Govwatch

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10943 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10943

    To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 
Reauthorization Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human 
    Services to provide counsel for unaccompanied alien children in 
            immigration proceedings, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 29, 2026

 Ms. Scholten introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection 
Reauthorization Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human 
    Services to provide counsel for unaccompanied alien children in 
            immigration proceedings, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Counsel for Kids Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. PROVISION OF COUNSEL FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN.

    Section 235(c) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims 
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) is amended by 
amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:
            ``(5) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall--
                    ``(A) ensure that all unaccompanied alien children 
                who are or have been in the custody of the Secretary or 
                the Secretary of Homeland Security, and who are not 
                described in subsection (a)(2)(A), are provided in-
                person legal counsel in all immigration proceedings by 
                an independent third party at no cost to such children; 
                and
                    ``(B) protect all unaccompanied alien children who 
                are or have been in the custody of the Secretary or the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security from mistreatment, 
                exploitation, and trafficking.''.

SEC. 3. RIGHT TO COUNSEL DURING IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS.

    The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) in section 240(b)(4)(A), by striking ``, at no expense 
        to the Government,''; and
            (2) in section 292, by striking ``(at no expense to the 
        Government)''.
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Counsel for Kids Act of 2026

Full Text
