Thread: Refugee Service Questions, Suspend Services,Immigrant Youth

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Questions Recent Decision toSuspend Services for Vulnerable Immigrant Youth
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) questions the recent decision by the Office ofRefugee Resettlement (ORR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tosuspend services for vulnerable immigrant youth and asks for an immediate review of thepractice. This decision leaves children in temporary ORR custody until their 18th birthday whenthey are faced with being placed into an adult detention facility or released to a homeless shelterwithout the necessary support services.
Baltimore, MD (PRWEB
) October 8, 2009 -- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) questions therecent decision by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices (HHS) to suspend services for vulnerable immigrant youth and asks for an immediate review of thepractice. The passage of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of2008 enabled children in ORR custody who have been granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) to beadmitted into a foster care program that would provide them with critical services such as case management,education, mental health counseling and job training. These children have been deemed by the state and ORR tohave been neglected, abused or abandoned by a parent. However, last week ORR informed LIRS that it wouldtemporarily stop admitting these minors into the program due to budgetary constraints. This decision leaveschildren in temporary ORR custody until their 18th birthday when they are faced with being placed into an adultdetention facility or released to a homeless shelter without the necessary support services. Acting LIRS President Anne P. Wilson explains, "When the government grants SIJS to children who have beensubjected to domestic violence, abuse or neglect, the government acknowledges their particular vulnerability andprovides them with a green card and makes them eligible for much needed services. Denying services to theseminors will have a profound and lasting effect on their lives." As a result of this decision, minors in U.S. custody who have already been abandoned, abused and neglected bytheir families face abandonment once again with no possibility of the continued care or services they desperatelyneed. Just this week two young men seeking SIJS protection turned 18 while in ORR custody. One was picked upby the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and placed into an adult immigration detention facility. This is the very same detention system that DHS announced this week is in need of major reform. The other child is being relocated to a local homeless shelter. These young men who want to work hard to rebuild their lives in theUnited States are now left with no home, few rights and little recourse. "For the sake of these migrant youth at risk, we strongly urge HHS to reconsider this decision," states LIRS VicePresident for Protection and Programs Susan Krehbiel. "We further ask that the administration review theimplementation of the law and Congress consider the urgent funding needs of ORR to ensure the protection ofthese vulnerable children. These two young men who turned 18 this week have already aged out of their eligibilityfor the foster care program, but it is not too late for others still in ORR's care."
PRWeb eBooks - Another online visibility tool from PRWeb Each year LIRS serves unaccompanied refugee and immigrant children who arrive to the United States alone,without the protection and the loving care of a parent or guardian. Through its foster care and family reunificationprograms LIRS finds homes for these vulnerable migrant children and provides the support services necessary tohelp them grow up to be healthy, productive adults. Since 1939 LIRS has created welcoming communities for America's newcomers. It is one of the nation's leadingagencies serving refugees and immigrants. The organization resettles refugees, protects migrant children,advocates for just treatment of asylum seekers, seeks alternatives to immigration detention and stands for unity forfamilies fractured by unfair laws. To learn more about LIRS's work of welcome, please visit www.lirs.org


http://www.docstoc.com/docs/12832674/Lu ... rant-Youth

Although these people are 18 years old they are still refered to as children , NOT... My question is what did they do in the first place to be in custody ??? I guess with the class of immigrants we are importing today this is what we get ... A DAMNED TREASON BY THE LIBERALS and LEECHES in D.C...

Our Charity organizations are importing immigrant youth, don't we have enough young people to help already.

What the HECK! They are smuggling under age in my opinion.