Statement for the Senate Homeland and Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on “The 2014 Humanitarian Crisis at our Border: A Review of the Government’s Response to Unaccompanied Minors One Year Later”

The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the Senate Homeland and Security and Governmental Affairs committee for a July 7, 2015 hearing on “The 2014 Humaniatarian Crisis at our Border: A Review of the Government’s Response to Unaccompanied Minors One Year Later.” The statement highlights our revised report, A Guide to Children Arriving at the Border: Laws, Policies and Responses (June 2015), which explains why children are fleeing their homes in Central America, what happens to the children once they are in U.S. custody, and what the government has done in response. The statement also explains the legal protections that children are afforded in the U.S. and explains that many protections for children fall under the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). Ultimately, the statement urges Congress to strengthen protections for vulnerable immigrants and to work to comprehensively reform our outdated immigration system. The statement also discusses family detention and raises issues with many polciies and procedures in these facilities.