# Plain Language Summary: B-VERIFY Act of 2023

This bill would significantly expand the collection of biometric data—fingerprints, facial photos, DNA, iris scans, and other identifying information—from anyone involved in immigration matters. Currently, the government collects biometric data from certain immigrants and visa applicants, but this bill would make it mandatory for essentially everyone seeking any immigration benefit, from visa applications to green cards to citizenship. It would also require collecting biometric data from every single person encountered by border patrol, immigration enforcement, or immigration services, including children. Importantly, the bill specifically authorizes the collection of DNA test results to determine family relationships, which is a significant expansion of current practice.

The bill creates real consequences for families. If a parent or guardian brings an unaccompanied child to the U.S. border, they would face permanent bars to ever becoming a legal permanent resident or citizen. If they're already a permanent resident, they'd lose eligibility for federal benefits. Additionally, the bill requires background checks on anyone who wants to take in an unaccompanied child, and it mandates that information about these individuals be shared with immigration enforcement. If someone claims to be a relative of a child but fails a DNA test, they can't sponsor that child and must be reported to law enforcement.

The bill also creates a new requirement for federal employees to report anyone they encounter with documents showing they're in the country illegally to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which would trigger automatic removal proceedings. Finally, it directs the government to work more closely with international partners and databases to catch immigration fraud. Overall, this represents a major expansion of biometric collection, DNA testing, and enforcement coordination in immigration matters.

B–VERIFY Act of 2023

Biometric Verification for Entry and Reconfirming Identity with Forensics Act of 2023 or the B-VERIFY Act of 2023 This bill addresses various immigration-related issues, including by imposing penalties on parents of unaccompanied alien children who arrive in the United States. Under this bill, any applicant for an immigration benefit, including a U.S. national applying for a non-U.S. national (alien under federal law) beneficiary, must provide biometric information, including DNA. Furthermore, before the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may release an unaccompanied alien child to a sponsor, the potential sponsor must undergo a background check that includes certain searches, including a Federal Bureau of Investigation National Criminal History Check. (HHS currently conducts background checks of potential sponsors, but is not required to conduct all the checks required by this bill.) HHS must report a potential sponsor to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if the potential sponsor (1) fails to prove a claimed familial relationship with the child, or (2) provides a false identity document. HHS may not use government funds to provide legal counsel to detained unaccompanied alien children. The bill also imposes penalties on the non-U.S. national parents of an unaccompanied alien child who arrives in the United States, including by deeming the parent inadmissible into the United States if the parent does not have lawful permanent resident status. Federal employees must promptly notify ICE if they receive an identification document indicating that an individual is unlawfully present. ICE must promptly place the individual in removal proceedings.