Keep Families Together Act
Latest action · Feb 25, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 14, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Keep Families Together Act
This bill limits the separation of families at or near U.S borders or ports of entry and imposes limits on the prosecution of asylum seekers.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall not separate a child from a legal guardian at a port of entry or within 100 miles of a U.S. border unless
- a state court terminates the legal guardian's rights;
- a state child welfare agency or court determines it is in the child's best interests to be removed; or
- the child is determined to be a trafficking victim or at risk of becoming one, the accompanying adult is most likely not the legal guardian, or the child is in danger of abuse or neglect.
Such separation shall end unless a licensed independent child welfare expert authorizes the separation within 48 hours.
DHS, DOJ, or HHS may not separate a child from a legal guardian solely to deter migration into the United States or to promote compliance with immigration laws.
DHS shall develop (1) training related to the bill's family separation requirements, and (2) guidance for how legal guardians may locate a separated child. HHS shall provide legal guardians weekly status updates about a separated child.
An asylum seeker who has expressed a credible or reasonable fear of persecution may not be prosecuted for certain immigration law violations until the asylum application has been finally adjudicated.
Cosponsors 202
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 14, 2019 to Dec 17, 2019; 188 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-VA | A. Donald McEachin | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-VA | Abigail Davis Spanberger | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-FL | Al Lawson, Jr. | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-CA | Ami Bera | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-IN | André Carson | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-MI | Andy Levin | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
| D-MD | Anthony G. Brown | Original | Jan 14, 2019 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jan 14, 2019 |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Feb 25, 2019 | |
| House | Homeland Security Committee | Referred Jan 14, 2019 |
| Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Feb 4, 2019 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 25, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
- Feb 4, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations.
- Jan 14, 2019Introduced in House
- Jan 14, 2019Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 7, January 14, 2019, page H544.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 116-8 | THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY'S FAMILY SEPARATION POLICY: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE BORDER77 pages | Homeland Security Committee | Mar 26, 2019 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 292 | Keep Families Together Act | Related bill | Jan 31, 2019 |
| S 1733 | Protecting Families and Improving Immigration Procedures Act | Related bill | Jun 5, 2019 |
| HR 6135 | Keep Families Together Act | Reintroduction of | Jul 30, 2018 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To limit the separation of families at or near ports of entry.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Keep Families Together Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
- Border security and unlawful immigration
- Child care and development
- Child health
- Child safety and welfare
- Congressional oversight
- Crime victims
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Criminal justice information and records
- Department of Homeland Security
- Detention of persons
- Domestic violence and child abuse
- Family relationships
- Foreign language and bilingual programs
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Human trafficking
- Immigration
- Immigration status and procedures
- Law enforcement officers
- Public contracts and procurement
- Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
- Separation, divorce, custody, support
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 14, 2019Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
