§2. Ensuring the safety of unaccompanied alien children
This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), before placing an unaccompanied alien child with a sponsor, to provide the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) with specified information about the sponsor—including name, aliases, Social Security number, date of birth, residence proof, background checks on household adults, immigration status, relation to the child (with documents or DNA test results), and contact information—and prohibits HHS from waiving this requirement.
The section further requires HHS, in coordination with DHS, to conduct at least one in-person home visit; if the sponsor is not a U.S. citizen, to require consent to electronic monitoring (e.g., GPS) during the child's immigration proceedings; and to require a bond of at least $5,000 conditioned on the child's appearance at proceedings and reporting compliance. Upon receiving the information, DHS must promptly determine the sponsor's immigration status and notify HHS, considering removal proceedings if the sponsor is unlawfully present and not already in such proceedings.
Additionally, the section requires HHS (1) to report any child as missing to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children if HHS or the sponsor fails to complete a follow-up well-being check within 120 days of placement; (2) within 30 days of placement, to provide the sponsor information and child-related data to the appropriate state or local health or welfare agency; and (3), to the extent practicable, to contact the child's parents. (As background, HHS's Office of Refugee Resettlement is responsible for the care, placement, and post-release oversight of unaccompanied alien children in federal custody due to their immigration status.)
The requirements apply to children apprehended on or after 30 days following enactment.