# 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026 119-s-5071, Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-11). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071 - As of: 2026-08-11 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-5071 - Congress: 119 - Title: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026 - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2026-07-22 - Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR) - Cosponsors: 17 - Policy area: Immigration - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-08-11 ## Summary **End routine family separation and raise care and oversight standards for noncitizen children.** - Children and families would get stronger on-site care and legal supports, including 24/7 trauma-informed caregiver professionals at processing sites, a medical exam within 2 business days, legal orientation and access to counsel, and a 72-hour limit on family detention at CBP facilities. - Placement and foster-care rules would shift toward family-like settings, phase out large congregate facilities within 2 years with benchmarks of 25% in year 1, 75% by 545 days, and 100% by 2 years, create a short-term Transitional Foster Care program for stays up to 30 days, and fund a $46.5 million contingency pool with case-manager ratios set at 8:1 (reducible to 6:1 under utilization triggers). - Oversight, privacy, and legal processes would tighten through an independent Ombudsperson with subpoena power, weekly DHS and HHS data reporting, segregation of ORR case files from DHS A-Files, expedited sponsor decisions and administrative hearings within 7 days, and transfer of specified child asylum adjudications to USCIS. ## Cosponsors (17) - Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV] (D-NV), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Faster release and sponsor rules: benefit, high. If enacted, ORR would have to decide sponsor applications within 7 days and give a written decision within 2 business days after any hearing. The bill would require ORR to release children without unnecessary delay, give sponsors the child's ORR file on release, and provide at least a 60-day supply… - Foster placement rules and case management: benefit, high. If enacted, ORR would create transitional foster care (up to 30 days) and long-term foster categories (over 30 days or if the child later turns 18) and must contract with State-licensed foster providers. The bill would set a baseline case-manager ratio of 8:1 and allow a contingency reduction to 6:… - Free lawyers and child advocates: benefit, high. If enacted, every unaccompanied noncitizen child in HHS custody would be offered a lawyer paid for by the government unless they already have one. The bill would require independent child advocates at every site within 180 days and give advocates full ORR case files within 72 hours of request. ORR… - Post-release help and Medicaid access: benefit, high. This bill would bar ORR from requiring every child to accept post-release services before release. Pre-release services could be required only after a case manager finds the child would face imminent physical or emotional harm without them. ORR would have to offer voluntary services like community… - State licensing and background checks: benefit, medium. If enacted, any group ORR hires to run childcare, group, or foster care must have State licensing. ORR would have to run FBI fingerprint and State child-abuse registry checks for foster home residents and influx staff before they interact with children, and deny placements or hires when convictions… - Medical, mental health, and education care: benefit, medium. If enacted, children in ORR custody would get a full medical exam within two business days, CDC-consistent immunizations, ongoing medical and dental care, and mental-health screening and intervention. Facilities would provide school-like instruction Monday–Friday with transferable credits after 60… - Limits on restrictive placements and transfers: benefit, medium. If enacted, ORR would have to hold an administrative hearing before moving a child to a restrictive placement and prove the need by clear and convincing evidence. The bill would limit transfers, require 48 hours' advance notice to the child, sponsor, lawyer, and advocate (or 24 hours after in emerg… - More immigration judges and staff: benefit, medium. This bill would add at least 75 immigration judges, 75 law clerks, and 300 support staff in fiscal year 2026. It would require adequate support staff, technology, and space and bar using funds for numeric judge performance rules that harm fairness. The bill would direct administrative closure of ca… - New Ombudsperson, audits, and data rules: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create an independent Ombudsperson office for unaccompanied noncitizen children with regional offices and subpoena power. ORR and DHS would have to send weekly facility and child-level data to the Ombudsperson and Congress, publish monthly summaries, and allow monthly ove… - Phase out large congregate care: benefit, medium. If enacted, ORR would have to end placements in large congregate care (facilities for more than 25 people) two years after enactment and stop using federal funds for those placements. The Director must send Congress a plan within 90 days with benchmarks: 25% moved in 1 year, 75% in 545 days, and 10… - Staff training and materials rules: benefit, low. If enacted, staff who interact with unaccompanied children would get regular in-person training and a 30-day coaching plan. Training would cover trauma-informed care, child development, abuse prevention, cultural humility, de-escalation, and disabilities, and materials must be shared with the Ombud… - Anti-retaliation and criminal penalties: benefit, low. If enacted, ORR could not punish legal services providers, child advocates, or others for suing or helping children under this Act. Federal and state staff, contractors, and providers could not retaliate against whistleblowers or complainants, and certain discrimination or retaliation violations co… - HHS $46.5 million caseworker fund: benefit, low. This bill would appropriate $46,500,000 to HHS as a contingency fund. The money would pay to hire case management specialists to help release children and prevent facilities from reaching full capacity. The funds would remain available until spent and would be used under the law's utilization trigg… ## Related bills - 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026 - 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act - 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act - 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026 - 119-s-1503: Equality Act - 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025 ## Sources - [119-s-5071 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5071) ## Related - [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066) - [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823) - [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51) - [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108) - [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503) - [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071 (as of 2026-08-11).