{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases/hirono-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-reverse-harmful-provisions-in-republican-tax-law-and-protect-unaccompanied-immigrant-children", "Hirono, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Reverse Harmful Provisions in Republican Tax Law and Protect Unaccompanied Immigrant Children", "2025-12-03", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "HI", "Mazie K. Hirono", "H001042", "www.hirono.senate.gov", "hirono", "https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), U.S. Representatives Dan Goldman (D-NY), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), and 18 colleagues in the Senate in introducing the Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act. This legislation would reverse provisions in the Republican tax law (the \u201cBig Ugly Bill\u201d) that harm unaccompanied children who are seeking safety from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation in their home countries.\n\nPassed in July, Republicans\u2019 \u201cBig Ugly Bill\u201d imposed a new $5,000 Border Apprehension Fee on those who arrives to the United States between ports of entry. This law also requires individuals to pay a mandatory asylum application fee, as well as 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\nAdditionally, their tax bill provides funding for intrusive body examinations of minors who are often the victims of abuse and trafficking. It also 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\nTo reverse these provisions in the Republican tax law and protect unaccompanied children, the Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act would:\n\nExempt 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.\n\nEliminate H.R. 1\u2019s fee on abandoned, abused, or neglected children applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.\n\nRepeal the H.R. 1 provision funding deportations of \u201cspecified unaccompanied children\u201d without robust trafficking screenings or full review before an immigration judge.\n\nRepeal H.R. 1 provisions funding intrusive body examinations of children in federal custody.\n\nProhibit the use of Office of Refugee Resettlement funds to share children\u2019s sponsor information with the Department of Homeland Security for enforcement purposes.\n\nIn addition to Senators Hirono and Cortez Masto, the legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).\n\nThe full text of the legislation 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.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases/hirono-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-reverse-harmful-provisions-in-republican-tax-law-and-protect-unaccompanied-immigrant-children"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8459426462650299, "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"}