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Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act Print E-mail
Friday, 20 July 2007

Children are Children: Treat Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors Justly and Fairly

 

The Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act, introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), is a package of reforms designed to improve access to justice for immigrant minors.

 

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) first introduced the Unaccompanied Alien Minor Protection Act in 2001 to ensure humane and appropriate treatment of children in the custody of the U.S. government and to protect children from languishing in immigration detention unnecessarily. Certain provisions of Senator Feinstein’s original bill were enacted in the Homeland Security Act of 2002, but several key elements await passage. Senator Feinstein re-introduced her bill in spring 2007 during Senate debate on comprehensive immigration reform. This bill (S.844 in the 110th Congress) includes the following critical due process protections:
  • States that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) should ensure that all unaccompanied minors in ORR custody should have competent immigration counsel.  
  • Requires the Department of Justice to develop and implement model guidelines for legal representation of such children.
  • Bars children from accepting removal orders or voluntary departure unless the child has had the opportunity to consult with counsel first. 
  • Authorizes ORR to appoint qualified and trained advocates for immigrant children.
Before its passage, the Unaccompanied Alient Minor Protection Act should be strengthened in the following manner:
  • Guaratee court appointed counsel for unaccompanied immigrant children.
  • Codify in federal law the best interest standard for unaccompanied minors.
  • Make important technical improvements to the statute governing Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) visa status for abused, neglected, and abandoned minors so that juvenile courts can properly handle their duties with respect to these children.

Unaccompanied Alien Child Protect Act of 2007 (March 2007)

 
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