District Of Columbia 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill PR25-0842 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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9		-	A RESOLUTION
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11		-	25-526
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13		-	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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15		-	June 11, 2024
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17		-
18		-	To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend Chapter 3 of Title 13
19		-	of the District of Columbia Official Code to provide that publication may be substituted
20		-	for personal service of process for appointments of a vulnerable youth guardian in certain
21		-	circumstances; and to amend Chapter 23 of Title 16 of the District of Columbia Official
22		-	Code to authorize the Family Division of the Superior Court to appoint, modify, and
23		-	terminate a new class of legal guardianship for vulnerable youth.
24		-
25		-	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
26		-	resolution may be cited as the “Vulnerable Youth Guardianship Protection Emergency
27		-	Declaration Resolution of 2024”.
28		-
29		-	Sec. 2 (a) Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”) is a special humanitarian visa
30		-	established by the federal government covering abused, neglected, or abandoned immigrant
31		-	youth under age 21. If approved, those granted SIJS are authorized to work, maintain a Social
32		-	Security Number, receive assistance for housing and education, and eventually apply for lawful
33		-	permanent residency, making SIJS an important legal lifeline for vulnerable immigrant youth,
34		-	especially undocumented immigrant youth.
35		-	(b) Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J), to apply for a SIJS visa, an applicant must be an
36		-	unmarried noncitizen under 21 years of age, be presently residing in the United States, and
37		-	possess a juvenile court order from a state court. The court order must find that:
38		-	(1) The petitioner is dependent on the court or under custody of a state agency,
39		-	department, or court-appointed guardian;
40		-	(2) The petitioner has suffered from abuse, neglect, abandonment, or other related
41		-	reason that makes reunification with the petitioner’s parents impossible; and
42		-	(3) It is in the best interest of the petitioner not to return to the previous country of
43		-	nationality or the country of the last habitual residence of the petitioner or of the petitioner’s
44		-	parents. ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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46		-
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	4	+	____________________________ 1
	5	+	Councilmember Brooke Pinto 2
	6	+	3
	7	+	4
	8	+	A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 5
	9	+	6
	10	+	___________ 7
	11	+	8
	12	+	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 9
	13	+	10
	14	+	______________ 11
	15	+	12
	16	+	To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend Chapter 3 of Title 13 13
	17	+	of the District of Columbia Official Code to provide that publication may be substituted 14
	18	+	for personal service of process for appointments of a vulnerable youth guardian in certain 15
	19	+	circumstances; and to amend Chapter 23 of Title 16 of the District of Columbia Official 16
	20	+	Code to authorize the Family Division of the Superior Court to appoint, modify, and 17
	21	+	terminate a new class of legal guardianship for vulnerable youth. 18
	22	+	19
	23	+	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 20
	24	+	resolution may be cited as the “Vulnerable Youth Guardianship Protection Emergency 21
	25	+	Declaration Resolution of 2024”. 22
	26	+	Sec. 2 (a) Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”) is a special humanitarian visa 23
	27	+	established by the federal government covering abused, neglected, or abandoned immigrant 24
	28	+	youth under age 21. If approved, those granted SIJS are authorized to work, maintain a Social 25
	29	+	Security Number, receive assistance for housing and education, and eventually apply for lawful 26
	30	+	permanent residency, making SIJS an important legal lifeline for vulnerable immigrant youth, 27
	31	+	especially undocumented immigrant youth. 28
	32	+	(b) Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J), to apply for a SIJS visa, an applicant must be an 29
	33	+	unmarried noncitizen under 21 years of age, be presently residing in the United States, and 30
	34	+	possess a juvenile court order from a state court. The court order must find that: 31
50	35		2
51	36
52		-	(c) Despite the intended reach of this humanitarian visa, a number of eligible immigrant
53		-	youth in the District may be unable to access these critical protections due to an inconsistency
54		-	between District law and federal law. Under current District law, the Superior Court of the
55		-	District of Columbia lacks authority over unmarried noncitizens who are at least 18 but younger
56		-	than 21 that would be consistent with federal SIJS petition requirements. Specifically, the court
57		-	does not have authority over these youth except in certain extremely limited circumstances, such
58		-	as the youth being under the care of the Child and Family Service Agency or being legally found
59		-	to have been subjected to neglect.
60		-	(d) Because the court’s authority over unmarried noncitizens who are at least age 18 but
61		-	younger than 21 is limited, the court has no legal mechanism to issue the orders necessary to
62		-	allow a number of eligible youth to apply for SIJS, even though federally SIJS petitioners are
63		-	allowed to petition until the age of 21. The court also lacks the necessary authority to appoint
64		-	guardians to unmarried noncitizens who are at least age 18 but younger than 21, which can be a
65		-	necessary component of the SIJS petition. This lack of authority prevents many immigrant youth
66		-	in the District (and in particular undocumented immigrant youth) who have suffered from abuse,
67		-	abandonment, or neglect from obtaining relief from that past mistreatment by accessing these
68		-	critical federal protections as intended.
69		-	(e) There is a pressing need to address the lack of access to federal protections and lack
70		-	of accessible guardianship appointments for immigrant youth, one of the District’s most
71		-	vulnerable populations. Child welfare organizations, advocacy groups, and experts testified at the
72		-	Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety’s June 8, 2023, hearing on the Vulnerable Youth
73		-	Guardianship Protection Amendment Act of 2023, as introduced on January 19, 2023 (Bill 25-
74		-	44) (“permanent bill”), that immigrant youth without the critical supports of guardianship are
75		-	especially vulnerable to abuses such as human trafficking and housing insecurity. SIJS visas
76		-	allow for the material benefits of access to employment, the procurement of a Social Security
77		-	number, healthcare, assistance with housing and education, and eventually the possibility of
78		-	applying for lawful permanent residency. The stability and safety that SIJS affords immigrant
79		-	youth also fosters their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being by providing them
80		-	with a stable and supportive schooling environment, community, and household. With the
81		-	protections of a court appointed guardian, youth will not be forced to move from their friends
82		-	and communities to other jurisdictions to try to access SIJS protections. SIJS thus importantly
83		-	shields immigrant youth from emotional and psychological suffering, exploitation and abuse,
84		-	involvement in illegal activity, material instability, and housing insecurity. Advocates testified
85		-	that they must turn away several youths on a monthly basis because of this ongoing
86		-	misalignment in District and federal law and that even eligible youth close to the cutoff age of 18
87		-	find it difficult to obtain a pro bono attorney with the expertise to rapidly prepare and file the
88		-	necessary legal documents. ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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	37	+	(1) The petitioner is dependent on the court or under custody of a state agency, 32
	38	+	department, or court-appointed guardian; 33
	39	+	(2) The petitioner has suffered from abuse, neglect, abandonment, or other related 34
	40	+	reason that makes reunification with the petitioner’s parents impossible; and 35
	41	+	(3) It is in the best interest of the petitioner not to return to the previous country of 36
	42	+	nationality or the country of the last habitual residence of the petitioner or of the petitioner’s 37
	43	+	parents. 38
	44	+	(c) Despite the intended reach of this humanitarian visa, a number of eligible immigrant 39
	45	+	youth in the District may be unable to access these critical protections due to an inconsistency 40
	46	+	between District law and federal law. Under current District law, the Superior Court of the 41
	47	+	District of Columbia lacks authority over unmarried noncitizens who are at least 18 but younger 42
	48	+	than 21 that would be consistent with federal SIJS petition requirements. Specifically, the court 43
	49	+	does not have authority over these youth except in certain extremely limited circumstances, such 44
	50	+	as the youth being under the care of the Child and Family Service Agency or being legally found 45
	51	+	to have been subjected to neglect. 46
	52	+	(d) Because the court’s authority over unmarried noncitizens who are at least age 18 but 47
	53	+	younger than 21 is limited, the court has no legal mechanism to issue the orders necessary to 48
	54	+	allow a number of eligible youth to apply for SIJS, even though federally SIJS petitioners are 49
	55	+	allowed to petition until the age of 21. The court also lacks the necessary authority to appoint 50
	56	+	guardians to unmarried noncitizens who are at least age 18 but younger than 21, which can be a 51
	57	+	necessary component of the SIJS petition. This lack of authority prevents many immigrant youth 52
	58	+	in the District (and in particular undocumented immigrant youth) who have suffered from abuse, 53
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95	60
96		-	(f) It is estimated that more than one third of unaccompanied immigrant youth coming to
97		-	the United States have already reached 17 years of age, meaning that when these youth arrive in
98		-	the District they are already on the verge of aging out of Superior Court authority should they
99		-	wish to seek federal relief under SIJS while residing in the District. This misalignment between
100		-	the District and federal law means that, absent Council action, a class of vulnerable District
101		-	immigrant youth will be unable to seek legal relief afforded to them by federal law and will be
102		-	unable to seek the care and support of a guardianship appointment while living in the District.
103		-	(g) On September 19, 2023, the Council passed the Vulnerable Youth Guardianship
104		-	Protection Temporary Amendment Act of 2023, effective November 28, 2023 (D.C. Law 25-91;
105		-	70 DCR 13754) (“temporary law”), which will expire on July 10, 2024. The permanent version
106		-	of the temporary law is currently undergoing congressional review. This emergency legislation is
107		-	necessary to fill the gap between the expiration of the temporary law and the effective date of the
108		-	permanent act.
109		-	(h) This emergency bill mirrors the permanent version of the bill in incorporating minor
110		-	technical changes and one substantive change not included in the expiring temporary law,
111		-	namely the elimination of fees for filing guardianship petitions.
	61	+	abandonment, or neglect from obtaining relief from that past mistreatment by accessing these 54
	62	+	critical federal protections as intended. 55
	63	+	(e) There is a pressing need to address the lack of access to federal protections and lack 56
	64	+	of accessible guardianship appointments for immigrant youth, one of the District’s most 57
	65	+	vulnerable populations. Child welfare organizations, advocacy groups, and experts testified at the 58
	66	+	Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety’s June 8, 2023, hearing on the Vulnerable Youth 59
	67	+	Guardianship Protection Amendment Act of 2023, as introduced on January 19, 2023 (Bill 25-60
	68	+	44) (“permanent bill”), that immigrant youth without the critical supports of guardianship are 61
	69	+	especially vulnerable to abuses such as human trafficking and housing insecurity. SIJS visas 62
	70	+	allow for the material benefits of access to employment, the procurement of a Social Security 63
	71	+	number, healthcare, assistance with housing and education, and eventually the possibility of 64
	72	+	applying for lawful permanent residency. The stability and safety that SIJS affords immigrant 65
	73	+	youth also fosters their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being by providing them 66
	74	+	with a stable and supportive schooling environment, community, and household. With the 67
	75	+	protections of a court appointed guardian, youth will not be forced to move from their friends 68
	76	+	and communities to other jurisdictions to try to access SIJS protections. SIJS thus importantly 69
	77	+	shields immigrant youth from emotional and psychological suffering, exploitation and abuse, 70
	78	+	involvement in illegal activity, material instability, and housing insecurity. Advocates testified 71
	79	+	that they must turn away several youths on a monthly basis because of this ongoing 72
	80	+	misalignment in District and federal law and that even eligible youth close to the cutoff age of 18 73
	81	+	find it difficult to obtain a pro bono attorney with the expertise to rapidly prepare and file the 74
	82	+	necessary legal documents. 75
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113		-	Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute
114		-	emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Vulnerable Youth Guardianship
115		-	Protection Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading.
116		-
117		-	Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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121		-
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	85	+	(f) It is estimated that more than one third of unaccompanied immigrant youth coming to 76
	86	+	the United States have already reached 17 years of age , meaning that when these youth arrive in 77
	87	+	the District they are already on the verge of aging out of Superior Court authority should they 78
	88	+	wish to seek federal relief under SIJS while residing in the District. This misalignment between 79
	89	+	the District and federal law means that, absent Council action, a class of vulnerable District 80
	90	+	immigrant youth will be unable to seek legal relief afforded to them by federal law and will be 81
	91	+	unable to seek the care and support of a guardianship appointment while living in the District. 82
	92	+	(g) On July 11, 2023, the Council passed emergency and temporary versions of the 83
	93	+	Vulnerable Youth Guardianship Protection Amendment Act of 2023. The temporary law (D.C. 84
	94	+	Act 25-227; 70 DCR 13754), is due to expire on July 10, 2024. The Council passed a permanent 85
	95	+	version, Bill 25- 44, on May 7, 2024; the Mayor signed the bill on May 29, 2024. The permanent 86
	96	+	version is currently undergoing congressional review. Since congressional review will not be 87
	97	+	complete prior to the temporary law without new emergency legislation, there will likely be a 88
	98	+	gap in the law. As a result, emergency legislation is necessary to fill the gap. 89
	99	+	(h) This emergency bill mirrors the permanent version of the bill in incorporating minor 90
	100	+	technical tweaks and one substantive change not included in the expiring temporary law, namely 91
	101	+	the elimination of fees for filing guardianship petitions. 92
	102	+	Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute 93
	103	+	emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Vulnerable Youth Guardianship 94
	104	+	Protection Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading. 95
	105	+	Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 96