336
Stevens, J., dissenting
93-1011, p. 56 (1974) ("[Section 504] establishes a presumption for release of the juvenile").23 And, most significantly for this case, it demonstrates that Congress has rejected the very presumption that the INS has made in this case; for under the Act juveniles are not to be detained when there is a "responsible party," 18 U. S. C. § 5034, willing and able to assume care for the child.24 It is no retort that § 504 is directed at citizens, whereas the INS' regulation is directed at aliens, ante, at 305-306, 312-313, n. 8; Reply Brief for Peti-23 As I have already noted, the 1938 Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act authorized the magistrate to release an arrested juvenile "upon his own recognizance or that of some responsible person," § 5, 52 Stat. 765 (emphasis added). This language was retained in the 1948 Act, see 62 Stat. 858, and amended to its present form in 1974. The Senate Report on the 1974 bill stated that it "also amends the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act, virtually unchanged for the past thirty-five years, to provide basic procedural rights for juveniles who come under Federal jurisdiction and to bring Federal procedures up to the standards set by various model acts, many state codes and court decisions." S. Rep. No. 93-1011, p. 19 (1974). Juveniles arrested by the INS are, of course, within the category of "juveniles who come under Federal jurisdiction."
24 I find this evidence of congressional intent and congressional policy far more significant than the fact that Congress has made the unexceptional determination that state human service agencies should play a role in the permanent resettlement of refugee children, ante, at 313, n. 8 (citing 8 U. S. C. § 1522(d)(2)(B)), and orphans adopted abroad by United States citizens, ante, at 313, n. 8 (citing 8 U. S. C. § 1154(d)). This case is not about the permanent settlement of alien children, or the establishment or permanent legal custody over alien children. It is about the temporary detention of children that come into federal custody, which is precisely the focus of § 504 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.
Furthermore, the Court is simply wrong in asserting that the INS' policy is rooted in the "universally accepted presumptio[n] as to the custodial competence of parents and close relatives," ante, at 313, n. 8. The flaw in the INS' policy is not that it prefers parents and close relatives over unrelated adults, but that it prefers government detention over release to responsible adults. It is that presumption—that detention is better or more appropriate for these children than release to unrelated responsible adults—that is contrary to congressional policy.
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