‘The United States wants you to leave': Unaccompanied migrant kids are being forced to attend deportation hearings alone

Independent

25-04-2025

Unaccompanied migrant children as young as 4 are being forced to attend deportation hearings alone, immigration campaigners say.
A growing number of migrant children are having to make immigration court appearances by themselves without the presence of an attorney, which lawyers warn will lead to more children getting deported, Gothamist reports.
In one case this week highlighted by the outlet, a New York immigration judge presided over a group of a dozen children to explain to them why they might have to leave the country. The children were in a shelter in the city while the hearing took place via video.
The children included a 7-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl and her 4-year-old sister. Their parents were not present and they did not have attorneys.
'The reason we're here is because the government of the United States wants you to leave the United States,' said Judge Ubaid ul-Haq, according to Gothamist. 'It's my job to figure out if you have to leave,' ul-Haq said. 'It's also my job to figure out if you should stay.'
At the beginning of the hearing, Ul-Haq 'sighed' as he spoke into his microphone at the virtual hearing. 'The court does have some very young respondents, and we will endure as we try to explain as best as possible,' he said.
The judge explained to the children that they had the right to find an attorney and would be required to tell the court if their addresses change, the outlet reports. Ul-Haq 'adjusted his language to be kid-friendly, explaining in detail what a 'right' is and what 'asylum' is,' Gothamist reported.
'They are quite young, so I'll be going slow and trying to explain everything I say,' ul-Haq said to a Spanish interpreter who was helping the children.
'You and your sister were very good girls today,' the judge said to the 8 and 4-year-old sisters at the end of the hearing.
It comes as the Trump administration in March ended a contract that provides legal help to migrant children entering the country without a parent or guardian, raising concerns that children will be forced to navigate the complex legal system alone.
The Acacia Center for Justice contracts with the government to provide legal services through its network of providers around the country to unaccompanied migrant children under 18, both by providing direct legal representation as well as conducting legal orientations — often referred to as 'know your rights' clinics — to migrant children who cross the border alone and are in federal government shelters.
The network of legal aid groups that subcontracts with the center, which is not a plaintiff, sued, arguing that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys. Those groups argued that the government has an obligation under a 2008 anti-trafficking law to provide vulnerable children with legal counsel.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of San Francisco granted a temporary restraining order on April 1. She wrote that advocates raised legitimate questions about whether the administration violated the 2008 law, warranting a return to the status quo while the case continues.
Immigration campaigners said that children are already suffering the consequences.
'It's extremely concerning because it's leaving these kids without really important support,' said Ailin Buigues, who heads Acacia's unaccompanied children program. 'They're often in a very vulnerable position.'
Jonathan Ross with the U.S. Department of Justice said earlier this month that the government is still funding legally required activities, such as the 'know your rights' clinics, and that legal clinics can offer their services without charge.