The chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration offered 10 recommendations to members of Congress to foster the protection of unaccompanied migrant children in the United States. The USCCB’s Department of Migration and Refugee Services drafted the recommendations.
“While we are also deeply committed to the well-being of these children prior to and during their time in federal custody,” wrote Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, “the scope of these recommendations reflects the reality that exploitation is most likely to occur when children lack access to support and become isolated from their local communities.”
The prelate’s first recommendation is to “fully fund post-release services and grant ORR [the Office of Refugee Resettlement] authority to provide post-release services whenever it is determined to be in a child’s best interests.” The second is to “clarify ORR’s authority to intervene in cases where a child has already been released to a sponsor and the child’s safety or well-being is at risk.”