CHILDREN AT RISK hosted a press conference last Thursday to address the surge of
unaccompanied minor children entering the United States.
The message was simple: This is not an immigration issue; this is a child safety issue.
CHILDREN AT RISK’s CEO, Dr. Robert Sanborn; Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia; Texas State Senator Sylvia Garcia;
Texas State Representative Ana Hernandez; and an attorney from Tahirih Justice Center, Samantha Del Bosque, gave statements highlighting the humanitarian issues. Starting off the conference, Dr. Sanborn outlined the problem: More than 60,000 children are predicted to enter the United States this year. A majority of these children are from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and they are fleeing pervasive gang violence or abuse in the home. The problem is so prevalent that countries like Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Belize are also seeing an increase in the number of children from these countries seeking asylum. Dr. Sanborn stressed that this is a child safety issue that affects the Houston community. He called for community partners to work together to ensure that these children are treated with dignity and can benefit from the available protections they are eligible for under federal law.
Sheriff Garcia focused on the law enforcement and safety issues: These unaccompanied children are vulnerable, and we need to ensure that they do not become prey to human trafficking or other criminal entities that seek to exploit them. He did not care where the children came from; if they arrived in Harris County, he and his department were going to protect them. Senator Garcia called for better collaboration between state and federal officials in order to make sure that children do not slip through the cracks. Representative Hernandez called for legislative reform that will ensure that all children who qualify for federal protection benefit from that protection by changing the definition of dependency in Texas for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) purposes to match the federal definition of dependency. Jurisdiction over SIJS cases in the federal law continues till the child is 21 years of age, but ends in Texas at age 18. The age of jurisdiction for SIJS cases must be changed in Texas to match federal law.
Finally, Ms. Del Bosque discussed the importance of the issue and stressed the need for adequate legal representation. She explained that young children seeking protection are subjected to a long, arduous legal process, often times without representation. She gave the example of a five-year-old she once represented. The judge in the case asked Ms. Del Bosque where her client was, and when she pointed to the child, the judge was shocked. Ms. Del Bosque has represented children as young as two in cases to gain SIJS. In order for these children to have a fair chance at justice, they need legal representation.
All of the speakers stressed the same point: These are kids coming across the border, alone, and they need protection. The state and federal governments need to work together to make sure that these kids are not lost in the system, and the kids that qualify for federal protection should get the chance to benefit from that protection. These kids are fleeing violence and abuse and should finally get the opportunity to feel safe and actually enjoy their childhoods.