Fighting for the American Dream
U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) introduced legislation to ensure transparency, protection, and accountability for all immigrant children in any type of government custody.
“The U.S. government has both a legal and moral obligation to protect children in its custody, it’s that simple,” said Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee. Given the new regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services, she reiterated it was clear that further accountability and oversight were needed to protect immigrant children and ensure that standards of care were set and enforced.
In a video posted on X on June 3, Jayapal, the first South Asian-American Congresswoman, said that significant numbers of children continue to be detained at the border. She said the worst incidents happened during the Trump administration when children were separated from their parents and placed in detention.
Jayapal’s Proposed Legislation
The Bill would establish an ombudsman coordinating with the DHS and DHSS to ensure that children in detention are in the least restrictive circumstances possible. “We know that the mental and emotional toll on children from being put into any kind of detention is just absolutely crippling later in life.”
Jayapal introduced the PROKID ACT after witnessing firsthand the horrors of separation at the border. She was the first member of Congress to visit families and see children held in cages. “I saw exactly what happened,” she said. The reality is that 2000 of the 5000 families separated under immigration policies of the Trump administration, have never been reunited, added Jayapal. Mental health experts at a Judiciary Committee hearing described the trauma that children experience from being separated and placed in a criminal justice system “It’s been haunting me, ” said Jayapal.
She wants a ‘singular focus on the wellbeing of children. “These kids have done nothing. They’re completely innocent,” added Jayapal. “We have to make sure we protect them.”
The PROKID Act
The Protection of Kids in Detention (PROKID) Act would create an independent oversight body to monitor the care of all children in the immigration system.
“In recent years, we’ve seen horrific instances of family separation and even deaths of children in custody. This is completely unacceptable.” In light of new regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services, it is clear that we need further accountability and oversight to protect immigrant children and ensure that not only are standards of care set but that they are enforced,” said Jayapal in a statement released on May 23.
The PROKID Act would create a permanent Office of the Ombudsperson within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to act as an advocate, subject-matter expert, and independent authority responsible for ensuring that the rights afforded to children under relevant statutes are properly applied and enforced.
Immigrant Childrens Rights
Specifically, the legislation would:
- Ensure that immigrant children are held in the least restrictive setting while in immigration custody;
- Empower the Ombudsperson to advocate for the quick, safe, and efficient release of immigrant children from immigration custody whenever possible, including the right to review placement decisions;
- Create an expert advisory committee of immigration law and child protection specialists to report on trends from the field and advise on best practices; and
- Mandate the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ombudsperson and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to facilitate a close working relationship and ensure visibility, real-time communication, and influence policy and procedures for those children in temporary DHS custody.
Jayapal has introduced multiple other bills to protect immigrants, including her Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act which would end the inhumane conditions of detention centers and protect the civil and human rights of immigrants. She has also on multiple occasions called for greater transparency and oversight at immigrant detention centers.
PROKID Sponsors & Supporters
The legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Becca Balint (VT-AL), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), and Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05).
It is also endorsed by the Acacia Center for Justice, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Church World Service, Futures Without Violence, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, National Center for Youth Law, National Education Association, National Immigrant Justice Center, Prevention Institute, Save the Children, Witness At The Border, Women’s Refugee Commission, and Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
