Initiatives Must Effectively Address the Humanitarian Emergency and Protect Vulnerable Children
Statement of Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director, Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Obama administration nearly doubled its request for supplemental funding, from $2 billion to $3.7 billion, in response to the influx of unaccompanied Central American immigrant children to the United States. The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) is concerned that the administration’s specific allocations prioritize enforcement over due process and put child refugees at risk of being deported to countries where they face persecution. NIJC offers an alternative use of resources based on our more than three decades of experience providing legal services to immigrants and refugees, and promoting system-wide change.
While $1.8 billion for the care of unaccompanied immigrant children and $116 million for transportation are needed, we urge the administration to redirect the remaining $988 million funding allocated to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement to legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children, alternatives to detention, and additional immigration judge teams to improve the adjudicatory process. NIJC also recommends re-allocating the $432 million for DHS Customs and Border Patrol Protection to legal orientation programs and to the Department of State for safe repatriation and reintegration programs. Some of these funds should also be reallocated to address the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Increased funding for legal services and immigration judges will allow refugees and other immigrants to meaningfully present their cases, and will also lead to more efficient adjudications. Unaccompanied immigrant children are incapable of navigating our complex immigration legal system alone, and without access to legal services children will not be able to obtain the protection they need and deserve under the law. More money thrown at further militarizing our border and detaining more children will do nothing to help child refugees or to fix this humanitarian emergency. Simultaneously, we must address the root causes of migration and invest in creating opportunities to help these children remain safely and productively in their home countries.