Children without parents go to court alone because there are more migrant cases.
Across federal immigration courts, more than half of the unaccompanied minors appearing before the court do so without legal representation, as reported by ABC News.
One such case highlighted in the report is that of 18-year-old Brian Arevalo, who arrived in the U.S. two years ago. Arevalo, who doesn’t speak English, shared with ABC News that he was compelled to flee his parents and siblings in Mexico due to escalating violence in his region.
Arriving in immigration court in April, Arevalo informed the judge that he had been unsuccessful in securing legal representation despite searching for several months. Consequently, he was granted a three-month extension and is scheduled to return to court in June, still struggling to find an attorney.
Experts note that similar cases have become increasingly common, with unaccompanied minors often facing the daunting task of navigating the court system without the ability to speak English.
“Those who appear in immigration court unrepresented are often uneducated in our language, culture, and law but are nevertheless required to present their claims unaided, while the DHS is represented by skilled government attorneys,” explained former immigration judge Dana Leigh Marks to ABC News.
The current situation puts these unaccompanied minors at a clear disadvantage, as Marks pointed out, questioning how they could possibly navigate the complexities of researching country conditions, political struggles, and corroborating their testimony with potentially only an elementary school education.
Additionally, there is a growing backlog of new cases in the immigration court system, with the backlog expanding from 2.8 million at the end of fiscal 2023 to nearly 3.6 million in fiscal 2024. Judges managed to complete over half a million new cases this year, setting a record pace, yet they still struggle to keep up with the escalating caseload.
“Our system was never designed to handle the numbers we are currently facing,” acknowledged Aguilar. “We simply do not have enough judges to process these cases.”
Compounding the issue is not only the deficiency of judges but also the scarcity of attorneys, even though some nonprofit organizations such as Kids in Need of Defense offer free representation to minors.
“Just as we lack sufficient immigration judges to promptly deal with the unprecedented influx of migrants at the southern border, it is not surprising that there is a shortage of lawyers to represent unaccompanied minors in immigration court,” Aguilar emphasized.
According to ABC News, many organizations are operating at full capacity, unable to take on more cases and therefore needing to place individuals on waiting lists. Jennifer Podkul, the vice president for policy and advocacy for Kids in Need of Defense, expressed the absurdity of subjecting minors to complex deportation proceedings without adequate legal support.
This predicament leaves unaccompanied minors facing the harsh reality that having legal representation could significantly impact their case, as indicated in a 2021 Congressional Research Report.
“Immigration judges are 100 times more likely to grant relief to unaccompanied children with legal representation than to those without it,” the report revealed.
As the number of undocumented immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. continues to rise, the lack of legal representation for unaccompanied minors has emerged as a pressing issue that necessitates urgent attention and a comprehensive solution.
Without the necessary legal support, these vulnerable individuals are left to navigate a complex legal system that they may not fully comprehend, risking potential harm to their well-being and future prospects.
Efforts must be made to address this shortfall in legal representation and ensure that unaccompanied minors are provided with the support and advocacy they need to navigate the asylum process effectively and safeguard their rights in the pursuit of a better and safer future.
