US EditionAlone in court: The U.S. government’s crackdown on unaccompanied migrant kids
UNITED STATES, JUL 2 – Funding for legal aid was cut for about 26,000 unaccompanied immigrant children, increasing risks of deportation without counsel, according to court filings and advocacy groups.
- In Fiscal Year 2024, over 13,000 unaccompanied immigrant children were released to sponsors in Texas amid growing legal and political challenges.
- This occurred as Congress and the federal government cut legal aid funding, canceled a $200 million contract in March, and imposed stricter policies limiting counsel access.
- Legal battles included a late April injunction restoring funding after being halted, an appellate court rejection of a pause on this ruling in mid-May, and warnings about children facing court alone.
- Studies show only 51% of minors have legal representation, which makes children over seven times more likely to remain safely in the U.S., while delayed hearings now extend children’s care from two to over five months.
- These developments suggest increased trauma and risk for unaccompanied children, spurring advocates to call for accountable leadership and protection of every child's right to legal counsel.
13 Articles
13 Articles
On Thursday, associations defending the rights of migrants denounce the conditions for the care of exiled young people who have arrived without a parent in France. Unaccompanied minors (MNA) managed
Guatemala seeks to repatriate 341 migrant minors who traveled alone to the United States and are being held in detention centres.
Alone in court: The U.S. government’s crackdown on unaccompanied migrant kids
By Nicol León & Gibran Caroline Boyce | Edited by Dianne Solis & Alfredo CorchadoImmigrant children who crossed the border without a parent or guardian are increasingly in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. That has meant children facing immigration judges without lawyers, and stricter screening processes for releases from shelter custody that have prolonged stays to more than five months.
How Republicans Are Willfully Endangering Immigrant Kids
Trudy Taylor Smith is senior administrator of policy and advocacy with Children’s Defense Fund-Texas. I want you to imagine a toddler appearing in court to face off against a government-trained attorney trying to deport them. Think of their terror as they take their seat in the courtroom, legs swinging because they’re not long enough to reach the floor. Consider the plight of a teenage survivor of sexual violence, unable to speak English, or too…
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