Washington, D.C. – KIND applauds Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) for urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to restore funding for legal services for unaccompanied children, including representation of more than 26,000 children in communities across the United States. In a bipartisan letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the senators underscored the urgent need for legal representation to protect this vulnerable population against trafficking and exploitation.
“Attorneys are a first-line defense in the protection of unaccompanied children,” said KIND President Wendy Young. “Without legal assistance, these children have no meaningful way to access a fair legal process and are highly vulnerable to those who would do them harm. These services, as directed by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), have long-standing bipartisan support from Congress, not only because they safeguard children from danger, but because they also improve efficiencies in the immigration system, ensuring that hearings are more timely and that children appear for their proceedings. We are grateful that Senators Ossoff and Murkowski recognize the grave harm these children will face without an attorney by their side and the need to fulfill the mandate of the TVPRA.”
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Media Contact: Megan McKenna, mmckenna@supportkind.org, 202-631-9990