‘Railroad kids through the system’: Immigration court’s youngest left to their own devices

Every week, Evelyn Flores travels to government shelters in the Washington, DC, region for story time with migrant children, telling the tale of a cartoon cat learning to navigate a confusing immigration system with the help of his superhero lawyer.

Every week, Evelyn Flores travels to government shelters in the Washington, DC, region for story time with migrant children, telling the tale of a cartoon cat learning to navigate a confusing immigration system with the help of his superhero lawyer. “They don’t know what is an attorney, they don’t know what is a judge, they are very little,” said Flores, managing paralegal for the children’s program at Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. “We try our best to explain, but it’s so difficult.” Now, these teachable moments may become even more critical if children are forced to face the courtroom alone, without a lawyer. Amid public outrage over due process afforded to immigrants, or the lack thereof, it’s some of the youngest in the immigration court system who may be among those hit the hardest by the Trump administration crackdown and funding cutbacks. The administration decided in March to terminate a federal contract with Acacia Center for Justice, which manages a network of legal service organizations representing around 26,000 unaccompanied children – some who are infants and too young to speak – in the United States. “This decision was made without any plan in place to address the 26,000 children with open cases that the government encouraged our network to take on. As a result, these children are now unable to meaningfully participate in their cases and are left in the lurch,” said Shaina Aber, executive director of Acacia Center for Justice.