Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2004

The Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2004 (S. 1129) was designed to establish standardized procedures for the care, custody, and legal representation of children under 18 who enter the United States without a parent or legal guardian. The bill sought to transfer the responsibility for these children from immigration enforcement agencies to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, ensuring they are housed in child-appropriate settings rather than adult detention centers or correctional facilities.

For the public, this legislation aimed to create a more transparent and humane system for managing vulnerable minors by requiring the appointment of "guardians ad litem" and legal counsel to look out for the child's best interests during immigration proceedings. It also established strict safety and suitability assessments for releasing children to sponsors or relatives in U.S. communities and prohibited the use of restrictive measures like shackling or solitary confinement except in extreme circumstances. While the bill passed the Senate in 2004, it did not become law during that session of Congress; however, many of its core protections were later incorporated into the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008.