Since October 2013, an estimated 63,000 unaccompanied
children have been apprehended at the U.S./Mexico border, the majority of whom
are fleeing rampant violence and poverty in Honduras, El Salvador, and
Guatemala. [i] This number has more than doubled since last year. We must leverage
emergency resources both to care for children and provide them
access to appropriate legal services. Prior to leaving for the August Recess, the
House passed H.R. 5230, which would only minimally fund the care of children
and take away the protections afforded these children under the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act (TVPRA).
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| Daily, children like these are apprehended by Border Patrol. Photo source: AP |
Now that Congress is back in session, the Senate may vote on
H.R. 5230. Weakening the protections of the TVPRA in exchange for new resources
is a false choice, especially when many of these resources further militarize
the border. Instead, we must uphold the law that grants migrant children access
to social services and legal counsel.
Tell the Senate to
support funding to care for unaccompanied children, while opposing H.R. 5230
and any other legislation that would weaken the protections for unaccompanied
children provided by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPRA)
Background on the
TVPRA:
The TVPRA, passed in 2000,
provides certain protections to unaccompanied children arriving in the U.S.
from noncontiguous countries. Under the TVPRA, the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS), rather than Homeland Security, has custody of the
child. HHS is required to place the
child according to his or her best interests, which often means a family
placement. A child is then screened for his or her claim to humanitarian
protection in a safe setting by persons trained to interview children.
Under H.R. 5230, a child would
remain in detention and immigration officers, not trained social
workers, would question him or her about trauma and possible humanitarian
claims. Moreover, this bill requires a child to have a deportation hearing
within fourteen days, giving him or her no time to prepare a case or get access
to attorney. If this bill becomes law,
children will not be afforded meaningful hearings and they will be deported
back to danger, exploitation and death. One youth was shot dead hours after
being deported back to San Pedro Sula, Honduras . [ii]
We must oppose changes in the law that would weaken the
protections given to unaccompanied children. In addition, we must support
additional funding to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to deal with the
humanitarian crisis at the border. Before leaving for
August Recess, the House of Representatives voted on a supplemental
funding bill that beefs up border security instead of supporting the agencies
most in need of additional funding—the ones that are providing
for the basic needs of children who are fleeing widespread violence in
Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
God calls us as Christians to welcome the stranger and to
love our neighbor. Central American families, our neighbors to the South, are
showing up at our border, seeking refuge from great harm. We have yet to act to
protect them.
The 217th General Assembly of the PC(USA), in a
renewal of our call to love our neighbor, stated, “We affirm the PC(USA)’s
commitment to providing sanctuary to anyone in need of safe space, food or
shelter.” Keeping the Trafficking Victims Protection Act intact and funding
agencies that meet the needs of these children are important ways to do this.
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[ii] “In Honduras, U.S. Deportees Seek to Journey North Again,
LA Times” : http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-honduras-deported-youths-20140816-story.html
