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Tweet[IWS] CRS: UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN--LEGAL ISSUES: ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS [18 July 2014]
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School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
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Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Unaccompanied Alien Children—Legal Issues: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Kate M. Manuel, Legislative Attorney
Michael John Garcia, Legislative Attorney
July 18, 2014
http://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43623.pdf?
[full-text, 27 pages]
Summary
Recent reports about the increasing number of alien minors apprehended at the U.S. border
without a parent or legal guardian have prompted numerous questions about so-called
unaccompanied alien children (UACs). Some of these questions pertain to the numbers of
children involved, their reasons for coming to the United States, and current and potential
responses of the federal government and other entities to their arrival. Other questions concern
the interpretation and interplay of various federal statutes and regulations, administrative and
judicial decisions, and settlement agreements pertaining to alien minors. This report addresses the
latter questions, providing general and relatively brief answers to 14 frequently asked questions
regarding UACs.
Some of the questions and answers in the report provide basic definitions and background
information relevant to discussions of UACs, such as the legal definition of unaccompanied alien
child; the difference between being a UAC and having Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status;
the terms and enforcement of the Flores settlement agreement; and why UACs encountered at a
port of entry—as some recent arrivals have been—are not turned away on the grounds that they
are inadmissible. Other questions and answers explore which federal agencies have primary
responsibility for maintaining custody of alien children without immigration status; removal
proceedings against such children; the release of alien minors from federal custody; the “best
interest of the child” standard; and whether UACs could obtain asylum due to gang violence in
their home countries. Yet other questions and answers address whether UACs have a right to
counsel at the government’s expense; their ability under the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations to have consular officials of their home country notified of their detention; and whether
UACs are eligible for inclusion in the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) initiative.
A separate report, CRS Report R43599, Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview, by Lisa
Seghetti, Alison Siskin, and Ruth Ellen Wasem, addresses the recent surge in the number of
UACs encountered at the U.S. border with Mexico, as well as how UACs who are apprehended
by immigration officials are processed and treated. Other CRS reports discuss the circumstances
in other countries that some see as contributing to UACs’ unauthorized migration to the United
States. These include CRS Report RL34112, Gangs in Central America, by Clare Ribando
Seelke; CRS Report R41731, Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and
Policy Issues for Congress, by Peter J. Meyer and Clare Ribando Seelke; CRS Report R43616, El
Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations, by Clare Ribando Seelke; CRS Report R42580,
Guatemala: Political, Security, and Socio-Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations, by Maureen
Taft-Morales; and CRS Report RL34027, Honduras: Background and U.S. Relations, by Peter J.
Meyer.
Contents
Definitions and Background ............................................................................................................ 1
What is an unaccompanied alien child? .................................................................................... 1
What is the difference between being a UAC and having Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status? ........................................ 2
What is the Flores Settlement Agreement? ............................................................................... 3
Why aren’t UACs encountered at ports of entry turned away as inadmissible? ....................... 5
Custody, Control, and Enforcement ................................................................................................. 6
Which federal agencies have primary responsibility for maintaining custody of alien children without immigration status? .................... 6
May children without immigration status be placed in removal proceedings? ......................... 8
Are children without immigration status eligible for relief from removal? ............................ 10
May children without immigration status be released from DHS or HHS custody? ............... 12
What is the “best interest of the child” standard, and how does it apply to immigration detention and removal decisions? ........ 14
Can UACs obtain asylum due to gang violence in their home countries? .............................. 15
How would considering UACs for admission as refugees—instead of asylum—change things? ........................... 17
Rights, Privileges, and Benefits ..................................................................................................... 19
Do UACs have a right to counsel at the government’s expense in removal proceedings? ............................................... 19
Does Section 292 of the INA bar the federal government from paying for counsel for UAC? ............................................. 21
Are there legal requirements concerning consular notification and access when an
alien child is taken into federal custody? ............................................................................. 21
Are UACs eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals? ............................................ 23
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 24
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