A bipartisan bill set to be introduced this week will treat unaccompanied immigrant children from central America the same as minors from Mexico – a legislative attempt meant to get at the root of the current crisis overwhelming the U.S. southern border.
The measure, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), calls on unaccompanied children who may be eligible to make a legal claim to stay in the United States – for example, asylum – to make that case in immigration court within seven days after being screened by Health and Human Services officials, according to a summary provided Monday by Cornyn’s office.
If a judge decides that a child can pursue their legal claim – a determination that has to be made within 72 hours – the child will be allowed to stay in the United States with a sponsor while their case winds its way through the courts. Otherwise, the children will be sent back to their home country.
Cuellar and Cornyn’s legislation calls for 40 new immigration court judges and outlines several responsibilities for HHS – conduct background checks on the sponsors who will be caring for the child, make “all efforts” to find legal aid for the child, and provide them with shelter while they await their initial appearances in immigration court.
And unaccompanied children who are already living somewhere in the United States under the care of a family member or guardian will be able to go through the expedited court process, according to the summary.
The measure, which will also call for a border-security plan, is expected to be formally introduced Tuesday.
Congressional Republicans have insisted that, at a minimum, lawmakers need to amend the 2008 anti-trafficking law – that, in practice, makes it harder to deport children from countries other than Mexico or Canada — in order to gain GOP support for additional funding requested by President Barack Obama to respond to the border crisis.
But many Democrats on both ends of the Capitol have said they will fight any changes to the law, drafted at a time when unaccompanied migrant children were coming in far fewer numbers.fonte Politico.com
