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It’s hard to believe we’re here again. Apparently, the inhumane treatment enforced by the Department of Homeland Security under departing Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was not inhumane enough for the Trump Administration, which reportedly is once again considering family separation as a policy option. The so-called “binary option” would force families seeking legal asylum in this country to waive fundamental Flores Settlement protections, clearing the way for the government to warehouse them in unlicensed detention facilities or to force them to turn their children over to the federal government. This is a false choice as both options would cause immense harm...

Washington – Leading voices for children, working families, Latinos, and immigrants united today, urging Congress to reject a proposal that would deny 5.5 million children the Child Tax Credit.The proposal, offered as a fiscal offset by U.S. House of Representatives negotiators on the payroll tax holiday extension bill, would deny the Child Tax Credit to children whose parents file federal income tax returns using an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). If enacted, it would deny the credit to more than 5.5 million children, four-out-of-five (4.5 million) of whom are U.S. citizen children.“It is sad that our nation has arrived at...

Sin Embargo (Spanish)"Any restrictions on child tax credit harder for working parents to cover the basic needs of their children and also threaten to bring the level of poverty at higher rates," said for his part, Wendy Cervantes, vice president of Immigration Policy Rights of Children and First Focus.More

La OpiniónPor Antonieta CádizWASHINGTON, D.C.- Legisladores de ambos partidos negocian cómo financiar la extensión de los recortes a impuestos de nómina que expirarán el 29 de febrero. Un costo que podría salir de los bolsillos de familias indocumentadas con niños. En el Capitolio se le llama "conferencia", a un proceso en que se resuelven las diferencias entre proyectos de ley, aprobados por la Cámara de Representantes y el Senado, respecto al mismo tema. Ahora, precisamente, 20 legisladores iniciaron ya las discusiones para conciliar las propuestas que extenderían y financiarían los recortes a los impuestos de nómina, el seguro de desempleo...

Univision (Spanish)Activists described as an attack on immigrant children a Republican initiative to eliminate the tax credit that parents are contributing to the treasury without a social security number ."If the law changes, parents who lack a Social Security number earning $21,000 on average per year, or about $ 10 per hour, will lose an average of $1,800,"  said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza (NLCR), at a press conference."Any restrictions on the Child Tax Credit make it harder for working parents to cover the basic needs of their children and threaten to increase poverty," said for...

The New York TimesHouse Republicans have hit upon a noxious scheme to help pay for an extension of the payroll tax cut: a tax increase on millions of poor working families. A bill passed by the House and now in conference seeks to deny cash refunds under the child tax credit to those who file tax returns using “individual taxpayer identification numbers” issued by the Internal Revenue Service. Only those using Social Security numbers would be eligible.The refundable portion of the child tax credit is a life-saver for the working poor. Families that would be cut off by this...

Washington – On December 13, 2011, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families, chaired by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), held a hearing on child abuse, convened on the heels of the recent tragedies at Penn State and Syracuse. Testimony referenced proposals to increase protections for children victimized by abuse or neglect. One such proposal, the Speak Up to Protect Every Abused Kid Act (S. 1877, sponsored by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)), would require that state governments accepting federal child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment funding adopt a basic set of protections. All adults would be required to report...

Washington – Senior negotiators in the U.S. House of Representatives released a proposal Friday to offset the fiscal impact of a payroll tax holiday extension by cutting federal commitments to Medicaid, lowering federal non-defense domestic discretionary funding caps, and requiring that federal income tax returns claiming the refundable the Child Tax Credit (CTC) include the filer’s Social Security number. The CTC provision would weaken the economic stability of immigrant families that include up to 4.5 million U.S. citizen children. Tighter budget caps could affect kids’ initiatives ranging from educational support for children with disabilities to shelter and care for homeless...

Washington – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation last week to increase protections for children victimized by abuse or neglect. The Protecting Children Is Everyone’s Responsibility Act would require that state governments accepting federal child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment funding adopt a basic set of protections that: require all adults to report known or suspected child abuse and neglect to law enforcement or child welfare authorities. The proposal would also make federal funds available to help states undertake education and training campaigns to help adults who work with children detect the telltale signs of abuse or neglect,...

Washington – More than 80 state and national organizations led by the First Focus Campaign for Children today endorsed the Foster Opportunity Act. The bill, introduced by Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) and eight other lawmakers, increases the likelihood that immigrant children removed from their parents’ custody because of concerns about abuse or neglect will be protected by immigration law benefits already in place.“The Foster Opportunity Act ensures that kids who lived in fear of abuse and neglect as children don’t have to live in fear of deportation as adults,” said First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley.In 2008, Congress...