland Security shall increase the total number of Department personnel that are responsible for processing asylum applications filed by Asylum Applicants by 200 individuals. Positions authorized before the date of the enactment of this Act and any existing officer vacancies within the Department of Homeland Security on such date of enactment shall not count towards the increase mandated by this paragraph.

Increase in department of homeland security personnel— The Secretary is authorized to procure space, temporary facilities, and to hire the required administrative and legal support staff, on an expedited basis, to accommodate the additional positions authorized under this section.

Funding— There are authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.

Issuance of final order of removal— Following a determination by the Attorney General that the Asylum Applicant is not eligible for asylum or withholding of removal, there shall be no additional review prior to the issuance of a Final Order of Removal.

Grant of asylum— If asylum or withholding of removal is granted to an Asylum Applicant pursuant to these expedited procedures, the grant will be conditional and the Asylum Applicant shall remain in detention until the identity of the applicant has been checked against all appropriate records or databases maintained by the Attorney General and by the Secretary of State, including the Automated Visa Lookout System, to determine any grounds on which the alien may be inadmissible to, excludable from, removable from, or deportable from the United States, or ineligible to apply for or be granted asylum or withholding of removal.

Extensions of deadlines on behalf of designated agencies— A designated agency may seek an extension of any of the deadlines set forth in this subsection by applying for an extension with an Immigration Judge. The Immigration Judge must issue an order stating that the designated agency has established that good cause warrants the granting of an extension. An extension may be granted for up to thirty days. Only two extensions may be granted, in total, to a designated agency during the entirety of an Asylum Applicant’s asylum application process. Any extensions of the deadlines shall not affect the detention of the Asylum Applicant.

Extensions of deadlines on behalf of asylum applicants— An Asylum Applicant may seek an extension of any of the deadlines set forth in this subsection by applying for an extension with an Immigration Judge. The Immigration Judge must issue an order stating that the Asylum Applicant has established that good cause warrants the granting of an extension. An extension may be granted for up to thirty days. Only two extensions may be granted, in total, to an Asylum Applicant during the entirety of the Asylum Applicant’s asylum application process. Any extensions of the deadlines shall not affect the detention of the Asylum Applicant.

Once a Final Order of Removal for an Asylum Applicant is issued, the designated agency shall remove from the United States within four days the Asylum Applicant and any child for whom the Asylum Applicant is the parent or legal guardian and has been detained with the Asylum Applicant.

An Asylum Applicant whose asylum application is denied pursuant to the process outlined in this Act shall not be prosecuted for illegal entry as a result of the entry into the United States that led to the filing of the asylum application adjudicated under the process outlined in this Act, but will instead be removed from the United States. An Asylum Applicant may be prosecuted for any other violation of the law if and once their asylum application has been denied. If the Asylum Applicant is prosecuted for an immigration crime that is not a crime of violence, the provisions of this Act that require that a child shall remain in the custody of and be detained in the same facility as the Asylum Applicant, and any other exceptions and requirements thereof set forth in this Act, shall continue to apply.

A denial of an asylum application pursuant to the process outlined in this Act shall not prejudice a subsequent asylum application by the same Asylum Applicant on the same grounds if it is later filed after the Asylum Applicant arrives at a legal port of entry and files an asylum application, unless it is determined that the Asylum Applicant engaged in fraud during his prior asylum application that was denied pursuant to the process outlined in this Act.

An agent or officer of a designated agency shall be permitted to remove a child from the custody of an Asylum Applicant that is the child’s parent or legal guardian with that Asylum Applicant’s consent. If a child has multiple parents or legal guardians in detention, all parents or legal guardians with custody of the child must consent to have the child removed from their custody before an agent or officer of a designated agency is permitted to remove the child; otherwise, the child will remain with the parent or legal guardian who does not wish for the child to be removed.

An agent or officer of a designated agency shall be permitted to remove a child from the custody of an Asylum Applicant without that Asylum Applicant’s consent if the following has occurred:

Documentation required— The Secretary shall ensure that a separation under subsection (a)(3) is documented in writing and includes, at a minimum, the reason for such separation, together with the stated evidence for such separation.

In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall develop training and guidance, with an emphasis on the best interests of the child, childhood trauma, attachment, and child development, for use by the agents and officers, in order to standardize the implementation of section 8(b)(3).

Annual review— Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall review the guidance developed under subsection (a) and make recommendations to the Secretary to ensure such guidance is in accordance with current evidence and best practices in child welfare, child development, and childhood trauma.

Requirement— The guidance under subsection (a) shall incorporate the presumptions described in section 10.

Family unity— There shall be a strong presumption in favor of family unity.

Siblings— To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that sibling groups remain intact.

In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish final public guidance that describes, with specificity, the manner in which an Asylum Applicant may locate a child they were the parent or legal guardian of that was separated from them prior to the enactment of this Act. In developing the public guidance, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Written notification— The Secretary shall provide each Asylum Applicant who was separated from a child they were the parent or legal guardian of with written notice of the public guidance to locate the separated child.

Language access— All guidance shall be available in English and Spanish, and at the request of the Asylum Applicant, in the language or manner that is understandable by the Asylum Applicant.

The relationship of the adult and the child.

The age and gender of the adult and child.

The length of separation.

Whether the adult was charged with a crime, and if the adult was charged with a crime, the type of crime.

Whether the adult made a claim for asylum, expressed a fear to return, or applied for other immigration relief.

Whether the adult was prosecuted if charged with a crime and the associated outcome of such charges.

The stated reason for, and evidence in support of, the separation.

If the child was part of a sibling group at the time of separation, whether the sibling group has had physical contact and visitation.

Whether the child was rendered an unaccompanied alien child.

Other information in the Secretary’s discretion.

the parental rights remain intact; and

the separation does not constitute an affirmative determination of abuse or neglect under Federal or State law.

Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted to supersede or modify Federal child welfare law, where applicable, including the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–89).

Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted to supersede or modify State child welfare laws where applicable.

Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted to grant any due process rights to any individual who entered this country illegally.

Nothing in this act shall alter how an unaccompanied alien under the age of eighteen is treated under existing law.

Study— The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of the prosecution of asylum seekers during the period beginning on January 1, 2008 and ending on December 31, 2018, including—

Report— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report that describes the results of the study conducted pursuant to subsection (a).

Agent; officer— The terms “agent” and “officer” include contractors of the Federal Government.

Asylum applicant— The term Asylum Applicant means an alien who (a) has no permanent immigration status; (b) is detained by the United States government at or near a port of entry or within 100 miles of the border of the United States while having custody of and being in the presence of a child for whom the alien is a parent or legal guardian; and (c) seeks, within 48 hours of detention, asylum pursuant to section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, withholding of removal pursuant to section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or withholding of removal pursuant to the Convention Against Torture.

Asylum application— The term asylum application means an application for asylum pursuant to section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an application for withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and/or an application for withholding of removal pursuant to the Convention Against Torture.

Child— The term child means an individual who—

Committees of jurisdiction— The term committees of jurisdiction means—

Danger of abuse or neglect at the hands of the parent or legal guardian— The term danger of abuse or neglect at the hands of the parent or legal guardian shall not mean migrating to or crossing the United States border.

Designated agency— The term designated agency means—

Secretary— Unless otherwise specified, the term Secretary means the Secretary of Homeland Security.