Immigrants’ Mental Health Act of 2020
Latest action · Jun 1, 2020 Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations.
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.
- IntroducedMar 4, 2020
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Immigrants' Mental Health Act of 2020
This bill directs Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to take steps to address mental health issues among immigrants and CBP agents and officers. It also restricts the sharing of mental health information for use in certain immigration proceedings.
CBP shall develop training to enable its agents and officers to (1) identify mental health issues and risk factors in immigrants and refugees, (2) provide crisis intervention using a trauma-informed approach, and (3) better manage work-related stress and psychological pressures.
CBP shall assign at least one qualified mental or behavioral health expert to each Border Patrol station, port of entry, checkpoint, forward operating base, secondary inspection area, and short-term custody facility.
The Department of Health and Human Services may not provide to the Department of Homeland Security information about the mental health of an alien that was obtained by a mental health professional while the alien was in federal government custody if the information will be used for (1) an asylum determination, (2) an immigration hearing, or (3) a deportation hearing.
Cosponsors 6
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 4, 2020 to May 14, 2020; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-TX | Filemon Vela | Original | Mar 4, 2020 |
| D-CA | Juan Vargas | Original | Mar 4, 2020 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | Mar 4, 2020 |
| D-TX | Veronica Escobar | Original | Mar 4, 2020 |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | May 14, 2020 | |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | May 14, 2020 |
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 Mar 4, 2020 |
| House | Homeland Security Committee | Referred Mar 4, 2020 |
| Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Jun 1, 2020 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 1, 2020Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations.
- Mar 4, 2020Introduced in House
- Mar 4, 2020Referred 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. 166, no. 43, March 4, 2020, page H1504.
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. 116-35 | PROMESA IMPLEMENTATION DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC107 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Jun 11, 2020 |
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2480 | Immigrants’ Mental Health Act of 2021 | Reintroduced Bill | Oct 19, 2021 |
| S 3392 | Immigrants' Mental Health Act of 2020 | Related bill | Mar 4, 2020 |
| S 4819 | Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2020 | Related bill | Oct 20, 2020 |
| HR 6637 | Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2020 | Related bill | Jul 9, 2020 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To expand and improve access to trauma-informed mental health interventions for newly arriving immigrants at the border, to alleviate the stress of and provide education for border agents, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Immigrants’ Mental Health Act of 2020
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
- Congressional oversight
- Employment and training programs
- Government studies and investigations
- Health information and medical records
- Health personnel
- Immigrant health and welfare
- Immigration
- Medical tests and diagnostic methods
- Mental health
- Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
- Worker safety and health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 4, 2020Introduced 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.
