Washington Update
October 2002

Going Down to the Wire for Kids
By Merritt Becker, LIRS Policy Advocate

Urgent action is needed now on behalf of unaccompanied immigrant children!

The Senate will soon vote on legislation that would reform the care, treatment and placement of immigrant children who come to the United States alone. The provisions in what was formerly called the "Children's Bill" are now included in Title XII of Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s (D-Conn.) substitute to pending Homeland Security legislation. If passed this legislation will provide significant protection and representation for children who would otherwise have to face custody and removal proceedings alone. Many of you have been advocating for the Children's Bill for over a year. Now we're down to the wire. Let's spare no effort to win this one!

Ask your senators to support Title XII of the Lieberman substitute. For contact information, enter your zip code in the blue box at the top of the right hand column on this page. Communicate these key points when you write or call:

• 1. Oppose any amendment to S2452 that would either strike or change Title XII of the Lieberman substitute; and
  2. Support any amendment that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., might offer to restore the provisions of Title XII, should that become necessary.
• Title XII will create an Office of Children's Services, separating care for the child from enforcement of the law. Unaccompanied children should not be treated as criminals!
• Title XII will protect the best interests of children by providing a guardian ad litem and a court-appointed attorney.
• Title XII would allow the attorney general to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility and removal in compelling circumstances.
• Use your own words and make it personal. If you have any particular experience with foster care, helping children in the legal system, etc., be sure to mention it to show that you know something extra about what this is all about. This helps show your senator why this issue is important to you!

The anti-immigration organization FAIR is flooding senators' offices with calls and letters to strip the unaccompanied alien child protection provisions from Homeland Security legislation. Let your voice be heard louder and clearer than theirs. You care about what happens to kids who come to America alone. Your phone calls and faxes tell your senators that you expect them to care, too.

Read more information on this legislation.

Read past Washington Updates.