WASHINGTON, D.C.—Legal advocates and child protection experts expressed deep concern over the implications of the House Judiciary Committee’s new reconciliation text set that is being marked up today that would effectively end the U.S. protection system for unaccompanied children and impose extraordinarily harmful and cruel requirements on children and their families, such as charging parents $8,500 for the release of their child from government custody. The House’s proposals would dismantle the bipartisan Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) as well as safeguards core to the Flores Settlement Agreement (Flores), forcing these uniquely vulnerable children into situations of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, abuse, and other dangers.
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), a global leader in advocating for the protection of unaccompanied and separated children, was joined by Freedom Network and CLASP in urging Members of Congress to reject this measure and embrace reforms that build upon, rather than tear down, crucial protections that keep children safe.
A recording of the briefing can be found here.
“This bill not only makes it virtually impossible for children to access protection in the United States, but it would make the government responsible for putting children in even more compromised and dangerous conditions,” said Jennifer Podkul, Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy at KIND. “The full-scale reform would not just cut children off from life-saving protection, it would do them actual harm. Taxpayers should not be footing the bill for something that will harm children.”
“The implications of the House Judiciary reconciliation text for unaccompanied children are, in a word, catastrophic. The text would effectively end the US protection system for this uniquely vulnerable population,” said Jason Boyd, Vice President of U.S. Federal Policy at KIND. “Congress created the protection framework for unaccompanied children on a bipartisan basis, and on a bipartisan basis, Congress should reject its destruction. The safety of vulnerable children hangs in the balance.”
“There’s a $8,500 fee for sponsors of unaccompanied children, which is an assault on parental rights, and no one should have to pay that much to be reunited with their child,” said Rricha deCant, Director of Legislative Affairs at CLASP. “It is outrageous that the government expects a parent of a child or a family member to have to pay thousands of dollars, and honestly, it’s like holding these children ransom.”
“The fee increases embedded within this proposal, plus the cuts to the legal services, make immigration protections out of reach for most trafficking survivors. This leaves kids dependent on their traffickers – a gift to traffickers – telling these kids that we no longer care what is happening to them, and we are fine with leaving them in a situation of abuse and exploitation because it’s simply too expensive for us to protect them,” said Jean Bruggeman, Executive Director of the Freedom Network. “Instead, we’re pushing families into poverty, which is the highest vulnerability factor for trafficking, another gift to traffickers.”
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Gavin, West End Strategy Team
hgavin@westendstrategy.com; 202-765-4290