H.R. 5018 · 118th Congress
Stop Human Trafficking of Unaccompanied Migrant Children Act of 2023
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 118th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
LuttrellSponsor15 cosponsors · 15 R
R
Boebert
RC
R
Crawford
CG
R
Gimenez
RJ
R
Jackson
RN
R
Norman
BP
R
Posey
MS
R
Salazar
WS
R
Steube
KS
R
Self
CH
R
Higgins
HH
R
Hageman
ZZ
R
(Zach) Nunn
JR
R
Rutherford
MD
R
De La Cruz
BD
R
Donalds9 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Stop Human Trafficking of Unaccompanied Migrant Children Act of 2023
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jul 27, 2023
Stop Human Trafficking of Unaccompanied Migrant Children Act of 2023
This bill imposes additional requirements relating to placing unaccompanied alien children with sponsors. (Under federal law, an unaccompanied alien child is a minor with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States to provide care and physical custody.)
Before the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may release such a child to a sponsor, the sponsor must complete a fingerprint background check and vetting that includes (1) a public records check, (2) a National Sex Offender Registry check, (3) a Federal Bureau of Investigation National Criminal History Check, (4) a child abuse and neglect check, and (5) state and local criminal history checks. Each adult in the sponsor's household must also undergo such vetting before the placement.
Currently, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within HHS conducts background checks of potential sponsors, which includes fingerprinting and checks of criminal public records and sex offender registries. ORR also vets adults in the sponsor's household in certain cases, such as if the sponsor is unrelated to the child, but this vetting may be waived or relaxed.
The bill also requires HHS to visit the home of a proposed sponsor before the placement and to conduct periodic home visits after.
A child may not be placed with a sponsor who is unlawfully present in the United States unless the sponsor is the child's parent, relative, or legal guardian.
HHS must retroactively apply these vetting standards to all sponsors for placements made since January 20, 2021.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Stop Human Trafficking of Unaccompanied Migrant Children Act of 2023
Latest action (Jul 27, 2023): Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Immigration · Origin: House · Introduced: Jul 27, 2023
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.