Protect Kids and Parents Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Protect Kids and Parents Act
This bill requires that a child of alien parents or legal guardians who are asylum applicants must be detained in the same facility. A "child" is defined as an individual who has not reached the age of 18, has no permanent immigration status, and was in the custody and presence of a parent or legal guardian when the parent or legal guardian was detained for illegally entering the United States.
The bill also:
directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to increase the total number of immigration judges and Board of Immigration staff attorneys;
directs Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to increase the total number of DHS personnel who process asylum applications;
requires DOJ and DHS to establish procedures for expedited consideration and processing of asylum applications;
requires expedited removal of asylum applicants whose applications have been denied;
establishes a strong presumption in favor of family unity;
requires DHS to publish guidance for locating separated children; and
requires the Government Accountability Office to study, and report on, the prosecution of asylum seekers between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2018.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on June 19, 2018. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on June 19, 2018: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced it on June 19, 2018, and 21 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 21 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 19, 2018, 3005 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3005 days ago, on June 19, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers