Attorney General Bonta Leads Multistate Coalition in Seeking Enhancements to Unaccompanied Children Program Rule

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today led a multistate coalition letter of 19 attorneys general in response to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule. In the letter, the coalition supports several elements of the proposed rule that provide enhanced protections for unaccompanied immigrant children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), but urges amendments to those provisions that would permit the placement of unaccompanied children in unlicensed facilities.

"As Attorney General, I am committed to ensuring that all children in California are protected and cared for, including immigrant children," said Attorney General Bonta. "California and our state coalition partners welcome nearly half of all immigrant children released from federal immigration custody, and we have a strong interest in protecting their rights and well-being. We commend HHS on the significant steps it has taken with this rule to improve protections for unaccompanied children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. These children become important members of our communities, and it is essential that they are provided with the highest standard of care while in government custody. That’s why we’re asking HHS to further enhance this rule to allow more protections for this vulnerable population." 

 The coalition states have a strong interest in protecting the rights of unaccompanied immigrant children. As of July 2020, the coalition states were home to 88 facilities licensed to care for unaccompanied children in the custody of the ORR. Every year, thousands of children are released from immigration custody and reunified with family members or other adult sponsors who are residents of the coalition states. These children become members of their communities, where they live in their neighborhoods, attend their schools, and grow into adults raising their own families. Nearly half of all children who will be released from immigration custody by the federal government this year will come to the coalition states. Since Fiscal Year 2015, more than 68,000 unaccompanied children have been released to sponsors in California alone.

 In the letter, the attorneys general support the proposed rule’s improvement to certain critical protections for unaccompanied children that are consistent with the Flores Settlement Agreement and the coalition states’ standards for ensuring the rights and well-being of children. These protections include those governing language access, improving access to counsel, guaranteeing access to reproductive healthcare, emphasizing the importance of community-based care, encouraging comprehensive post-release services, and requiring the implementation of positive behavior management strategies. The coalition applauds the inclusion of these increased protections and the effort to create comprehensive regulations to govern the placement and care of unaccompanied children.

 However, the coalition states are concerned with provisions of the proposed rule that would permit the placement of unaccompanied children in unlicensed facilities. The proposed rule would permit unaccompanied children to be housed in facilities that are not state-licensed where a state declines to license facilities that care for unaccompanied childrenand in an emergency or influx. In the letter, the attorneys general urge HHS to amend the Proposed Rule to require that all facilities housing unaccompanied children be state-licensed, including both standard programs and emergency and influx facilities. In the alternative, the coalition states urge HHS to:

• Require that all facilities that house unaccompanied children, including emergency and influx facilities, be state-licensed where licensure for such facilities is available.  
• Require that all facilities that house unaccompanied children within a state’s borders comply with state law and regulations applicable to facilities for the care of dependent children in addition to ORR standards.
• Implement a more comprehensive regime for federal oversight of unlicensed facilities housing unaccompanied children.

The coalition states offer these recommendations in consideration of their compelling interest in and deep concern for the health, safety, and well-being of unaccompanied children, both those currently within their borders and those who will one day become members of their communities. In sending the letter, Attorney General Bonta leads the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.   

A copy of the letter is available here.