Supporting Statement
Family Reunification Task Force
Travel Questionnaire-NEW
A. Justification
Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statue and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.
On February 2, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14011 (E.O. 14011), Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families, in response to the prior Administration’s use of immigration laws to intentionally separate children from their parents and legal guardians (families), including through the use of the Zero-Tolerance Policy. E.O. 14011 directs the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families (Task Force) to identify children who were separated and facilitate and enable the reunification of the families. Additionally, E.O. 14011 directs the Task Force to provide recommendations on providing additional services and support for the reunified families, including behavioral health services with a focus on trauma-informed care. The Secretary of Homeland Security is the chair of the Task Force and is joined by the Department of State, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice.
Task Force agency members are involved in multiple active litigation cases involving separated families. Most of the families are represented in the Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ms. L.) class action lawsuit. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represents the parents in this case. The Ms. L. court established a steering committee to contact the separated parents and voice their reunification preferences. The Task Force entered settlement negotiations in Ms. L. on March 11, 2021.
The Task Force is reunifying families in coordination with the ACLU which is lead counsel in Ms. L, by accepting humanitarian parole requests for settlement class members and their households. The individuals who may apply for parole are those separated parents and children who are part of the settlement class and were repatriated to their home country post separation. Those individuals are being offered an opportunity to request entry into the U.S. for reunification and receipt of the services afforded by the settlement agreement. ACLU currently identifies families in small tranches for reunification from the list of litigation class members and provides them to the Task Force. The Task Force verifies that the ACLU provided names meet the requirement of class membership based on CBP and ICE data of when the separation of the family occurred and why the separation occurred. The attorneys representing the families are then permitted to utilize the FRTF parole request process to request entry to the U.S. As the settlement negotiations become more final, the ability to apply will be opened to additional individuals, who will be verified by the Task Force as being part of the settlement class.
The U.S. Government (USG) has agree in settlement to facilitate the return of these families whose parole request has been granted to the U.S. This requires facilitating travel for the family from their home country to the U.S. As part of the parole request process, the I-131 form (Application for Travel Document) submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by the applicant, has the family identify how they want to be contacted. In coordination with the ACLU, the families who have been granted entry will be requested to identify their travel plan requests for USG facilitation of travel. This is typically through their attorney or advocate listed on the I-131 or subsequently designated by the traveler.
To carry out the Task Force role to reunify families, DHS is proposing this new data collection. The purpose is to achieve efficiencies to process these individuals for a successful family reunification. To streamline the reunification travel coordination process, the Task Force plans to collect details in advance of travel, information the Task Force needs to make arrangement for the beneficiary and coordination with stakeholders.
The information to be collected would include: Name, Date of Birth, Gender, A#, Passport Number and Expiration, Phone Number, Email address, Language(s) spoken, Representative/Attorney name and contact information, Date of Embassy Appointment to obtain boarding foil, Identification of Special Assistance Requests, Departure Airport, Final Airport, Traveling requested time frame, Names of others in the traveling party. The data will be stored in a spreadsheet on an access-controlled Microsoft Teams channel and maintained as long as required to satisfy the court settlement requirements.
Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.
To carry out the Task Force role to reunify families, DHS is proposing this new data collection. The purpose is to achieve efficiencies to process these individuals for a successful family reunification. To streamline the reunification travel coordination process, the Task Force plans to collect details in advance of travel, information the Task Force needs to make arrangement for the beneficiary and coordination with stakeholders.
This information will be voluntarily requested via emailed to the designated person provided by the beneficiary and returned via email in a password protected file. This process would in turn allow for streamlined travel coordination with ICE to facilitate travel arrangements, as well as coordination for the beneficiary from point of departure to point of arrival at the final destination. This coordination includes DHS entities such as CBP, ICE, TSA, USCIS, and interagency such as DOS, DOJ, and HHS. As settlement negotiations continue, the entity that receives the form to facilitate the travel booking may change. The resulting travel information will be shared with the traveler and anyone else they designate as important to receive this information. This could include coordinating with parties the traveler identifies to ensure matching itineraries for those in the traveling party that the USG is funding and/or those in the travelling party that the USG is not funding. (E.g., The USG may be providing the travel for the separate parent. A minor child who was not the separated child may be traveling with the separated parent, but the USG will not provide his/her travel. Flights would be required to be coordinated with the entity booking the minor child’s travel so the parent and child are on the same flight.)
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.
Email will be used to transmit the request for information and will be emailed back to the Family Reunification Task Force inbox for process of travel arrangements (flights, hotels, etc.). The data will be stored in a spreadsheet on an access-controlled Microsoft Teams channel and maintained as long as required to satisfy the court settlement requirements.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.
This information is not duplicated for this population in any other place or any other form.
5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities describe any methods used to minimize burden.
This information collection does not have an impact on small businesses or other small entities.
6. Describe consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
Failure to collect this information would add additional, piecemeal coordination and delays to facilitating travel arrangements for beneficiaries as directed by E.O. 14011 to reunite families.
Explain any special circumstances.
Nothing to report in this section.
8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.
Not applicable.
9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
There is no offer of a monetary or material value for this information collection.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
A new Privacy Impact Assessments is in process titled “Family Reunification Travel Plans”
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.
There are no questions of a sensitive nature.
12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information.
INFORMATION COLLECTION |
TOTAL ANNUAL BURDEN HOURS |
NO. OF RESPONDENTS |
NO. OF RESPONSES PER RESPONDENT |
TOTAL RESPONSES |
TIME PER RESPONSE |
Family Reunification Travel Plans |
1,000 Hours |
3,000 |
1 |
3,000 |
20 Minutes |
Public Cost
The estimated cost to the respondents is $20,400. This is based on the estimated burden hours (1000) multiplied by ($20.40). DHS used the U.S. Department of Transportation’s guidance on value of travel time for value of time estimates ($20.40)1 for travel by land.
13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information.
There are no record keeping, capital, start-up or maintenance costs associated with this information collection. DHS assumes that basic internet access is a customary cost of doing business and will not additionally burden any NGO/IGO assisting individuals in submitting this form.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal Government. Also provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.
The FRTF did not obtain any new federal staff to review these documents. All staff is already assumed and detailed to the FRTF to conduct these duties.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 12 or 13.
This
is a new information collection.
16. For collection of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation, and publication.
This information collection will not be published for statistical purposes.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date, explain the reasons that displaying the expiration date would be inappropriate.
DHS will display the expiration date for OMB approval of this information collection.
18. “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.”
DHS does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.
No statistical methods were employed.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Supporting Statement |
| Author | BBEBTV9 |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-07-05 |