Hispanic Caucus to Obama: Ensure migrant children receive due process
In a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus urged President Barack Obama to not make any changes to…
Two young girls watch a World Cup soccer match on a television from their holding area where hundreds of mostly Central American children are being processed and held at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center on June 18, 2014, in Nogales, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
In a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus urged President Barack Obama to not make any changes to a 2008 anti-trafficking law that details how the U.S. government addresses undocumented minors.
They were referring to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. Under the law, children from Central America who are apprehended at the border are transferred to the care of the Department of Health and Human Services while they wait for their immigration cases to be heard before an immigration judge. In contrast, children from Mexico or Canada are usually returned to their home countries right away.
Republicans say they support amending the law to treat Central American children the same as those who come from Mexico and Canada. Obama has indicated he wants to make changes to the 2008 law in order to expedite the removal of unaccompanied minors from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
SEE ALSO: Women helping child migrants as they make their way to the US
But CHC members said changing the 2008 law would undermine the due process rights of unaccompanied minors. They urged Obama on Wednesday to not give in to Republicans demand to change it.
CHC Members reaffirmed their opposition to any changes to the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act that would roll back due process protections for children from Central America, CHC members said in a joint statement following the meeting. The Caucus encouraged the President to use existing authorities to ensure children are receiving hearings quickly without denying due process.
CHC members speak to reporter after their meeting with Obama. (Twitter/@HispanicCaucus)
Wednesdays meeting also included Vice President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell.
The meeting came a week after Obama sent members of Congress a $3.7 billion request for emergency funding to address the flood of unaccompanied minors trying to cross the nations Southwest border.
According to the White House, Obama emphasized the urgency for members of Congress to approve his $3.7 billion supplemental request during the meeting with CHC members.
The supplemental request represents a balanced approach to increasing our law enforcement capacity, ensuring we have resources to offer migrants due process as required by law, and also helping our Central American partners deal with some of the challenges they face back home, the White House said in a statement.
SEE ALSO: KKK uses unaccompanied minors crisis to recruit members
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said he felt energized and optimistic after the meeting. He said CHC members told Obama they will work with him to get the resources needed to respond to the unaccompanied minors crisis but that they would not support any budget request that undermines the legal protection for children.
The CHC told the President we will fight for the rights of these children under the law and a lot of other Democrats will stand with us, Gutierrez said in a statement.
Immigration reform was also a topic of discussion during Wednesdays meeting.
CHC members expressed their frustration with the refusal by House Republicans to move constructively on the Senate-approved immigration reform bill. Meanwhile, the White House stated that Obama reaffirmed that he is focused on fixing as much of our broken immigration system as he can within the confines of the law.
The President made clear that regardless of the steps he takes through administrative action, nothing replaces the need for Congress to pass commonsense immigration reform, and he will continue to make the case for swift action by Congress on a comprehensive bill, the White House stated.
