Kayla Hamilton Act
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
The Kayla Hamilton Act would tighten federal rules for placing unaccompanied migrant children — those with no lawful immigration status and no U.S. parent or guardian — with sponsors. It would bar placement with anyone who is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and would require secure-facility detention for children 12 or older who are deemed flight risks or community dangers.
The bill would also mandate that the Department of Health and Human Services share detailed personal and immigration information about every sponsor and adult household member with the Department of Homeland Security before any child is placed, raising significant implications for immigration enforcement and child-welfare practice.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 and the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to overhaul how HHS places unaccompanied alien children. Before making any placement, HHS would be required to consult with DHS and the Attorney General on the child's flight risk, danger to self or others, and criminal history. For children 12 and older, HHS would also be required to contact the child's home-country consulate for criminal records and to physically examine the child for gang-related tattoos or markings. Children 12 or older who are flight risks, have gang markings, or have relevant criminal convictions would be placed in a secure facility for the duration of immigration proceedings. HHS would be prohibited from placing any child with a sponsor who is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or with any sponsor or household member who has been convicted of specified offenses including sex crimes, trafficking, domestic violence, aggravated felonies, or any felony.
The bill would also require HHS to transmit to DHS — before every placement — the name, date of birth, Social Security or taxpayer ID number, address, immigration status, contact information, and background-check results for the sponsor and every adult living in the household. Agencies would be exempt from Paperwork Reduction Act and Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking requirements to the extent compliance would impede immediate implementation.
Key provisions
- 1Would require HHS to consult with DHS and the Attorney General before any placement to assess the child's flight risk, danger to others, and criminal history.
- 2Would require HHS, for children 12 or older, to obtain foreign criminal records from the child's home-country consulate and examine the child for gang-related tattoos or markings.
- 3Would mandate secure-facility placement for the duration of immigration proceedings for any child 12 or older who is a flight risk, has gang markings, or has qualifying criminal convictions.
- 4Would prohibit HHS from placing a child with any sponsor who is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or with any sponsor or household member convicted of a wide range of criminal offenses.
- 5Would require HHS to provide DHS with the name, SSN or ITIN, date of birth, address, immigration status, contact information, and background-check results for every sponsor and adult household member before placement.
- 6Would exempt HHS, DHS, the State Department, and the Attorney General from Paperwork Reduction Act and APA rulemaking requirements if compliance would impede immediate implementation.
Who would be affected
Unaccompanied alien children held by HHS pending immigration proceedings, particularly those 12 or older with gang ties or criminal histories who would face mandatory secure detention. Potential sponsors — especially the large share who are themselves undocumented — would be barred outright. All adult members of a sponsor's household would have their personal and immigration data collected and transmitted to DHS.
Why it matters
The blanket prohibition on undocumented sponsors would disqualify many current and prospective placement households, potentially extending the length of time children remain in federal custody. The mandatory DHS information-sharing requirement could deter undocumented family members from coming forward to sponsor children, and it would make sponsor data directly available to immigration enforcement authorities.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(c)) (Sec. 3)
Rewrites the safe-placement section to add mandatory consultations, gang screening, secure-facility detention triggers, expanded sponsor prohibitions, and mandatory DHS data-sharing before placement.
Amends Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(b)(2)) (Sec. 2)
Redirects the Office of Refugee Resettlement's placement-determination authority to operate under the updated TVPRA placement standards.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The entire Act and all amendments, including pending and future custody determinations
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates the Kayla Hamilton Act would cost approximately $1.3 billion in discretionary spending over the 2026–2031 period, with a negligible (less than $500,000) decrease in direct mandatory spending over 2026–2036.
CBO estimates that H.R. 4371 would require about $1.3 billion in spending subject to appropriation (discretionary funding that Congress must separately approve) over the 2026–2031 period, driven mainly by longer stays in shelter care ($1.0 billion), increased placements in more expensive foster care and secure care ($300 million), and administrative costs for new background checks ($21 million). The bill's new sponsorship restrictions and expanded criminal-history screenings are expected to keep unaccompanied alien children in government custody longer and shift more of them into costlier placement settings. Direct spending (mandatory outlays) would decrease by less than $500,000 over 2026–2036, and CBO found no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
HHS would be required to consult DHS and the Attorney General before each placement decision and to conduct gang-screening examinations and obtain foreign criminal records for every child 12 or older. Before releasing any child, HHS must compile and transmit a standardized package of sponsor and household-member data to DHS. The bill explicitly waives Paperwork Reduction Act and APA notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements whenever the relevant secretaries determine compliance would impede immediate implementation, allowing the agencies to proceed without the usual regulatory processes.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider additional information when it makes placement determinations for unaccompanied alien children in its custody. Under federal law, an unaccompanied alien child is a minor with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States to provide care and physical custody.
Current law requires HHS to (1) place a child in the least restrictive setting that is in the child's best interest, and (2) assess the safety and suitability of a sponsor prior to placing a child with that sponsor.
In determining the least restrictive setting, this bill requires (currently, permits) HHS to consider the child's danger to self, danger to the community, and flight risk. Additionally, the bill requires placement in a secure facility in the case of a child who is 13 years of age or older and has gang-related markings or tattoos or a history of gang-related arrests or criminal conduct.
In assessing the safety and suitability of a sponsor, this bill requires HHS to collect and provide to the Department of Homeland Security information about all adult residents of the household, including name, date of birth, Social Security number, immigration status, contact information, and the results of all background and criminal records checks. The bill also prohibits HHS from placing a child with a sponsor who is unlawfully present in the United States.
Legislative subjects
Border security and unlawful immigration; Child safety and welfare; Crime and Law Enforcement; Detention of persons; Human trafficking; Immigration status and procedures; Juvenile crime and gang violence; Smuggling and trafficking
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-345