Orlin’s Law

Key Points

• DHS would have to ask every detained immigrant within 2 hours whether they are a parent, before moving them to a detention facility, so the government has to identify parents right at the start.
• Detained parents would generally have to be released while their case continues, unless a judge finds clear and convincing evidence they are a specific danger that can't be managed through supervised release.
• Parents who are held would get free daily phone and video calls with their kids, free calls to arrange childcare, and help attending family court hearings in person, plus a government-paid lawyer for certain custody reviews.
• The bill creates a presumption that a parent's rights stay intact and that being detained does not count as abandonment, abuse, or neglect unless a state court has actually terminated parental rights.
• A new Office of Detained Parent Coordination with at least 8 staff would be created inside ICE to manage custody and visitation issues, and a new community-based alternative to detention program would offer case management, housing, and legal help instead of jail.
• If the government deports a parent without following these rules and the child stays in the US, it must pay to reunite the family in the US within 2 months.