H.R. 5415: Safeguarding Endangered Children, Unaccompanied and at Risk of Exploitation Act of 2023

Safeguarding Endangered Children, Unaccompanied and at Risk of Exploitation Act of 2023 or SECURE Act of 2023

This bill requires regular reports to Congress detailing the status of unaccompanied non-U.S. national (alien under federal law) children. The bill also rescinds certain funding for the agencies responsible for the report for each day that a report is late.

Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation must jointly report to Congress every 60 days on such children that have been in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) since January 1, 2021, and have been released to a parent, family member, or sponsor within the United States.

This report must provide each child’s age, sex, location, and detail the child’s health and well-being. Additionally, the report must provide specified information about adults living in the child’s home, such as whether adults in the home have been subject to a fingerprint-based check of national crime information databases. The report must also specify the number of children that ORR has tried to contact without success on at least three separate attempts.

The report must be provided for up to three years or until all of the specified children have been accounted for. 

The bill also rescinds certain funding from HHS, DHS, and the FBI for each day that a report is late. Up to $10 million may be rescinded from each agency for each fiscal year.