Democratic U.S. lawmakers announced legislation on Monday that would provide lawyers for thousands of undocumented minors streaming across the border into the United States, saying forcing children to face deportation proceedings alone goes against fundamental American values.
“It is a fantasy to believe that they have a fair shot in immigration proceedings without counsel,” New York U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries told a news conference.
Jeffries and the other House of Representatives Democrats introducing the bill said as many as 40 to 50 percent of the undocumented children would have legitimate claims to remain in the United States under current law, citing studies by the United Nations and other agencies.
They also said their bill could save some $2 billion a year because timely immigration proceedings would eliminate the need to house thousands of children for months at a time.
From October to June 15, 52,000 unaccompanied children arrived on the U.S. border with Mexico, according to the Obama administration. Most are fleeing gang and drug violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
A similar provision to provide legal counsel for children and mentally impaired immigrants was included in a comprehensive immigration bill that passed the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate last year. But the measure has stalled in the House, where Republicans hold a majority of seats.
There was no immediate indication that the new bill would make any more progress, given deep partisan divisions on the immigration issue in the United States.
We are trillions of dollars in debt, but Democrats want to give a lawyer to every single one of the tens of thousands of illegal immigrant children (and counting) that crosses our borders? If you needed an example of how out of touch with reality Democrats are, well, here you go — all these leeches can think about is how many votes this will get them. It’s pathetic.