Justice for Angel Families Act
The Justice for Angel Families Act would (1) expand federal crime-victim compensation programs to cover a new category called "angel families"—immediate family members of homicide victims where the killer is an unlawfully present foreign national or an international drug cartel member—and (2) create a new Homeland Security office to assist victims of crimes committed by aliens who are inadmissible, deportable, or unlawfully present in the United States. For angel families, the bill allows grants to pay medical expenses (including mental health care), lost wages due to emotional distress, and funeral expenses. The new Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE) within DHS would offer services to victims and their families, provide information about immigration enforcement processes, help with custody status information, share releasable criminal/immigration history about the offender, conduct a case study, and annually report on impact and demographics.
Key Points
- 1Defines “angel family” as the immediate family of a homicide victim where the killer is either an unlawfully present alien or a member of an international drug cartel.
- 2Amends VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) to authorize grants that can compensate angel families for medical expenses (including mental health care), lost wages attributed to emotional distress, and funeral expenses related to the crime.
- 3Establishes the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office (VOICE) within the Department of Homeland Security to provide proactive, timely services to victims of crimes committed by aliens who are inadmissible, deportable, or unlawfully present, and to their families.
- 4VOICE duties include a victim hotline, referral connections to supportive services, assistance with registration for automated custody status, sharing releasable offender information, delivering immediate services, and conducting a case study on victims of crimes by such aliens.
- 5Requires an annual report to Congress (starting one year after enactment) detailing the impact on victims, including demographics, crime locations, crime types, and whether offenders have committed multiple crimes.
- 6Clerical amendment to add a new Sec. 104 to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to formally establish the VOICE office.