Hirono, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Reverse Harmful Provisions in Republican Tax Law and Protect Unaccompanied Immigrant Children

WASHINGTON, D.C. -U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), U.S. Representatives Dan Goldman (D-NY), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), and 18 colleagues in the Senate in introducing the Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act. This legislation would reverse provisions in the Republican tax law (the "Big Ugly Bill") that harm unaccompanied children who are seeking safety from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation in their home countries.

Passed in July, Republicans' "Big Ugly Bill" imposed a new $5,000 Border Apprehension Fee on those who arrives to the United States between ports of entry. This law also requires individuals 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, their tax bill provides funding for intrusive body examinations of minors who are often the victims of abuse and trafficking. It 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 Hirono and Cortez Masto, the legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), 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), Patty Murray (D-WA), 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 legislation is available here.

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