CAUSA Initiatives Act

Central American and USA Initiatives Act or the CAUSA Initiatives Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with Canada, Mexico, and the countries of Central America to establish a program to:

• assess the needs of Central American countries to maintain the security of their international borders;
• determine the support needed by such countries from the United States, Canada, and Mexico to meet such needs; and
• assess the current structure for handling displaced minors and other vulnerable individuals in Central American countries and make recommendations to improve such structure.

Directs the Secretary to work with:

• the Caribbean countries to establish a program to address maritime border security; and
• Mexico to establish a program to help secure Mexico's southern border from undocumented aliens, drugs, weapons, and other contraband.

Directs the Secretary, through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to:

• ensure that adequate facilities and sustaining needs (food, water, medical care, and sanitary facilities) are provided to an individual apprehended and detained by the Border Patrol as soon as practicable,
• ensure that an individual unlawfully present in the United States who is apprehended by a Border Patrol agent is promptly provided with information concerning such individual's rights, and
• maintain a database on individuals unlawfully present in the United States who are apprehended and detained by Border Patrol agents.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov