[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 105 (Friday, July 13, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE HELP SEPARATED FAMILIES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 13, 2012

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce the Help 
Separated Families Act. This legislation proposes common sense 
solutions to keep families united and reduce the number of children in 
foster care as a result of immigration enforcement action.
  During the first half of last year alone, more than 46,000 parents of 
U.S. citizen children were deported from the United States. In the wake 
of their parents' removal, a growing number of children have been 
placed in foster care and left to languish, or worse yet, have been 
separated permanently from their families when their parents' rights 
are terminated. It is estimated that over 5,000 children in at least 22 
states are currently living in foster care as a result of immigration 
enforcement policies.
  As parental deportation and detention rates have risen in recent 
years, the devastating impact on families has increased. Mothers like 
Encarnacion Bail Romero, who was apprehended in a federal immigration 
raid in 2007 and torn from her then-seven-month son, often face 
insurmountable barriers to family reunification. Ms. Romero, a native 
of Guatemala, had her parental rights terminated while in federal 
custody after a judge ruled that ``illegally smuggling herself into the 
country is not a lifestyle that can provide any stability for the 
child.'' Her son Carlitos was adopted out against her will to a new 
family who now calls him Jameson, and Ms. Romero has not seen him in 
approximately five years.
  What this case and so many more like it tell us is that, in the U.S., 
immigration status in itself has become grounds to permanently separate 
families. This is absolutely, unquestionably inhumane and 
unacceptable--particularly for a country that values family and 
fairness so highly.
  The bond that exists between children and parents is not weakened by 
country of origin or immigration status. Undocumented parents love 
their children and want the best for them as all parents do, yet our 
broken child welfare and immigration systems undermine the best 
interests of their families. The Help Separated Families Act helps 
address this heartbreaking issue.
  To ensure more children are cared for by family members, my bill 
prohibits immigration status from disqualifying a parent, legal 
guardian, or relative from placement consideration. While current law 
allows undocumented individuals to become a foster or adoptive parent, 
our child welfare system continues to be biased against undocumented 
caregivers, as evidenced by a 12-year-old boy in Michigan who has spent 
two full years in foster care with strangers after both of his parents 
were deported. Even though his aunt and uncle sought custody, they were 
denied by the child welfare agency on the basis of their immigration 
status.
  The Help Separated Families Act also facilitates family unity by 
prohibiting states from petitioning to terminate parental rights based 
on the deportation or detention of a parent, provided certain 
conditions have been met. This provision protects the legal rights of 
parents and prevents child welfare agencies from unfairly, 
unnecessarily, and permanently separating children from their parents.
  Our broken immigration system has torn apart families and taken a 
terrible toll on communities. I ask my colleagues to join me in doing 
our part to keep families together by supporting the Help Separated 
Families Act.

                          ____________________