WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the United States House of Representatives passed a dangerous and destructive budget bill, which will obstruct access to life-saving protection, herald an era of mass incarceration including families with small children, and return unaccompanied immigrant children to harm and trafficking. The passed legislation also contains unprecedented deep cuts to major programs that support children’s health, development, and well-being. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk where he is expected to sign it.
The Budget Reconciliation Bill includes:
- Authorizes the indefinite incarceration of children and families in ICE family detention centers, in violation of the Flores Settlement,
- Unlawfully eviscerates the existing legal framework of care for children, long-ago enshrined in a bipartisan law, which will increase children’s risk of trafficking and exploitation, and pave the way for children’s forced return to violence without adequate screening or safeguards,
- Funds government officials to conduct invasive, physical searches of children’s bodies for “gang-related markings,” in furtherance of this administration’s criminalization of all immigrants, including small children,
- Shares children’s private information with ICE for enforcement purposes, and
- Stands up an unprecedented fee structure, charging children and families to seek protection.
Thanks to the passage of this bill, immigrant children and their families will face constant surveillance and threat of family separation. Children will be left behind while parents and caregivers are deported with no access to justice. All children will lose access to essential services from healthcare to food aid, to cuts to our public schools. Meanwhile, billionaires will reap tax benefits. Congress should be ashamed for allowing such a cruel and irresponsible bill to pass,” said Mary Miller Flowers, Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs for the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
“This budget bill invests billions of taxpayer dollars into family separation, prolonged child detention, and child exploitation,” said Melissa Adamson, Attorney at the National Center for Youth Law. “I think the vast majority of this country would agree that our government should not fund policies that profoundly and potentially irreversibly harm children in this way.”
“The administration’s reckless budget bill would spend billions of taxpayer dollars to rip families apart, allow the indefinite detention of children and families seeking safety in harmful conditions, all while stripping lifesaving supports from millions of people who call the U.S home. Protracted detention of children is not protection. Child welfare experts and immigration advocates strongly oppose this bill, which fails to live up to our national commitment to treat all children with dignity and care,” said Shaina Aber, Executive Director of the Acacia Center for Justice.
“By passing this bill, Congress and the administration will use hundreds of billions of dollars to jail, surveil, and criminalize Black, Brown, and Indigenous families seeking protection in the United States. As with other egregious chapters from this country’s history, the harm will reverberate for many years to come. All of this harm is in service of further enriching the super-rich and private prison corporations, while codifying the racist anti-immigrant narrative that has already terrorized immigrant communities. Today is a shameful day. We must fight for a better tomorrow—one that centers, rather than imperils, children’s rights and dignity,” said Azadeh Erfani, Policy Director for the National Immigrant Justice Center.
“The proposal to levy massive fees on potential sponsors of unaccompanied children is nothing less than a policy of family separation. These kids are fleeing violence, persecution, and desperation and should be swiftly released from custody, provided a safe and stable home placement, and access to trauma-informed services such that they can learn, grow and thrive.” Said Christine Lemonda, Senior Director of Children’s Services at Church World Service, “CWS unequivocally rejects any legislative proposal that aims to balance its budget through exploitation of families and children seeking humanitarian protection.”
“Nearly every word of this legislation puts politics above protections for the most vulnerable among us, including unaccompanied children fleeing war, trafficking, human rights abusers and other child predators, and other dangers. This turns back the clock on decades of bipartisan consensus about the need to keep unaccompanied kids safe and out of the hands of those who exploit their inherent vulnerability for financial gain. Just as appalling are the bill’s provisions that permit strip searches of minors at the border and in government care, fund the indefinite detention of families, establish a pay-to-play legal protection system, and impose new requirements that threaten to prevent family unity. For example, no child should be expected to pay $5,000 for access to protections under our justice system.” Said Wendy Young, President of Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), “While this is a dark chapter in the work to protect unaccompanied children from further harm, it cannot be the end of the story. Congressional leaders must take immediate action to introduce legislation to reverse the harmful language contained in this bill and restore fundamental protections for unaccompanied children seeking safety.”