§ 3804 : ACCESS TO CHILDREN, STATE AND LOCAL COURTS, CHILD WELFARE AGENCIES, AND CONSULAR OFFICIALS.

At all detention facilities, the Secretary shall—

1.

prominently post in a manner accessible to detainees and visitors and include in detainee handbooks information on the protections of this subtitle as well as information on potential eligibility for parole or release;

2.

absent extraordinary circumstances, ensure that individuals who are detained by the Department and are parents of children in the United States are—

A.

permitted regular phone calls and contact visits with their children;

B.

provided with contact information for child welfare agencies and family courts in the relevant jurisdictions;

C.

able to participate fully, and to the extent possible, in person, in all family court proceedings and any other proceedings that may impact their right to custody of their children;

D.

granted free and confidential telephone calls to relevant child welfare agencies and family courts as often as is necessary to ensure that the best interest of their children, including a preference for family unity whenever appropriate, can be considered in child welfare agency or family court proceedings;

E.

able to fully comply with all family court or child welfare agency orders impacting custody of their children;

F.

provided access to United States passport applications or other relevant travel document applications for the purpose of obtaining travel documents for their children;

G.

afforded timely access to a notary public for the purpose of applying for a passport for their children or executing guardianship or other agreements to ensure the safety of their children; and

H.

granted adequate time before removal to obtain passports, apostilled birth certificates, travel documents, and other necessary records on behalf of their children if such children will accompany them on their return to their country of origin or join them in their country of origin; and

3.

where doing so would not impact public safety or national security, facilitate the ability of detained alien parents and primary caregivers to share information regarding travel arrangements with their consulate, children, child welfare agencies, or other caregivers in advance of the detained alien individual’s departure from the United States.

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