Cases of migrant children attending court hearings in New York without legal representation are rising. Nobody should go to court by themselves, especially not a child.
In courtrooms around the United States, children as young as 4 and 5 years old — many of whom don’t speak English, don’t know how the court works and have gone through traumatic experiences — are expected to deal with their cases in immigration court without a lawyer.
This upsetting situation is not only morally wrong but also against the law. The Trump administration must make sure that everyone, especially vulnerable children, has the right to a lawyer in potentially life-changing situations.
Kids who are 4 to 8 years old do not have the ability to understand immigration laws. They don’t know how to make legal arguments, read laws or understand the detailed rules of law.
However, immigration courts treat them like self-sufficient individuals with enough understanding of court functioning. On one occasion, 12 children, including a 7-year-old and his 4-year-old sister, were at the hearing without any accompanying attorney. Judge Ubaid ul-Haq stated that the children were at the hearing because the U.S. government wants them to leave the country. The children did not receive any help in what was likely the most important moment in their life.
Without a lawyer, children have no protection. They must face judges, prosecutors and a system that handles thousands of cases monthly. Legal aid offices, which lack money and staff, are these children’s last hope.
The Trump administration must provide the funding needed to grow these services. Not doing so risks the future of many children and weakens the legal system. Children who don’t have proper assistance are more likely to be sent back to unsafe places, separated from their families or unfairly denied the chance to seek safety in another country. Some children come into the country without accompanying parents or legal guardians, making them vulnerable to government prosecution.
The administration has already terminated part of the $200 million contract that funds attorneys and other legal services for unaccompanied migrant children, leading to an increase in the number of deported children.
The case for legal funding is also a legal requirement based on the rights to fair treatment in the U.S. Constitution. Although immigration cases are not criminal, being ordered to leave the country seems like a punishment for one. For a child, being deported can mean going back to dangerous situations, extreme poverty and mistreatment.
Children who were accompanied by a legal representative have a 23% chance of facing deportation, while children without an attorney or any other legal representation help have a 96% chance.
Without lawyers, courts are slowed, causing more delays and appeals that worsen the immigration system. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguin set an order to keep funding legal organizations that provide legal help for unaccompanied migrant children on April 1.
However, since then, the administration has filed an appeal to restrain the order and requested the judge to remove herself from the case.
This isn’t just a political problem because many migrant children are losing opportunities to a bright future in the United States.
The Trump administration should help people and be fair by making sure programs providing legal help have enough funding to support all children going through immigration processes.
