The House Judiciary Committee will be holding a hearing on June 25, 2014, to discuss the recent increase in unaccompanied children (UAC) at the Southwest border – a problem that has reached beyond the capacity of an overburdened immigration system.
The National Immigration Forum submitted the following recommendations to the Committee ahead of its hearing:
Fix our broken immigration system
Ensure that children are not ending up in the wrong hands and avoid trafficking
Children should be guaranteed legal counsel in removal proceedings and subsequent appeals
Incorporate the ‘best interest of the child’ standard in considering each case
Increase funding for the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)
Seek public and private partnerships to provide alternatives to detention