On June 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill (S. 1129) that would set standards for the treatment of unaccompanied alien children.
Sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act would require immigration authorities to transfer the custody of unaccompanied children to the Office of Refugee Resettlement within 72 hours. The measure would authorize such sums as necessary for the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services to comply with the bill.
Prior to the final vote, the committee approved, by voice vote, a Feinstein substitute amendment making a number of technical changes to the bill. Specifically, the substitute would require that every unaccompanied alien minor be given access to legal counsel, but would specify that the federal government would not pay for the child’s attorney representation. The substitute also would require that states be reimbursed for the expenses they incurred while providing assistance to unaccompanied children. The substitute would require the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement to develop a witness protection program for children who are victims of trafficking or alien smuggling. Finally, the substitute would require the State Department to include an assessment of foreign countries’ efforts to protect children from traffickers and smugglers in its annual report on human rights.
