Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Representative Dan Goldman (D, NY-10), and Representative Delia C. Ramirez (D, IL-03) in introducing the Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act. This legislation would reverse provisions in the Republican tax law (H.R. 1) that harm unaccompanied children who are seeking safety from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation in their home countries.
“Making a child pay an exorbitant amount of money just to escape human trafficking or violence is beyond cruel—it’s heartless,” said Senator Murray. “The Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act reverses provisions that should have never made it into law and takes an important step to protect the safety of unaccompanied children fleeing the most horrific of situations.”
“As members of Congress, it’s our duty to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “That includes the unaccompanied children who come to the United States after escaping trafficking and abuse. It’s essential that we reverse the Republican tax law’s cruel provisions and protect these kids.”
Passed in July, H.R. 1 imposed a new $5,000 Border Apprehension Fee on any child who arrives to the United States between ports of entry. This law also requires children to pay a mandatory asylum application fee, as well as new annual asylum maintenance fees for every year their case remains pending in the government’s yearslong backlog. For children fleeing human trafficking and extreme violence, these fees are often impossible to pay.
Additionally, H.R. 1 provides funding for intrusive body examinations of minors who are often the victims of abuse and trafficking. H.R. 1 also provides funding for deporting unaccompanied children who have not been screened for signs of trafficking or allowed a full review of their case before an immigration judge.
To reverse these provisions in the Republican tax law and protect unaccompanied children, the Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act would:
- Exempt unaccompanied children from all H.R. 1 fees tied to humanitarian protection, including asylum fees, annual maintenance fees, immigration court fees, and the $5,000 Border Apprehension Fee.
- Eliminate H.R. 1’s fee on abandoned, abused, or neglected children applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
- Repeal the H.R. 1 provision funding deportations of “specified unaccompanied children” without robust trafficking screenings or full review before an immigration judge.
- Repeal H.R. 1 provisions funding intrusive body examinations of children in federal custody.
- Prohibit the use of Office of Refugee Resettlement funds to share children’s sponsor information with the Department of Homeland Security for enforcement purposes.
In addition to Senators Murray and Cortez Masto, the bill is co-sponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The full text of the bill can be found HERE.
Senator Murray has championed comprehensive and humane immigration reform throughout her Senate career, repeatedly pushing for legislative solutions that would offer a fair pathway to citizenship for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in America, including Dreamers, farmworkers, and those with Temporary Protected Status. During Trump’s first administration, Senator Murray helped lead the charge in pushing back against Trump’s appalling treatment of migrant children and families at the southern border—cosponsoring the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act, which would require unaccompanied children and vulnerable individuals to be provided with legal assistance during immigration court proceedings, the Stop Cruelty to Migrant Children Act to end family separations at the border, and legislation to prevent the separation of families at sensitive locations such as schools, religious institutions, and hospitals, among many other efforts.
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