Children
Central American Children’s Testimony Humanizes Debate Around Unaccompanied Minors
Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus convened a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to add another dimension to the the ongoing debate around unaccompanied children from Central America arriving in large numbers at our southern border. Three children, who were once unaccompanied minors from Honduras, Guatemala,… Read More
House Hearing Exploits Children’s Misery, Highlights Ideological Differences
In the last week before the August recess, House and Senate members are trying to finalize vastly different bills that would provide additional funding to address the government agency needs associated with the influx of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The House’s $659 million bill falls short… Read More
Sealed UNHCR Report Warns of Poor Protections for Unaccompanied Mexican Children
As the Obama administration struggles to fashion a humane yet practical response to the influx of unaccompanied children from Central America, the president’s request for $3.7 billion to deal with the situation is becoming entangled with the fate of the Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2008. Read More
Restrictionists Spread Unfounded Rumors About Migrant Children and Disease
More often than not, anti-immigrant groups use their hateful rhetoric to blame immigrants for all of our nation’s ills. On a regular basis, restrictionist groups release reports that portray immigrants as criminals, terrorists, a threat to American workers, an economic and fiscal burden, or an obstacle to national unity,… Read More
Texas Group Finds Most Unaccompanied Children Could Qualify for Relief
More than half of the unaccompanied Central American children who are in U.S. custody after crossing the U.S. border could be found eligible for relief by a U.S. immigration judge, according to an assessment by Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). This… Read More
Taking Attendance: New Data Finds Majority of Children Appear in Immigration Court
As the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the United States border has increased, some lawmakers have argued that children frequently disappear into the woodwork, and propose mandatory detention as a solution. Some say as many as 90 percent fail to attend their immigration court hearings. Yet government data recently published by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) may indicate the opposite. Not only do a majority of children attend their immigration proceedings, according to TRAC, but 90 percent or more attend when represented by lawyers. Read More
HUMANE Act Fails to Address Humanitarian Challenges
Texans Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) and Sen. John Cornyn (R) will soon introduce a bill that expedites the removal of unaccompanied children from Central America. Their measure, the Helping Unaccompanied Minors and Alleviating National Emergency (HUMANE) Act, is a legislative attempt to change U.S. policies so that… Read More
Senate Hearing Debates Enforcement-Focused Solution to Humanitarian Challenge
On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the Administration’s emergency request for $3.7 billion to address the humanitarian situation as children and families flee violence in Central America. While the committee nominally addressed only the funding request, the president’s stated intention to ask… Read More
The Facts About the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border
What is our obligation as a country to the unaccompanied child migrants at our border? This seemingly straightforward question is frequently lost among the political debate surrounding the humanitarian challenge at our southern border. In a recent Senate homeland security committee hearing, several senators focused only on how to… Read More
Why We Are Suing the Government on Behalf of All Children Facing Deportation
The thousands of children fleeing violence and persecution and seeking refuge in the United States have brought to the forefront the issue of how our immigration system deals with children. The current system subjects kids to the same deportation laws as adults. They are ordered to appear in… Read More
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