H.R. 6128: Help Separated Families Act of 2012

112th Congress · introduced 2012-07-13 · Families · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Human Resources.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2012-07-13 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-34] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Human Resources. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Help Separated Families Act of 2012

Plain summary

Help Separated Families Act of 2012 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to: (1) require state child protection standards to ensure that the immigration status alone of a parent, legal guardian, or relative shall not disqualify the parent, legal guardian, or relative from being a placement for a child; and (2) require the state procedures for criminal records checks to require the state to accept foreign identification documents as sufficient identification for purposes of initiating a criminal records check or a fingerprint-based check. Expresses the sense of Congress that the child welfare agency of a state, or of any county or other political subdivision of a state, should grant a waiver of any requirement which would prevent the placement of a child with a relative of the child, on the basis of a minor legal infraction, if the relative would otherwise be considered eligible for such a placement. Requires the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to notify relatives seeking placement of a child that their immigration status will not be questioned, except to the extent necessary in determining eligibility for relevant services or programs. Prohibits a state or local government agency from filing for termination of parental rights in foster care cases based on the removal of the parent from the United States or the parent's involvement in an immigration proceeding, unless: (1) the state (or local agency) has made reasonable efforts to notify of the intention to file such a petition any parent of the child who has been removed from the United States, and any adult relative of the child, including through the diplomatic or consular offices of the country to which the parent was removed, and to reunify the child with any such parent or relative; or (2) the parent is unfit or unwilling to be a parent of the child.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Help Separated Families Act of 2012

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-34] · 18 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Judy Chu (D-CA), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112hr6128.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/hr>

Record fed-us-cong112-hr6128 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112