WASHINGTON – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) backed two bills to protect immigrant youth, including unaccompanied children and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) recipients from harmful policies that subject them to hefty asylum fees and put them in years of legal limbo.

“If we’re a country that values families, then we shouldn’t be subjecting children to extra fines or forcing them to jump through hoops just to find safety,” said Senator Gallego. “That’s why I’m supporting these bills to protect unaccompanied youth escaping trafficking and abuse from the cruel provisions in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill and help them move faster toward permanent legal status. The safety and well-being of children should always come first.”

The Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act would reverse provisions in H.R. 1—the One Big Beautiful Bill—that harm unaccompanied children who are seeking safety from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation in their home countries.

Specifically, the bill would:

  • Exempt unaccompanied children from all H.R. 1 fees tied to humanitarian protection, including asylum fees, annual maintenance fees, immigration court fees, and the $5,000 Border Apprehension Fee.  
  • Eliminate H.R. 1’s fee on abandoned, abused, or neglected children applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.  
  • Repeal the H.R. 1 provision funding deportations of “specified unaccompanied children” without robust trafficking screenings or full review before an immigration judge.  
  • Repeal H.R. 1 provisions funding intrusive body examinations of children in federal custody.
  • Prohibit the use of Office of Refugee Resettlement funds to share children’s sponsor information with the Department of Homeland Security for enforcement purposes.

The Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act would exempt SIJS recipients from employment-based visa caps and ensure faster, permanent protection for eligible children.

Specifically, the bill would:

  • Remove SIJS recipients from employment-based visa backlogs and per-country caps that currently delay access to permanent residency.
  • Help ensure faster access to lawful permanent status for children who have already been approved for humanitarian protection by U.S. courts.

Senator Gallego has consistently stood up for immigrant youth, including Dreamers, in the Senate:

  • In September, Senator Gallego demanded answers from DHS on the agency’s targeting and arrest of Dreamers.  
  • In July, Senator Gallego reintroduced the Fight for the American Dream Act, which allows DACA participants to serve in the United States military and provides them a pathway toward U.S. citizenship after their service.  
  • In June, Gallego joined 40 Senate colleagues in urging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to resume processing DACA applications nearly three months after a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that limited a nationwide injunction to Texas.
  • In May, Senator Gallego introduced a plan to address the broken state of America’s border and immigration system. Pillar four of the plan emphasizes providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and long-term undocumented residents who contribute to our communities.