La Opinion (Editorial)
February 13, 2016
The
federal government’s recent interest in having immigration courts speed
up the processing of cases of Central American mothers and children
running away from violence
and seeking shelter in the U.S. could potentially lead to the
deportation of even more families.
A
Department of Justice internal memorandum distributed last week makes
processing unaccompanied minors coming in from Central America a
priority. These would be followed
by cases of children who arrived with adults, usually their mothers.
Still, the notice gives judges more time to process unaccompanied
minors, in fact accelerating the consideration of family cases.
In
immigration courts, defendants are deprived of the protections granted
in regular courts. The fact that they do not even have the right to an
attorney leads to aberrations
within a society that brags about fairness. How can anyone explain that
children who are at an age where they should be playing in a schoolyard
are taken in front of a judge and forced to defend themselves in an
already complex legal process against adults
who want to deport them?
This
has driven several groups to take action to provide these minors with
free legal assistance to help them defend themselves. Last week, for
instance, several Democratic
senators introduced the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act, which aims to
guarantee that underage and “vulnerable” individuals — such as people
with disabilities or victims of torture, abuse and violence — will have
access to a lawyer as well as other legal counseling
programs and services after they are released. While the measure would
be of great help, it is unlikely to pass without Republican support at a
moment when that Party is more interested in making deportations than
in justice.
Immigration
lawyers say that the most worrying aspect of the memo is that it will
result in quicker deportations of family groups. According to figures
gathered by TRAC,
a data research center based in Syracuse University, 86% of the women
with children who have arrived from Central America in the last two
years lack legal representation.
The
situation of these underage children is a major cause for concern, but
it is also urgent to protect from deportation the women and children who
are the main targets
of raids today.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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