On April 14, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved, by voice vote, a bill (S. 119) that would set standards for the treatment of unaccompanied alien children. The Senate approved similar legislation last year, but the House did not act on the measure before the end of the 108th Congress (see The Source, 10/13/04).
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.
S. 119 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 bill also would require that states be reimbursed for the expenses they incurred while providing assistance to unaccompanied children. The measure 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 bill 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.
In a press release announcing committee passage of the bill, Sen. Feinstein stated, “Each year, nearly 7,000 unaccompanied children are apprehended by federal immigration officials. Some are orphans, some are trafficked into the country, some are here to work, others to escape abuse and poverty. This bill ensures that these children don’t fall through the cracks…The bill would not grant unaccompanied alien children any new immigration benefit, but it would ensure that they are treated as children and not as adults or criminals. More importantly, this legislation seeks to ensure that all unaccompanied alien children are treated fairly and compassionately.”
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) has introduced a similar bill (H.R. 1172) in the House.
