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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9217 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9217
To establish, in the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Destination
Reception Services Program New Arrival Services Board and to authorize
a grant program for providing funding for medium-term services to
eligible arrivals in destination States and localities to promote their
self-sufficiency, reduce costs of extended emergency service provision,
maximize benefit to new arrivals and host communities, provide
diversion from homelessness, and promote the effective navigation and
compliance of the immigration process.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 30, 2024
Ms. Meng (for herself, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Norton, Ms.
Pressley, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Carson, Mr. Jackson of Illinois,
Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Vargas, Ms. DelBene, Mr. McGovern, Ms.
Stansbury, Ms. Bush, Ms. Velazquez, and Ms. Chu) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish, in the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Destination
Reception Services Program New Arrival Services Board and to authorize
a grant program for providing funding for medium-term services to
eligible arrivals in destination States and localities to promote their
self-sufficiency, reduce costs of extended emergency service provision,
maximize benefit to new arrivals and host communities, provide
diversion from homelessness, and promote the effective navigation and
compliance of the immigration process.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Destination Reception Assistance
Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF DESTINATION RECEPTION SERVICES PROGRAM.
Section 412 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Destination Reception Services Program.--
``(1) Defined term.--In this subsection, the term `eligible
arrival' means an individual who--
``(A) has been granted parole;
``(B) have been placed in removal proceedings; or
``(C) has a pending application for asylum.
``(2) Establishment.--There is established, in the Office,
the Destination Reception Services Program (referred to in this
subsection as the `Program'), which shall carry out the
provisions of this subsection under the direction of the New
Arrival Services Board (referred to in this subsection as the
`Board'). The Program shall coordinate with the Unaccompanied
Children Program and the Refugee Program to ensure that
eligible arrivals receive all of the services for which they
are eligible.
``(3) New arrival services board.--
``(A) Appointments.--Not later than 30 days after
the date of the enactment of the Destination Reception
Assistance Act, the Director, who shall act as
chairperson of the Board, shall appoint 8 additional
members to the Board who represent nongovernmental
organizations with experience providing, evaluating,
and offering technical assistance on eligible services
provided through the Program, including organizations
representing individuals with lived experience of
forced migration.
``(B) Functions.--The Board shall--
``(i) identify communities in which
concentrations of eligible arrivals in need of
assistance reside; and
``(ii) recommend the amount of funding to
be allocated to such communities in accordance
with formulas, policies, procedures, and
guidelines established by the Office.
``(C) Criteria for allocating funding.--In
determining the allocation of Federal funding to
communities under this subsection, the Board shall
prioritize funding for communities with--
``(i) a higher ratio of eligible arrivals
compared to other communities;
``(ii) higher housing and transportation
costs; or
``(iii) the most significant medium-term
reception needs (in per capita or absolute
terms) in which the level of direct services
provided by nonprofit, faith-based, or
governmental organizations to families and
individuals released by the Department of
Homeland Security is most acute.
``(4) Program structure.--
``(A) Framework.--The framework of the Program
shall be similar to the framework of the Emergency Food
and Shelter Program of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to facilitate the timely delivery of Federal
funding in support of eligible arrivals.
``(B) Distinction from alternatives to detention.--
The Program is not an alternatives to detention
program. Prior participation in an alternatives to
detention program is not an eligibility requirement for
eligible arrivals to receive Program services, nor is
participating in monitoring or surveillance practices a
condition while receiving Program services.
``(C) Recipient organizations.--The Program shall
provide funding to local government entities and
private nonprofit organizations to provide medium-term
services to eligible arrivals who have been processed
and released into the United States by the Department
of Homeland Security, including--
``(i) housing transition, rental, and
utility assistance programs;
``(ii) medical and mental health care or
insurance for such care;
``(iii) child care, child care assistance
programs, and out-of-school programming;
``(iv) workforce development, job training,
English language training, paid
apprenticeships, work study, and loan programs;
``(v) local public transportation support;
``(vi) interpretation and translation
services;
``(vii) legal services, particularly
services supporting applications for work
authorization, asylum, and other types of
humanitarian relief;
``(viii) programs, including case
management and social work services, to provide
support to individuals accessing and navigating
available assistance and services;
``(ix) voluntary, coordinated relocation
service; and
``(x) other eligible services, as
determined by the Director.
``(5) Local new arrival services boards.--
``(A) Community identification.--The Board shall
identify, in accordance with criteria to be established
by the Board, communities throughout the United States
where eligible arrivals are residing.
``(B) Establishment; designation.--Each community
designated pursuant to subparagraph (A) desiring a
grant under paragraph (7) shall--
``(i) establish a local new arrival
services board (referred to in this paragraph
as a `local board'); or
``(ii) at the discretion of the Board,
appoint an existing substantially similar board
to carry out the functions of a local board.
``(C) Membership.--Each local board shall consist
of--
``(i) the head of a unit of local
government within such community, or of a
relevant department of such local government;
``(ii) to the extent practicable,
representatives of the organizations that are
represented on the Board;
``(iii) representatives of other local,
private nonprofit organizations, as
appropriate;
``(iv) representatives of ethnic and
community-based organizations; and
``(v) an asylum seeker or parolee being
served by the Program.
``(D) Chairperson.--Each local board established
pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall elect a chairperson
from among its members.
``(E) Responsibilities.--Each local board
established pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall--
``(i) determine which local government
entities or private nonprofit organizations are
eligible to receive grants to provide the
services referred to in paragraph (4)(C);
``(ii) allocate available Federal funding
among the entities and organizations referred
to in clause (i);
``(iii) monitor recipient service providers
for Program compliance;
``(iv) reallocate Federal funding among
service providers whenever a particular service
provider fails to substantially comply with
Program requirements;
``(v) ensure proper reporting to the Board;
and
``(vi) coordinate with other Federal,
State, and local government assistance programs
available in the community.
``(6) Eligible services.--
``(A) In general.--The Director, in consultation
with the Board, shall annually establish guidelines
specifying which services for eligible arrivals may be
funded under the Program, which may include--
``(i) noncustodial housing services,
including rental and utility assistance;
``(ii) cultural orientation training;
``(iii) culturally competent interpretation
and translation services;
``(iv) workforce development services,
including education, employment, and training
services, work study, loan programs, and
childcare support;
``(v) immigration-related legal services,
including preparation and practice;
``(vi) referral and case management
services;
``(vii) medical and mental health services
or insurance for such services;
``(viii) local public transportation
support;
``(ix) voluntary, coordinated relocation
services; and
``(x) other eligible services, as
determined by the Director.
``(B) Publication.--The Director shall annually
publish the guidelines established pursuant to
subparagraph (A) in the Federal Register before the
first day of the fiscal year during which they will
take effect.
``(7) Grants authorized.--
``(A) Competitive grants.--The Director, working
through the Board, may award competitive grants to
communities identified pursuant to paragraph (5)(A)
which have established a local new arrival services
board to provide services to eligible arrivals who are
residing in such communities. The allocation of
available Federal funding among such communities shall
be based on a formula developed by the Office. Grant
funds allocated to a community pursuant to this
subparagraph shall be disbursed to government human
services agencies and local nonprofit organizations
that have successfully provided human and social
services in accordance with Federal, State, and local
requirements, as applicable.
``(B) Federal block grants.--A portion of the
Federal funding made available to carry out this
subsection shall be reserved for Federal block grants
to communities. Communities receiving funding under
this subparagraph shall match every $1 of Federal
funding with $1 of non-Federal funding.
``(C) Purpose of grants.--The primary purpose of
the grants awarded pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B)
shall be to increase the capacity of grant recipients
to provide medium-term services and other service
navigation assistance to new arrivals to attain self-
sufficiency.
``(D) Eligible entities.--An entity is eligible to
receive a grant under this subsection if the entity
is--
``(i) a local government, an Indian Tribe,
or a nonprofit organization (as such terms are
defined in section 200.1 of title 2, Code of
Federal Regulations);
``(ii) a State of the United States, the
District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico;
``(iii) any agency or instrumentality of a
governmental entity listed in clause (ii)
(excluding local governments); or
``(iv) physically located in a State, the
District of Columbia, or a territory of the
United States.
``(8) Administrative procedures act.--When issuing
guidelines to carry out this subsection, including setting
eligibility requirements and making program changes, the
Director shall not be subject to the procedural rulemaking
requirements set forth in subchapter II of chapter 5, and
chapter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as
the `Administrative Procedures Act').
``(9) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 2025 through
2028, $3,000,000,000 to carry out the Program established by
this subsection.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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