HELP Separated Children Act

Key Points

• Immigration officers would be required to ask detained individuals whether they are parents of children in the U.S. within two hours of arrest, and must document that information. They must also check on parental status at every official interaction and at least 10 days before any removal.
• Arrested parents would get as many phone calls as needed to arrange childcare, along with contact info for free legal help, consulates, and child welfare agencies in their preferred language. Officers would be banned from using excessive force in front of children or making kids serve as translators.
• Detained parents would get free phone and video calls with their children, the chance to participate in family court and custody hearings, and would be placed in facilities close to their kids' homes whenever possible. A national coordinator and facility-level contacts would oversee these protections.
• DHS would be directed to consider what is best for the child when deciding whether to detain, release, or transfer a parent. In limited cases, previously deported parents could be paroled back into the U.S. for custody hearings, medical emergencies involving their child, or a child's funeral.
• DHS must collect and publicly report data every 180 days on how many detained individuals are parents, how far they are held from their children, and how often they receive visits. All enforcement staff must complete training on minimizing trauma to children within 180 days and annually after that.