Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is demanding the Trump Administration ensures legal representation for children caught up in the immigration system.
Today, Sens. Ossoff and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) led a group of 32 Senators demanding that Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum continue legal services for unaccompanied children caught up in the immigration system as required by law.
Earlier this month, the Trump Administration issued a stop work order to organizations that provide legal services for unaccompanied children. Last week, following public pressure, the order was rescinded.
“Pausing or terminating the provision of legal services to unaccompanied children under this contract runs directly counter to the requirements of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act(TVPRA) and places 26,000 unaccompanied children at increased risk of trafficking, exploitation, and other harm,” Sens. Ossoff and Hirono and the group wrote to Secretaries Kennedy and Burgum.“The TVPRA, passed by Congress in 2008 on a bipartisan basis, requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure, to the greatest extent practicable, that all unaccompanied children have counsel to represent them in legal proceedings and protect them from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking.”
Sens. Ossoff and Hirono are joined by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Angus King (I-ME), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).
According to a report by the Guardian this month, the organizations affected by the previous stop work order provide legal counsel for around 26,000 unaccompanied minors.
“Cutting off access to legal services makes it more likely that the government will lose track of unaccompanied children, given the challenges such children would face in independently appearing for immigration court hearings, submitting address updates, or otherwise communicating with immigration authorities,” Sens. Ossoff, Hirono, and the group continued. “Not only will this make children more vulnerable to trafficking, but it will also create further inefficiencies in an already backlogged immigration court system.”
Sen. Ossoff continues working to protect the rights of vulnerable children.
Last week, Sen. Ossoff sounded the alarm about the Trump Administration’s decision to house migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Federal prisons already overcrowded and understaffed nationwide, including FCI Atlanta.
Last month, Sens. Ossoff and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the bipartisan Generate Recordings of All Child Protective Interviews Everywhere (GRACIE Act) to bring transparency and improve outcomes for children involved with Child Protective Services, including Georgia’s Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS).
Last year, Sen. Ossoff, as Chairman of the Senate Human Rights Subcommittee, released a 64-page report detailing the findings from his Subcommittee’s 13-month investigation into the safety of foster children, which uncovered pervasive abuse and neglect of vulnerable children in Georgia, including incidents with “hidden foster care” placements.
Click here to read Sens. Ossoff and Hirono’s inquiry with the Departments of HHS and Interior.
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