The proposed HUMANE Act seeks to expedite deportations of minor children from countries noncontiguous to the United States. This would result in a marked change from the 2008 Wilberforce Bill, signed by President Bush, that designated children from noncontiguous countries to undergo a different process from Canadian and Mexico children in proceedings.

President Obama has labeled the surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the Southwestern border a “humanitarian crisis.” Consensus is difficult to come by in making headway with the crisis. Proposed legislative bills aim for quick assessments and expedited deportations with substantial political traction. However, neither populist nor political backing should motivate clumsy and grossly unfair proposed solutions. Many law firms and rights groups have collaborated to sue the Department of Justice over the lack of representation for minors during their deportation hearings. The crux of their lawsuit is that each child deserves due process and a proper day in court. That fundamentally American principle should apply here to these children. Expediency may seem attractive but is hardly an answer.

These are children trying to escape incredibly dangerous conditions and real violence ravaging their nations; they are fleeing their home countries to escape poverty and gang violence. Those blights seem to predominate the landscape of many Central American countries recently, including El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. These are some of the most dangerous places on earth. Possible solutions floated about include asylum screening processes in the home countries and collaborating with those governments to thwart “coyotes” from misinforming potential migrants. Citizens of those countries will seek escape until home country conditions ameliorate, regardless of the punitive qualities of our deportation system. The HUMANE Act muddies the immigration waters and instead of providing a solution, it seems to palliate mass deportation supporters.

The Law Offices of Andrew Wood, LLC believe the HUMANE Act to be a blatant misnomer and overall harmful piece of proposed legislation. While understanding the appeal of the bipartisanship imprimatur on the HUMANE Act, we fear the aesthetics deflect from the negative qualities. If the HUMANE Act is passed, minor children will not receive proper representation and hearings. A truly humane act would protect the interests of the children and ensure that they receive a fair hearing, rather than accelerate automatic departures. It is a scapegoat action to pinpoint culpability for the increase in undocumented minors from Central and South America on the 2008 bill that rerouted minors from noncontiguous countries.