In the US, Congress is considering removing legal support for unaccompanied migrant children who arrive in the country. NBC reports that organizations that currently provide this support say leaving them without an attorney would be “catastrophic,” including for victims of human trafficking.
Dismantling protections for the most vulnerable
A proposal put forward in a House committee seeks to remove funding that provides unaccompanied child migrants legal support to navigate the immigration process. Subsequently, groups that have been struggling to help these migrant children said such a move would be disastrous for a group already extremely vulnerable to exploitation.
Jennifer Podkul, vice president for policy and advocacy at Kids in Need of Defense, said:
“This bill not only makes it impossible for children to access protection in the United States, but it would make the government responsible for putting children in even more compromised and dangerous conditions.”
The proposed change would reverse what experts called “impressive” progress against human trafficking over the past 25 years. The White House, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the House Judiciary Committee did not respond to requests for comments.
Lay-offs, lawsuits and a temporary reprieve
The US administration already tried to stop the funding for children’s legal support, abruptly shutting it off in March. Accordingly, the shutdown led to mass layoffs. It also led to a rush to find alternative help for the children, including some victims of trafficking. Several groups sued, leading to an injunction to force the resumption of funding. However, at the last moment, they managed to reach a shorter, modified agreement. But how long the funding will last is an open question.
Jean Bruggeman, executive director of the Freedom Network, said :
“(The new measure would be) a huge gift to traffickers and an increase in vulnerability for children and families in the United States that will lead to more abuse and exploitation.”
Markedly, the new measure omits all money for attorneys for unaccompanied children. This represents legal support Congress has paid for since 2009, say immigration and anti-trafficking groups that reviewed the legislation. The proposal also includes a number of new fees. Fees for unaccompanied minors and their US guardians. On the list of fees is a sponsorship fee of up to $8,500. Consequently, this fee is especially concerning from a trafficking point of view. Fees such as these can lead to debt bondage between children and their “sponsors.”
It is well documented that unaccompanied migrant children are more vulnerable to exploitation. Over the past two years, thousands of unaccompanied migrant children have ended up in some of the most dangerous jobs. We need to do MORE to protect children from exploitation, not less.
Join Freedom United in calling on the US government to stop rolling back legal protections for unaccompanied migrant children and labor protections for children all over the US.
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