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A Landmark in Protection of Refugee Children: Women's Commission Urges Support for Unaccompanied Ali

New York, NY

The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children today announced its strong support for the "Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2003" (S.1129). The bill would greatly expand services for the 5,000 children who arrive alone in the United States each year.

"This bipartisan legislation, under the leadership of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would for the first time ensure that children receive the assistance they need to obtain refugee protection or other relief from deportation," according to Wendy Young, director of government relations.

S. 1129 would require that children under age 18 be represented by counsel in their immigration proceedings. Currently, less than half of unaccompanied children are assisted by attorneys despite the life-or-death decisions that are frequently made in their cases. The bill emphasizes the use of pro bono counsel at no expense to the government. "In recent years, we have witnessed a tremendous outpouring of support from the legal community with lawyers stepping forward to offer free legal services to unaccompanied children," Young said. "The bill will build on this remarkable resource and ensure that such representation is consistently available."

S. 1129 will also establish an innovative pilot program to test the appointment of guardians ad litem for children in immigration proceedings. Guardians with expertise in child welfare would facilitate the child's participation in the court proceedings. Young commented, "It's shocking to see children as young as 18 months old appear before an immigration judge with no one to help them. Counsel and guardians would not only render the proceedings more humane and child-friendly, they would also make them more efficient, as judges could better ascertain the child's eligibility for relief."

Many of the children who arrive alone in the United States each year have been forced to flee their homelands to escape armed conflict and human rights violations such as sexual slavery, child marriages, forced prostitution, conscription as child soldiers, trafficking, child abuse, and female genital mutilation. Traumatized by both their displacement and past abuse, these children struggle to obtain asylum protection in an immigration system that is poorly designed to address their needs.

Last year, Congress took a first but significant step toward addressing the needs of unaccompanied children by transferring their custody from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now the Department of Homeland Security) to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an agency with decades of experience working with vulnerable refugee children.

"By enacting S. 1129, Congress will close the protection gaps that have in the past sacrificed the protection of these very vulnerable youngsters," Young said. "It would establish a system to provide appropriate care and assistance to children to ensure that those who should be returned to their homelands can do so quickly and safely and those who cannot return are given a chance at a new life in the United States."