Advocacy Update (continued)
December 2006

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Looking Ahead to the 110th Congress
By Milt Roney, LIRS Director for Legislative Affairs

Unaccompanied Children
Introduction of a bill for the protection of unaccompanied refugee and migrant children is expected early in the 110th Congress. Last December the Senate passed a version of this bill, but it never came to a vote in the House. Prospects for passage seem better in this session, but continued advocacy will be needed to convince Congress once again that “kids can’t wait.”

Appropriations
Maintaining critical funding for the most vulnerable refugee and migrant families and children will remain difficult as Congress tries to reign in spending. Expansion may be possible in some areas such as funding for the Legal Orientation Program (LOP), which provides pro-bono immigration orientation for asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants in immigration detention. LOP is a win-win government program, enhancing both justice and efficiency for those in detention.

Still Caught in the Crossfire:
Duress Cases Not Covered by the Administration’s Proposed Waiver

5. Miguel – a 16-year-old Colombian youth forced to dig graves by paramilitaries. After Miguel’s entire family was murdered by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), Miguel was abducted by the AUC and made to join a forced march along with members of the local population. The paramilitaries shot and killed the marchers indiscriminately and then forced the others to dig graves for the dead – periodically shooting the diggers in the back when they finished. Miguel eventually fled and made his way to Ecuador, where he continued to be followed by men he presumed to be paramilitary. Miguel is barred from the US because the grave digging he did for the AUC – a “Tier I” group – is deemed material support of terrorism.

6. Luz – a Colombian housewife forced to watch the murder of her husband. One late afternoon in June 2002, Luz and her husband were sitting outside their small home in Southern Colombia when an armed man in a FARC uniform approached. The FARC soldier explained that he had traveled a long distance and needed a glass of water – and Luz complied. The next day, as Luz and her husband were tending to the farm fields, a group of six paramilitary soldiers confronted them and accused them of supporting the FARC. When Luz's husband tried to protest that it was only a glass of water, the paramilitary leader shot and killed him and threatened to kill Luz and the children. Luz and her family fled to a border town in the Ecuadorian jungle, where the United Nations refugee agency granted her refugee status. Luz is barred from resettling in the US because the water she gave a member of the FARC – a “Tier I” group – is deemed material support of terrorism.