Help Refugee Children Get a Fair Hearing – Pass H.R. 1172

Dear Representative,

I am writing to ask you to support H.R. 1172, the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2005.

Each year more than 7,000 refugee children from around the world arrive in the US without their parents. Many of these children have been forced to flee armed conflict, human rights abuses or social turmoil in their native countries. These children have suffered terribly before reaching our shores - orphaned or separated from parents and relatives, uprooted from their homes, some have been forced into child soldiering, prostitution, servitude, or sexual slavery. Once in the US, these children are often not able to defend themselves in the immigration court system designed for adults, and too many are deported back to the dangerous places they were forced to flee.

The Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2005 will make sure these children don't fall through the cracks when they reach the United States. This bill would provide guidance to the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the Justice Department, and the State Department on how to care for and treat unaccompanied alien children when they encounter them.

The bill would establish minimum standards for the custody of unaccompanied alien children; require family reunification where appropriate; establish a mechanism and infrastructure for providing pro bono legal representation for these children in their immigration matters; and enable child welfare professionals to act as guardians and make recommendations based upon the best interests of each child.

Please help protect these vulnerable children by co-sponsoring and supporting the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2005.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]