How Republicans Are Willfully Endangering Immigrant Kids

Trudy Taylor Smith is senior administrator of procedures 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 traumatized to mention key facts about the experiences that could determine the outcome of their episode No state in America is home to more unaccompanied immigrant children than Texas In Fiscal Year alone over children were issued to sponsors across our state Every day a large number of of these children face the kinds of traumatizing situations described above Their lives hang in the balance but with no legal representation they often have no one to defend their rights or ensure a fair process Unfortunately our representatives in Congress have backed the federal cabinet s efforts to ensure that the vast majority of unaccompanied immigrant children continue to face a harrowing and unfair process as they fight for their futures Both the U S House of Representatives and the U S Senate have put forward proposals to allocate billions of dollars toward expanded immigration enforcement while blocking funding for legal representation of unaccompanied children targeted for detention or deportation Despite warnings from advocates like me about the dire consequences for children Republicans in Congress have continued to push forward policies that leave unaccompanied children without legal counsel or other services to ensure their safety Congressional Republicans have also sought to dismantle core legal protections for detained immigrant children fund strip searches of children as young as years old by law enforcement officers allow indefinite detention and impose new hindrances to children s release Our Congressional representatives indifference to children s healthcare and safety compounds the harm of other similarly callous attacks on immigrant children In March the federal authorities canceled a million contract with the Acacia Center for Justice a nonprofit whose national affiliate grid provided legal representation to unaccompanied children That decision left numerous children with no lawyer to represent them and no way to effectively engage in the legal process In early April a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order compelling the U S Department of Healthcare and Human Services to restore legal aid funding for two weeks but executives never complied Instead through expedited docketing the federal leadership sped up timelines for children s immigration cases as it simultaneously slashed their access to legal counsel forcing more children to face immigration court dates without a lawyer Then in May the U S Department of Justice required a federal judge to end a longstanding settlement agreement that protects detained immigrant children by requiring the federal governing body to provide safe and sanitary conditions for them and setting limits on how long children can be held in detention Child advocates have opposed that move and litigation is ongoing Republican lawmakers often claim they want to protect children but their procedures decisions tell a different story By cutting off access to counsel and seeking to reduce or eliminate existing legal protections lawmakers aren t just failing children they re willfully endangering them Such cruelty is especially stark considering the circumstances of the children they affect Children who arrive in our country without a parent or guardian often make the dangerous journey here to escape political instability gang violence persecution abuse or trafficking Yet unaccompanied children frequently find themselves at danger of further exploitation or abuse after they arrive in the U S without a trusted adult to look out for their interests We youth advocates know that children s rights attorneys are vital to the children they serve They help children understand the immigration court process sometimes using puppets or dolls to prepare young children for hearings They identify the forms of relief that children are entitled to gather evidence to endorsement their insists and make sure children know they can tell immigration judges the painful parts of their stories that are central to their cases Outside the courtroom these attorneys also protect children from trafficking exploitation and abuse by building relationships of trust that encourage them to speak up if they experience harm Without a lawyer by their side unaccompanied immigrant children may be deported to a country where they face grave danger even though they are entitled to legal protections that would allow them to remain here The material is clear that having an attorney makes a huge difference in whether or not children receive the protection they need From Fiscal Year to only percent of unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings were ever represented by a lawyer but those who are represented are over seven times more likely than unrepresented children to receive an outcome allowing them to stay in the United States Despite that Republican lawmakers continue to promote measures that will make it increasingly challenging for the tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children in our state to access the legal help they need All children deserve a childhood marked by safety care and opportunities to play and learn As adults we have a collective responsibility to protect all children in Texas and ensure they have access to the support they need to thrive This is why I continue to fight for their rights as a child advocate What does it say about us as a society when we tolerate or even assistance policies that traumatize neglect and abuse children How much cruelty will we inflict or passively allow our nation s leaders laws and institutions to inflict on our behalf on children And how long can we claim to care about justice compassion fairness or protecting human life while we sit back and watch this unfold Whether we allow this institutional violence to continue out of sheer apathy or because we refuse to recognize the humanity of children born outside our country our complicity is a mirror reflecting back to us our own diminished humanity We cannot abandon these children without abandoning our values As Texans and as Americans it s time for us to ask ourselves who we really are and who we want to be Now I urge all of us to stand together against targeted attacks on selected of the the greater part marginalized children in Texas We must oppose heartless policies that trample children s rights and make a mockery of due process and the rule of law We must refuse to allow trafficked and traumatized children to be placed back in harm s way Every unaccompanied immigrant child deserves to have a lawyer by their side and to be protected rather than endangered by our nation s laws If we want to live up to our own ideals then now is the time to hold our leaders accountable for delivering policies that make this a reality Now is the moment for all Texans to say Not on our watch The post How Republicans Are Willfully Endangering Immigrant Kids appeared first on The Texas Observer