Speech #1100023728

Worse. for those children who are victims of human trafficking. their only advice may come from lawyers hired by the traffickers who care nothing for the childs best interest. The legislation that I am introducing today builds on the Homeland Security Act of 2002. which adopted components of the bill that I first introduced during the 107th Congress. The Homeland Security Act transferred responsibility for the care and placement of unaccompanied alien children from the nowabolished Immigration and Naturalization Service to the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services. This change finally resolved the conflict of interest inherent in the former system that pitted the enforcement side of the Immigration and Naturalization Service against the benefits side of that same agency in the care of unaccompanied alien children. I am pleased that the provision transferring responsibility for the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children was included in the Homeland Security Act. and that by all accounts. the transition in the care of children between the affected agencies has gone well. Yet. because the Homeland Security Act was crafted quickly. it left the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of Refugee Resettlement without clearly distinguished mandates and responsibilities in some key areas. including legal custody. age determination procedures. and State court dependency proceedings. Congress now has a responsibility to go beyond the simple transfer of children from one agency to another to actually laying out the process and steps to ensure that unaccompanied alien children are treated fairly and humanely. We must provide the Office of Refugee Resettlement. the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice with the tools they will need to succeed in their missions regarding the care of unaccompanied alien children after the transfer of jurisdiction took place. First of all. I want to stress that this bill is not about benefits. as it provides no new immigration benefit to unaccompanied alien children. Rather. this bill is about the process of how we treat these children under the current system. The "Unaccompanied Allen Child Protection Act" provides guidance and instruction to the Office of Refugee and Resettlement. the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice in the following areas: first. in the custody. release. family reunification and detention of unaccompanied alien children. second. it provides access by unaccompanied alien children to child advocates and pro bono counsel. third. it streamlines the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program and provides guidance on the training of federal government officials and private parties who come into contact with unaccompanied alien children. fourth. it requires the issuance of guidelines specific to childrens asylum claims. fifth. it authorizes appropriations for the care of unaccompanied alien children. and. sixth. it amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide additional responsibilities and powers to the Office of Refugee Resettlement with respect to unaccompanied alien children. Central throughout the "Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act" are two concepts: (1) The United States government has a fundamental responsibility to protect unaccompanied children in its custody. and. (2) In all proceedings and actions. the government should have as a priority protecting the interests of these children who are not criminals or do not pose a risk to our national security. Imagine the fear of an unaccompanied alien child. in the United States alone. without a parent or guardian.