{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2025/12/04/bennet-hickenlooper-cortez-masto-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-protect-unaccompanied-migrant-children-reverse-republicans-fees-on-children-seeking-asylum/", "Bennet, Hickenlooper, Cortez Masto, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Protect Unaccompanied Migrant Children, Reverse Republicans\u2019 Fees on Children Seeking Asylum", "2025-12-04", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CO", "Michael F. Bennet", "B001267", "www.bennet.senate.gov", "bennet", "https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and 19 of their Senate Democratic colleagues to introduce the Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act, legislation to reverse the provisions in Republicans\u2019 so-called \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d that harm children seeking safety from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation in their home countries.\n\n\u201cAll too often, our immigration system fails to protect unaccompanied migrant children seeking asylum,\u201d said Bennet. \u201cThis legislation will protect unaccompanied children fleeing violence by reversing cruel provisions in Republicans\u2019 Big Beautiful Bill. I won\u2019t stop pushing the Trump Administration to ensure that these children are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.\u201d\n\n\u201cMAGA Republicans created new fees and recurring charges for unaccompanied children fleeing violence as their cases are stuck being processed,\u201d said Hickenlooper. \u201cIt\u2019s a betrayal to our original promise of justice and freedom. We\u2019re working to stop it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs members of Congress, it\u2019s our duty to stand up for those who can\u2019t stand up for themselves,\u201d said Cortez Masto. \u201cThat includes the unaccompanied children who come to the United States after escaping trafficking and abuse. It\u2019s essential that we reverse the Republican tax law\u2019s cruel provisions and protect these kids.\u201d\n\nThis summer, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans passed the so-called \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d into law, which imposed a new $5,000 Border Apprehension Fee on any child who arrives to the U.S. between ports of entry. The bill also required children to pay a mandatory asylum application fee and new annual asylum maintenance fees for every year their case remains pending in the government\u2019s yearslong backlog. For children fleeing human trafficking and extreme violence, these fees are often impossible to pay.\n\nRepublicans\u2019 One Big Beautiful Bill also provides funding for intrusive body examinations of minors, who are often the victims of abuse and trafficking, and provides funding for deporting unaccompanied children who have not been screened for signs of trafficking or allowed a full review of their case before an immigration judge.\n\nThe Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act would reverse these provisions and protect unaccompanied children by:\n\nExempting unaccompanied children from the following fees:\n\nAsylum fee, employment authorization document fee, annual asylum fee, employment authorization renewal fees, and others;\n\nRepealing the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status fee;\n\nRepealing a provision that funds summary returns of \u201cspecified\u201d unaccompanied children;\n\nRepealing funding for body examinations of children in Customs and Border Protection or Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody;\n\nProhibiting ORR from sharing sponsor information with the Department of Homeland Security or any other federal agency for the purpose of immigration enforcement; and\n\nRefunding fees that have been paid under any of the provisions that have been repealed or amended under this bill.\n\nBennet has consistently advocated for the protection of children in the immigration system. In November, Bennet joined U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and 48 bicameral colleagues to introduce the Restoring Access to Detainees Act, legislation to ensure the Department of Homeland Security allows noncitizens who have been detained to contact their legal counsel and families. In March, Bennet urged the Trump Administration to reinstate critical protections for unaccompanied migrant children following the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Executive Office for Immigration Review\u2019s (EOIR) decision to rescind the 2023 Memorandum on Children\u2019s Cases in Immigration Court and reinstate 2017 guidelines. In March, Bennet also urged the Trump Administration to ensure unaccompanied children in the immigration system receive legal representation. Last year, alongside Senate colleagues, Bennet called on Senate Appropriations leaders to ensure EOIR reports on the implementation of specialized children\u2019s immigration courts. In 2023, Bennet and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) introduced the Immigration Court Efficiency and Children\u2019s Court Act, a bipartisan bill to establish a dedicated Children\u2019s Court within EOIR. The legislation would combat the immigration court backlog and strengthen due process rights for unaccompanied migrant children.\n\nIn addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, and Cortez Masto, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-N.M.), Angus King (I-Maine), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) cosponsored the bill.\n\nThe text of the bill is available HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2025/12/04/bennet-hickenlooper-cortez-masto-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-protect-unaccompanied-migrant-children-reverse-republicans-fees-on-children-seeking-asylum/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.175771165639162, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}