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[Congressional Record: October 21, 2003 (Extensions)]
[Page E2106]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr21oc03-20]
THE UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 2003
______
HON. ZOE LOFGREN
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, imagine being a 9-year-old girl trying to
escape abusive parents that eventually abandon you. Imagine having no
choice but to escape to America with relatives who eventually get angry
and turn you over to the immigration authorities at the age of 14. Then
imagine being detained for over 6 months in a juvenile jail as you are
represented by an unscrupulous attorney who doesn't even care to show
up to your immigration hearing, leaving you to defend yourself with no
knowledge of the law or any adult guidance. Then imagine finding out
that the immigration judge orders you to leave the country and you have
nowhere to go, nobody to help you, and through it all, you're all
alone. This was the plight of Esther--a Honduran victim of abuse,
abandoned by her parents and relatives, and left to face a complex
immigration system at the tender age of 14.
The sad reality is that Esther is not the only child that has
suffered this terrible fate. This is the plight of many young girls and
boys who travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles alone in seek
of refuge in the United States. Some of these children are treated in a
manner that our country usually reserves for criminals, not helpless
victims, like fourteen-year-old Esther.
It is true that Congress last year transferred care, custody, and
placement of unaccompanied alien children from the Department of
Justice to the Department of Health and Human Services to improve the
treatment children receive when encountered at our borders. This is
certainly a big step in the right direction and I commend the
Department of Health and Human Services for taking important steps to
improve the care and custody of these vulnerable children.
Unfortunately, Health and Human Services inherited a system that relied
upon a variety of detention facilities to house children and was given
little legislative direction to implement their new responsibilities.
As a result, some children from repressive regimes or abusive families
continue to fend for themselves in a complex legal and sometimes
punitive system, without knowledge of the English language, with no
adult guidance, and with no legal counsel.
Now is the time for new legislation to complete the positive steps we
have already taken to ensure that unaccompanied alien minors are not
locked up without any legal help or adult guidance. This is why I have
introduced the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2003. It
will ensure minimum standards for the care and custody of unaccompanied
children and require a smooth transfer of minors from the Department of
Homeland Security to the Department of Health and Human Services. It
will also ensure that children receive adult and legal guidance as they
navigate through our immigration system.
Mr. Speaker, no child should be left to fend for herself in a complex
immigration system that even you and I would fear. We need to pass the
Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act. I urge this body to swiftly
consider this important legislation.
____________________
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