PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 7, 2019
Families, Not Facilities Act of 2019
This bill amends provisions related to the safety of minor aliens that enter the United States unaccompanied by a guardian.
When placing an unaccompanied alien child with a proposed custodian, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall not consider the custodian's immigration status. DHS shall not use certain information obtained for placing a child with a custodian to apprehend, detain, or deport certain individuals, including the child, proposed sponsor, or a person living with the sponsor.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The Office of Refugee Settlement shall provide services for unaccompanied alien children after they have been released, to help them transition into their communities and to connect them with legal representation. Money appropriated to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for FY2019 shall be redirected to fund such services.
Other money appropriated for ICE shall be redirected to various programs to investigate and prevent child trafficking.
This bill also establishes the Office of Refugee Resettlement Advisory Committee on Shelters for Unaccompanied Alien Children. The advisory committee may conduct unannounced inspections of Office of Refugee Settlement shelters that hold unaccompanied alien children and shall issue reports on its investigations and recommendations regarding the shelters.
People & committees
Sen. Harris, Kamala D. [D-CA] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. 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 S.388 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 S.388 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 S.388 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 S.388 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.