Families Belong Together Act
Latest action · Oct 19, 2021 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.
- IntroducedApr 22, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Families Belong Together Act
This bill provides various immigration benefits for eligible alien parents (or legal guardians) and minor children who were separated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021.
Generally, to be an eligible parent or minor child under this bill, the alien must not be inadmissible for certain crime- or security-related grounds, though DHS may waive certain grounds for humanitarian or public interest reasons. Furthermore, an eligible child who was separated as a minor remains eligible for the immigration benefits after reaching majority.
DHS must grant humanitarian parole into the United States to an eligible alien who requests such parole, regardless of whether the alien is physically present in the United States.
An eligible alien in the United States may apply for lawful permanent resident status. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall grant a qualifying alien's lawful permanent resident status within 30 days of receiving the alien's application.
An alien who receives lawful permanent resident status under this bill shall be eligible for benefits and services that are available to an alien who is admitted as a refugee.
Certain annual numerical limitations shall not apply to aliens who receive lawful permanent resident status under this bill.
If an alien seeks judicial review of a denial of an application for lawful permanent resident status under this bill, the Department of Justice shall appoint counsel to represent that alien upon request.
Cosponsors 50
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 22, 2021 to Jul 30, 2021; 47 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-TX | Al Green | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-NY | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-IN | André Carson | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-AZ | Ann Kirkpatrick | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-MO | Cori Bush | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-NY | Jamaal Bowman | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Jimmy Gomez | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Juan Vargas | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Karen Bass | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Mike Thompson | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-NY | Mondaire Jones | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Nanette Diaz Barragán | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Norma J. Torres | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-WA | Pramila Jayapal | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-NY | Ritchie Torres | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-AZ | Ruben Gallego | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-IL | Sean Casten | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-TX | Sylvia R. Garcia | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-CA | Tony Cárdenas | Original | Apr 22, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | May 7, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | May 11, 2021 | |
| D-CA | J. Luis Correa | Jul 30, 2021 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Apr 22, 2021 |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred Oct 19, 2021 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 19, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
- Apr 22, 2021Introduced in House
- Apr 22, 2021Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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. 167, no. 70, April 22, 2021, page H2108.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46570 | Immigration Parole | Report | Sep 18, 2025 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1375 | Families Belong Together Act | Identical bill | Apr 27, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To grant lawful permanent resident status to certain eligible persons who were separated from immediate family members by the Department of Homeland Security.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Families Belong Together Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 22, 2021Introduced 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.
