A new bill would prevent immigration authorities from arresting people who sponsor illegal immigrant children amid reports that say the practice is occurring.
CNN reported on the bill that will be introduced Tuesday by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and at least 12 other Democrats. The network claimed that Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., is also on board with the legislation.
The bill reads, in part: "The Secretary of Homeland Security may not use information provided by an unaccompanied alien child or information initially obtained by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make a suitability determination … or a secure facility determination … for the purpose of apprehending, detaining, or removing from the United States … the unaccompanied alien child [or] the proposed custodian or current custodian."
The legislation is aimed at releasing minors who are being held in child detention facilities and whose parents are not in the U.S. The lawmakers behind the bill don't want the government taking into consideration the legal status of either the child or the person who comes forward to take him or her.
They also don't want either party taken into custody based solely on their immigration status.
Wasserman Schultz released a statement in September after hearing about reports that illegal aliens were being arrested at child detention centers.
"The Trump Administration's shameful use of an overwhelmed immigrant child welfare system as a tool for mass deportation is beyond heartless," she said.
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