CHILDREN

Commissioner Ziglar has placed a priority on improving the protections for children in INS detention as well as for international adoptees.

Foreign Adoptions

As many MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom readers are aware, there is a special process for U.S. citizens to adopt orphan children abroad and bring them into the U.S. If a child is not an orphan, then separate rules and procedures apply including having custody of the child for two years before the adoptive parents become eligible to sponsor the child for immigration. With respect to orphan adoptions, it is necessary to prove that the child meets the legal definition of orphan. INS is deeply concerned that some of the children involved may have been made available by illegal means, i.e. child selling or kidnapping. Generally, adoptive parents are unaware of these circumstances and adopt the children, only to find that the children do not meet the orphan requirement. The Commissioner proclaimed, "INS is obligated to protect the best interest of each child. Meeting this obligation is paramount, and takes precedence over any responsibility we have to help U.S. citizens complete adoptions."

In order to address this heart-wrenching situation, the Commissioner is reexamining current adoption procedures in order to fashion a system that requires each child to be "pre-approved" as eligible for adoption before the U.S. family meets and adopts the child. Pre-approval requires that the child has been abandoned or that his/her parents have died or disappeared.

Detained Children

The other key issue pertaining to children is the treatment of unaccompanied juveniles in INS custody. When unaccompanied minors reach U.S. shores without proper documentation, responsibility for their care falls to INS. The Commissioner promised to make the welfare of unaccompanied minors a top priority in his Senate confirmation hearing. He is committed to the principle of reuniting juveniles with their families, except in cases of abuse or neglect.

INS' goal is to minimize and seek alternatives to the detention of minors. Another objective is to provide access to appropriate benefits and services. In order to accomplish these goals, INS plans to establish an Office of Juvenile Affairs and to appoint special Juvenile Affairs Officers to supervise the care of unaccompanied children. The INS will also provide additional training and guidelines on children's asylum claims and develop guidance for the use of various preferable alternatives to placing children in removal proceedings.

One noteworthy problem often encountered with juveniles is determining if they are, in fact, juveniles or adults. The Commissioner has ordered a review of the current procedures, including dental exams and x-rays, to establish a better method for determining age. Accurate age determinations would help to protect minors from adults who misrepresent their ages.

NATURALIZATION

The Commissioner expressed a desire to make the naturalization process more meaningful for applicants. He would like the INS to become more involved in the assimilation process. In this regard he plans to identify ways in which immigrants might be encouraged to become more active in civic matters and be better able to communicate in English.

MEXICO

The talks with Mexico have not been forgotten. The Commissioner has continued to meet with Mexican officials on migration issues of mutual concern. The Commissioner supports efforts to determine a means of moving the illegal flow of people from Mexico into legal channels. "U.S. employers need Mexican workers…. One of the best ways to enhance our security is by breaking the backbone of the criminal underground that profits from smuggling human beings into the United States."

INS RESTRUCTURING

INS has developed a major restructuring plan that would divide INS into two distinct bureaus separating the enforcement function from the benefit-granting function. Under the plan, there would be a Bureau of Immigration Services and a Bureau of Immigration Enforcement, both under the control of a single head of the agency. The regional and district offices would be similarly divided. There would also be an Office of Customer Relations within the services bureau and an Ombudsman in the enforcement bureau to improve service and accountability.

In closing, the Commissioner aptly reflected on our national identity. "Taking risks on new people and new ideas fuels our drive to achieve and maintain a society that is the envy of all history…. If fear blinds our eyes to the new and untried, and freedom is relegated to the ash heap of history, we will stumble into an abyss from which there is no return."