FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 19, 2025
CONTACT: press@acaciajustice.org
WASHINGTON – The Acacia Center for Justice condemns the House of Representatives’ passage of H.R. 4371, a bill that would roll back critical protections of unaccompanied children seeking protection in the United States and further embolden an agenda that centers indefinitely detaining children over child wellbeing. H.R. 4371 would erect new and onerous barriers to reunifying children with vetted caregivers and automatically subject children as young as 13 to prolonged, if not indefinite, detention in restrictive settings. The bill also authorizes invasive body searches of children, a needlessly humiliating and potentially traumatic practice that will rob children of a sense of security and safety as they enter government custody, likely echoing previous traumatic events in many children’s lives.
Following the House vote, Acacia’s Executive Director, Shaina Aber, issued the following statement: “This legislation seeks to exploit the tragic and senseless murder of a young woman to advance the punishment of other children and youth who are wholly unrelated to this tragedy. The bill, as written, would put kids at risk of lasting physical and psychological harm, undermining critical safeguards in place to treat children with dignity and support their well-being. H.R. 4371 would cement a system in which children are languishing in government custody for even longer periods of time and deter caregivers from coming forward. This effort is an attempt to collectively punish all immigrant children in immigration custody for the actions of one individual who has already been convicted and sentenced. Congress should be strengthening protections for unaccompanied children, not dismantling them. We urge the Senate to reject this bill. As I tell my own children all the time, and as lawmakers well know, two wrongs do not make a right.”
If enacted, H.R. 4371 would represent an expansion of mandatory mass detention of children in the wake of the government’s ongoing efforts to coerce children to forsake their right to have their cases heard and pursue protections to which they may be entitled. The Acacia Center for Justice calls on lawmakers to oppose this legislation and uphold the nation’s obligation to treat children with dignity and protect their wellbeing and safety.
Acacia Center for Justice expands meaningful access to justice and freedom for immigrants at risk of detention or deportation in partnership with an accountable and independent national network of immigrant legal service providers and community partners. Acacia Center for Justice’s reach and impact are unparalleled. The national nonprofit currently operates publicly funded programs and responsive collaborations through a network of over 130 legal service providers nationwide.
###