PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 15, 2019
Equal Protection of Unaccompanied Minors Act
This bill amends rules for the treatment of unaccompanied alien children and asylum-seeking families, and for detaining and removal of various types of aliens.
The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to return an inadmissible unaccompanied child to the child's country of nationality or last habitual residence, where currently DHS has discretion to do so.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Interviews with unaccompanied alien children shall be conducted by those with specialized training for interviewing child trafficking victims.
Before placing an alien child with an individual, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall provide DHS with various information, including the individual's immigration status and contact information. DHS shall initiate removal proceedings if the individual is unlawfully present in the United States.
Under the bill, unaccompanied alien children in DHS or HHS custody shall have access to counsel in legal proceedings, where currently such children shall have counsel.
DHS shall have authority to extend the detention periods for various categories of removable aliens. The bill also expands the definitions of various types of crimes, such as those related to explosive materials, that are aggravated felonies or crimes of violence for immigration purposes. Aliens associated with criminal gangs shall be inadmissible to the United States and deportable.
The bill directs DHS, the Department of Justice, and HHS to maintain facilities for housing asylum applicants and their children, and increases the number of immigration judges and Board of Immigration Appeals attorneys and necessary support staff.
People & committees
Rep. Meadows, Mark [R-NC-11] · R–NC
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and 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.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and 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.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and 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.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 3, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.574 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.574 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.574 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.574 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.